On May 7, 1942 our task force had located a Japanese task force in the Coral Sea. Our planes were launched and we were able to sink one of the Japanese aircraft carriers while the Japanese sank one of our oil supply ships and a destroyer.

Just before noon on May 8, 1942, a large group of what appeared to be eighty Japanese planes were headed toward the port side and appeared to be coming toward the ‘LEX’ since she was the largest ship in our group. The other ships and gunners shot down several enemy planes.

Through skillful orders to the helmsman, our Captain Sherman was able to dodge several torpedoes and bombs.  However we still suffered damage from two torpedoes and three bombs. Even with these hits, the damage controllers were able to patch things up and we were still making 25 knots. Rumors were that we would be going back to the shipyards for repairs.

However a huge explosion occurred, disabling our water system and leaving us unable to fight the fires. It was determined that the aviation gasoline fumes were ignited causing the explosion. Captain Sherman gave the order to abandon ship at approximately 5pm.

There was a personnel loss of 172, but thus far in the war, our crew had sunk 17 enemy ships, shot down 67 enemy planes and killed or drowned an estimated 8,900 of the enemy.

The ‘LEX’ was afire but still afloat so at about dusk the destroyer USS Phelps shot two torpedoes to sink her so the Japanese wouldn’t know for sure the outcome of the battle that day.

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After we were captured, April 9, 1942, we began marching from Kilometer Post 174 and marched a day and night from there for five days. There was a Jap Captain, who spoke English, who promised us food and rest at each successive town, but we received none until we reached San Fernando, an estimated distance of 55 miles.

When we reached San Fernando, they gave us one-half canteen cup of rice and one cup of water, and then loaded us on a train, and took us to Capas, Tarlac, Camp O’Donnell. They loaded 100 men in each boxcar for the trip. The boxcars were about one half the size of the boxcars one sees in the United States.

When we reached Camp O’Donnell, they took all the blankets we had. There was no water in the camp, and we had to carry it from a river, some distance away. The water we got there was polluted and gave us dysentery, if we did not boil it before we drank it. They made us stand in formation for two hours in the sun, taking count.

The Japanese in charge was named ‘Yoshio Tsuneyoshi’. He was a Captain. It was nothing uncommon, in this camp, to see Filipinos and some Americans buried alive. They buried 20-30 of them in a hole, in some cases with no dog tags.

We left here June 1, 1942 and went to Cabanatuan, by train. While we were there, some men tried to escape. They were caught and tied up. They were put in a cage in the sun, where the Japanese guards would beat them each time they passed by. There were two Lt. Colonels and one Major that tried to escape. They took them out one day, presumably to give