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No Hero, Just An Officer Trying to DoHis Duty, Lieut., Wells Says of Sinking“Sure, I was scared. All of us were. Any man that say? he wasn't either is a fool or a liar.”Thus spoke Lieu I. T. D. Weils, U. S. N. R. of Paris, as naval censorship finally was lifted to reveal the loss last month in the South Pacific of the aircraft carrier Wasp, on which Lieut, Wells served as a gunnery officer.Despite the censorship, necessitated by military expedience, undertones of the grim reality and bloody horror of the experience of having a ship torperioea from^under you were evident in Wells'* j story of the disaster, jThe son of Mrs. T. D. Wells, 351 jLamar, he is home on a 30-day, furlough, resting and recovering from a leg wound received when portions of the Wasp's ammunition suplies exploded. !Exhibiting signs of nervousness j observed in others who have bcenj through similar naval experience?, Wells Tuesday told The Paris; News some of the bare facts of the sinking of the Wasp and of; his three hours in a heavy, white-; capepd sea. \Official reports say the Waspj was struck by throe iotpedoesi fired by a submarine, whien, i Lieut. Wells said, was never sight- ■ ed. The 31-year-old officer, for-; iner Paris High School and Paris j Junior College football player, j said that he saw the wake of only ; one of the torpedoes that struck i his ship.The torpedoes knocked end the ’ ship's power facilities and thus, made virtually impossible the task jof fiffhfmff flames which en- 1said as he told that most of the men were knocked flat by the explosions.Leaping flames forced the former Texas legislator and his guncrew to leave their station on thea/::LIEUT. T, D. WELLS ★ ★ ★ ★starboard side of the Wasp. They moved to the ports id e, where they aided in the task of trying to eliminate the danger of being struck by their own exploding ammunition.**U’s pretty hard to remember exactly what we did and all of our movements during that time, but we moved from one part o: the Wasp to another, Irving to get the ammunition overboard and at the same time trying to keep a wav from Ihc flames, if possible,” Lieut. Wells related.The Prnisian said his life preserver had been overhead at the time the torpedoes struck and that he was forced to fashion one by lashing a mattress around a wnt-e r p rof. i f ammunition con tain or.He then went over the side intovelopcd the majority of the ves- !sel shortly after the torpedoesstruck, it was explained.•'You can be injured by your! own ammunition just as much »s: by the enemy's,” Wells explained , as he told of helping gun crews in ’throwing ammunition overboard .after the tirpedoes struck. :‘’When a torpedo hits, it h;l?; with a terrific wallop, lashing the . ship from side to side, as well ts ■ tip and down, and the best thing, you can do is move in fo the center of the ship, bend your knee- . and hone to weather the blow,” hethe sea, which he describedasat•‘heavy, with whiteeaps and pretty heavy ground swell.” Lieut. Wells asked someone to throw his improvised life preserver to him. which the man did. but the pro-iTver got away from Wells and he swam around for several minutes seeking other means of keeping afloat.He finally found a piece of wood, about 2x8, which, he said, hindered rather than aided him at first, although he at last got it headed into the sea, allowing the sea pull him away from theSee WELLS. Face 2. Col. 1
Newspaper Details
Paris News
Paris, Texas, US
Tue, Oct 27, 1942
Page 3
Full Page
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Anonymous
USA 14 Sep 2019
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