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THE SAILORS WERE QUIET THE ATMOSPHERE TENSE, THE ADMIRAL KEPT THEM IN SUSPENSE, AND NOBODY KNEW THE JAPS DEFENSE, AS WE SAILED INTO TULAGI. THE INVASION BARGES WERE IN THE BAY, HOW MANY SOLDIERS IS HARD TO SAY, BUT WHEN THEY LANDED THERE WAS HELL TO PAY, ON THE ISLAND OF TULAGI. THE JAPANESE BOMBERS LEFT RABAUL, IN ANSWER TO THIS ISLANDS DESPERATE CALL, AND SOME OF THEM WERE SEEN TO FALL, IN THE BAY OF TULAGI. THE TORPEDO BOMBERS CAME TO ATTACK, AND ALL WE HEARD WAS THE SHARP CRACK-CRACK, AS OUR ACK-ACK GUNS DROVE THEM BACK, AWAY FROM TULAGI.
LATE AT NITE, ACTION SOUNDED, IN THE CANBERRA’S SIDE PROJECTILES POUNDED, AND TO THEIR GUNS THE SAILORS BOUNDED, TO HELP SAVE TULAGI. THE MEN WERE ALMOST IN THEIR STRIDE, WHEN A JAPANESE TORPEDO HIT OUT SIDE, CAUSING SOME BRAVE LADS TO REEL AND DIE, SAVING TULAGI. ALTHOUGH WE COULD NOT HELP THE FLEET, OUR WOUNDED CAPTAIN KEPT HIS FEET, HE WAS ONE WHO DIDN’T ADMIT DEFEAT, WHEN WE SANK AT TULAGI. WE ARE PROUD OF THE PATTERSON AND THE BLUE, THE U.S.S. FULLER AND THEIR SAILORS TOO, WHEN THEY BRAVED THE SHELLS TO SAVE OUR CREW, OFF THE ISLAND OF TULAGI. BY AN AUSTRALIAN SAILOR, A.V. FELLORS H.M.A.S. CANBERRA (SUNK 2 O’CLOCK A.M. BATTLE AUGUST 9TH 1942)
LEFT H.M.A.S. CANBERRA RIGHT Patterson? Blue? or Fuller? The USS Patterson, USS Blue and the USS Fuller came to the aid of the Canberra. Below are the comments from Lieutenant Commander Mackenzie Gregory, R.A.N. Rtd., connections to his web site and his email address. He advised me that he will be moving and will be offline as far as his email is concerned until late December. "We lost 84 crewmen i/c the Captain that dreadful night, and 110 were wounded. USS Patterson was a great ship and one of the few to perform well at the Battle of Savo Island, I will always remember her with great affection. I was eventually rescued by USS Blue, and then went to the Transport Fuller. Some years ago I wrote a monograph HMAS Canberra Lost at Savo Island. It was published by the Naval Historical Society of Australia. " macden@melbpc.org.au <mailto:macden@melbpc.org.au>
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Copyright ©1997,1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 Robert Coburn All Rights Reserved
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