Popular Culture Review Vol. 12, No. 2, August 2001 | Page 61

57

Reuben Janies

Source
Albrecht
Associated Press, “Memorial honors”
Associated Press, “Memorial to men”
Blair, 1996, 375
Clancy
Kennedy
Morrison, 94
Pike
Public Affairs Office, U.S. Navy
Ringle
Shirer, 883
Thackrey
Weinstein and Cohen

Ship’s Company

Killed

100
105
105

45

(160)
(144)
147
About 160
(144)
160
(145)
45
About 150

115
100
(105)
(About 115)
100

Survived

45
44
42
45
44
45

(115)
115
100

45

(About 106)

44

One survivor, Samuel Onne, explained the discrepancy between 44 and
45 survivors, although his number of total crew numbers (147) does not match the
official numbers supplied by the U.S. Navy:
We got them out o f the water as fast as we could___For a long
time we thought just 44 had survived, from the 147 who were
on board. Later, it turned out another man had been rescued —
and got lost in the shuffle. Things were kind of confusing that
night, (quoted in Thackrey).
Years later, Tom Turnbull described the sinking: “I was just getting ready to go
down to my bunk. 1 had just gone in a hatchw ay, getting ready to go down a ladder
to our compartment and there was a roar, and the whole front of the ship lifted up
and it was gone. Gone in an instant” (quoted in Weinstein and Cohen). Another
survivor, Norman F. Hingula, remembers being saved by, of all things, a depth
charge:
The stem kept floating for about five minutes and I thought
maybe I’d better stay with her. But just as 1grabbed on to reboard
her, she started down. The suction was taking me with her and
I was struggling against it when underwater 1 heard this
“CLINK!” It was a depth charge from one of the stem racks
arming itself. The arming lanyards had pulled loose and it was
set to explode at a depth of 50 feet (quoted in Ringle).