I teared up a little when I found this photo. Ed was on this ship coming home from a terrifying event. Many of his friends possibly died the day before. It gave me a real sense of pride to see this photo.
“ In twenty-seven minutes the Boise had taken on six enemy ships north of Guadalcanal – two of them heavier than herself—and all six are now at the bottom of the sea” excerpt from Pick Out the Biggest by Frank Morris
A quote from the book “Pick Out The Biggest” by Frank Morris
"The damage control officer was on a micro phone giving a blow by blow commentary of the battle. He noticed men around him going tense with expressions frozen on their faces". “No one was saying a word” “In the stillness of that crowded central station, deep in the Boise’s interior a voice boomed out in baby talk: “Daddy- I want to go home now!” “Grins spread as men settled back and relaxed”.
Quotes from Ed after an interview with the Louisville paper.
•“A damage control officer volunteered to man a microphone on the ship’s loudspeaker system and broadcast a running account of the battle from reports relayed to him by phone from observers on deck”.
•Ed said “ I was below deck at a control station listening through ear phones to check if other control stations were in order. I probably knew what was going on more than most crew members.”
• “When Jap shells struck the Boise, the shudder was like a sudden slack on a train”
•“None of us left our post, there was too much to do”
•Ed confesses that the only time he was scared was when he heard the reports that the torpedoes were headed towards them.
•Ed’s proudest moment was when the Boise sailed into an American port for repairs. “The workmen stopped work, cheered, whistles blew, and a band played!”
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