Attention to orders!

USS FRANKLIN (CV-13) Reunion – 18-21 March, 2010
The crew of the USS FRANKLIN (CV-13) will hold their 2010 reunion from the 18th to the 21st of March, in Branson, MO.

Specific location: Lodge of the Ozarks.

Special event: Memorial service morning of 19 March. This will be held on the 65th anniversary of the attack off the coast of Japan.

Registration closes 1 March, 2010.

Contact for Questions:
Sam Rhodes 772-334-0366 or
Beth Conard Rowland (daughter of crewman) 740-524-0024 (please leave message)

For those unfamiliar with the USS Franklin:

The USS Franklin was the most heavily damaged carrier of any action in WW2 – that she survived is testimony to the bravery, determination and damage control skills of her crew.  One hundred six officers and 604 enlisted were all that remained to save the ship – the rest were killed or wounded.  In the blink of an eye –

A single enemy plane had made a low level run on the ship to drop two semi-armor piercing bombs.

One struck the flight deck on the centerline, penetrating to the hangar deck, effecting destruction and igniting fires through the second and third decks, as well as knocking out the combat information center and airplot.

The second hit aft, tearing through two decks and fanning fires, which triggered ammunition, bombs and rockets.

The Franklin, an Essex class carrier that was within 50 miles of the Japanese mainland, lay dead in the water with a  13° starboard list,  radio communications lost, and broiled under the heat from enveloping fires. Many of the crew were blown overboard, driven off by fire, killed or wounded.

After the damage she sustained she spent the rest of the war in repairs only to be decommissioned in 1947

That is all! Dismissed!

H/t Maggie & Castle Argghhh!