The Battleship Area, 2000 hours

The lifeboat Gene Ness had been floating with was at the south west edge of what was once the battle area. A Catalina landed near it on their first run. The plane unloaded supplies including food, water and two of the three rafts the Catalina carried. These were inflated and some of the men in the water were able to cram into them. In addition to getting them out of the salt water the fresh water and food were crucial to the short range survival of the men. The Catalina took on thirteen injured men and a doctor and medical corpsman to look after them in flight. The men on the rafts looked longingly as the Catalina taxied away from them, took off and headed south. Just after it took off a B-17 flew over them and dropped several rafts. Gene Ness and another man swam over to one of them and inflated it. By the time they got it inflated, five other men who had been floating in the water joined them. They paddled the newly inflated raft to the other rafts and lashed them together. They would have to wait for rescue. At least now there was food and water and enough space in the rafts for most of the living, if the Japanese did not come this way.

As night fell the men on the rafts lighted a flare every fifteen minutes to help the men in the water find refuge. During the night the rafts filled and more men gathered around them. Two more rafts joined the party just before dawn. The men on the rafts switched places with the men in the water to give the men in the water time on the raft. The injured were given permanent places on the rafts. Several men died from wounds and were placed in the water. Hopefully help would come before anyone died of exposure.

Ted Marks and Dean Stenger were in a California lifeboat with seven other badly injured men and two sick bay orderlies. They were moved to the life boat when it was determined that the California would probably not be saved. They were launched with the orderlies and as many medical supplies as the men could carry to the boat before it was launched. All of the injured were in jeopardy if they were not to get medical treatment soon. Nine more injured were placed in the boat after the California went down. The medics did their best to treat the wounds but their skills and resources were limited. Word was passed to find the ship’s doctor without success. He was missing.