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had chores to do, from feeding the livestock
and cleaning the hen house to milking the cows
and hauling water from the well. Carr’s work
never seemed to end. His chores controlled
where he went and how long he stayed. Perhaps
this informal education in self-discipline and
responsibility was what later made Carr a leader
among his shipmates.
Paul Carr and his crew fired over 300 rounds
during the battle off Samar. They scored at close
range and severely damaged a Japanese heavy
cruiser,
knocking out an 8-inch turret,
demolishing its bridge, and starting fires
aft.
His crew had inspired every man on the ship,
a ship that was now in grave danger of sinking.
The massive blows by the Japanese had taken their
toll. The Roberts was without power, compressed
air, hydraulics, and communications. The crippled
ship was barely afloat and taking on water
through a gaping hole left by a 14-inch shell fired
from the Japanese battleship Kongo.
Even though the safety device of the gas-
ejection system was inoperative, Carr’s close-knit
gun crew loaded, rammed, and fired six charges
by hand. When the crew attempted to fire a
seventh round, the powder charge “cooked off”
before the breech was closed. The charge wrecked
the gun and killed or wounded all but three men
in the gun house.
After the order to abandon ship had been
given, a petty officer entered the gun mount to
find Carr literally torn open from neck to thigh.
Carr, ignoring his injuries, was holding a
54-pound projectile, trying, unassisted, to load
and ram the only shell available. Carr begged the
petty officer to help him get off the last round.
But the man, seeing the gun had been destroyed
and its breech rendered a mass of twisted steel,
took the projectile from Carr’s hands.
After helping one of the other wounded men
to the main deck, the petty officer returned to the
gun mount. There he found Carr, although
horribly wounded, again attempting to place the
projectile on the loading tray of the inoperable
gun. A few minutes later this brave man died.
About an hour later USS Samuel B. Roberts sank.
Paul Henry Carr’s memory will continue to
live. On 27 July 1985 the Navy commissioned the
USS Carr (FFG-52), honoring a man who gave
his life for his shipmates and his country.
COMMANDER HOWARD W. GILMORE
The unrelaxed vigilance, skill, and daring
of the submarine service furnished many
tradition makers in World War II. The story of
Commander Howard W. Gilmore is classic.
Commander Gilmore was in command of the
submarine Growler in the South Pacific. He had
just sunk one Japanese freighter and damaged
another when he found himself fighting a surface
engagement with a Japanese gunboat.
Gunfire had severely wounded Gilmore and
had seriously damaged his submarine. To save
his ship, he calmly gave the order to clear
the bridge, knowing his own life would be
sacrificed. Time did not permit even the few
seconds’ delay needed for him to go below. He
did not hesitate as he voiced the order, “Take her
down.”
The well-trained crew, inspired by
Gilmore’s fighting spirit, brought the damaged
submarine to port.
THE MARINES ON IWO JIMA
Iwo Jima goes down in history as one of the
most costly and frightful battles ever waged. The
Japanese prepared for the battle by hiding in caves
and camouflaged blockhouses on the beach armed
with plenty of ammunition. Besides ammunition,
the Japanese had plenty of courage because their
attack strategy provided them with protection
while the American soldiers would be open
targets.
Meanwhile, 800 invasion ships carrying U.S.
Marines anchored offshore and began to deliver
troops to the beach. The Japanese, sheltered in
their concrete pillboxes and underground caves,
slaughtered battalion after battalion of men as
they landed on the beach and dug forward. The
grueling battle continued for days before the
Americans finally defeated the enemy to make the
first capture of Japanese territory during the
war.
As a symbol of victory, a group of six men—
five marines and a Pharmacist’s Mate (Hospital
Corpsman)—then raised an American flag atop
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