- 7 weeks ago
When USS Aaron Ward was hit by kamikazes off Okinawa, her gun crews kept firing even after the destroyer lost power and started to burn. Amid the chaos, Steward First Class Carl E. Clark made a life-or-death decision inside a blazing ammunition locker, knowing that one wrong move could trigger the same kind of explosion that destroyed USS Little.
This World War II naval history story follows the radar picket battle, the manual gun crews, the flooding, the fires, and the damage control teams fighting to keep 336 men alive. It also traces Clark’s long fight for recognition, from a segregated Navy that overlooked his heroism to the eventual award decades later.
For listeners who enjoy World War 2 stories, military history, war documentaries, and narrated history with real human stakes, this is a gripping account of courage under fire. It also fits searches for WWII destroyer stories, kamikaze attacks, Navy damage control, and forgotten heroes of the Pacific War.
This World War II naval history story follows the radar picket battle, the manual gun crews, the flooding, the fires, and the damage control teams fighting to keep 336 men alive. It also traces Clark’s long fight for recognition, from a segregated Navy that overlooked his heroism to the eventual award decades later.
For listeners who enjoy World War 2 stories, military history, war documentaries, and narrated history with real human stakes, this is a gripping account of courage under fire. It also fits searches for WWII destroyer stories, kamikaze attacks, Navy damage control, and forgotten heroes of the Pacific War.
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LearningTranscript
00:00At 1840, on May 3, 1945, Commander William Sanders watched 25 radar contacts converge on his destroyer minesweeper north of
00:09Okinawa.
00:10Fifteen years Navy service, four months commanding Aaron Ward, zero ships lost.
00:17The Japanese had launched approximately 25 aircraft in coordinated suicide attack Kikusui No. 5.
00:23Sanders commanded USS Aaron Ward, destroyer mine layer DM-34, stationed on radar picket station No. 10, 60 miles north
00:33of Okinawa, the most dangerous assignment in the Pacific Theater.
00:37Picket ships served as early warning radar platforms, positioned between the Japanese airfields and the American fleet.
00:44They spotted incoming kamikazes first. They died first.
00:48The statistics were brutal. Between April 1 and June 1, 1945, radar picket duty killed more American sailors than any
00:57other naval assignment.
00:59Sixteen destroyers sunk or damaged beyond repair. Casualty rates exceeded 30 percent.
01:05Most crews never completed more than three picket rotations. Aaron Ward was starting her fourth.
01:12Two miles to starboard, USS Little fought for survival.
01:15Sanders watched through binoculars as the first kamikaze struck Little's superstructure.
01:211842. Flames erupted across her deck. The second kamikaze hit 40 seconds later. Then the third.
01:29Little's ammunition began cooking off. Her Ford magazine detonated at 1844. The destroyer broke in half.
01:36She sank in less than three minutes. 30 sailors went down with her.
01:40LSM-195 took a kamikaze hit at 1846. The small landing ship disappeared in a massive fireball. No survivors.
01:51LCS-25 lost her mass to a near-miss kamikaze that clipped her radar array before crashing into the ocean.
01:58Three ships destroyed or crippled in six minutes.
02:02Aaron Ward's crew had watched 17 kamikazes attack their station over the past three days.
02:07They had shot down 11, but the odds were mathematical.
02:11The Japanese sent waves of 20 to 30 aircraft. The picket ships carried limited ammunition.
02:17Eventually, the numbers always favored the kamikazes.
02:21And tonight, 25 contacts were inbound.
02:25Sanders commanded 336 men.
02:28Robert H. Smith-class destroyer mine layer.
02:31Commissioned October 28, 1944.
02:34Twin 5-inch guns in three turrets.
02:37Six Bofors 40-millimeter mounts.
02:40Multiple 20-millimeter positions.
02:42Good firepower.
02:43Not enough firepower.
02:45The ship's Combat Information Center tracked the contacts closing at 280 miles per hour.
02:51Range?
02:5227 miles.
02:54The kamikazes flew low, staying below 2,000 feet to avoid early radar detection.
02:59Standard kamikaze doctrine.
03:02Get close before the American gunners could establish effective fire.
03:05If you want to see how Aaron Ward's gun crews held off this attack, please hit that like button.
03:10It helps us share more forgotten stories from World War II.
03:14Subscribe if you haven't already.
03:15Back to Aaron Ward.
03:17At 1848, Sanders ordered general quarters.
03:21336 men rushed to battle stations.
03:24Gun crews loaded 5-inch shells.
03:27Bofors loaders chambered 40-millimeter clips.
03:29The 20-millimeter gunners charged their weapons.
03:33Every man knew the statistics.
03:3530% casualties.
03:3616 destroyers lost.
03:38USS Little burning two miles away.
03:41In the forward 40-millimeter mount, gun captain Lavrakas checked his Bofors quadruple mount.
03:46Four barrels.
03:4880 rounds per minute per barrel.
03:50320 rounds per minute combined.
03:52Effective range?
03:545,000 yards.
03:55But kamikazes dove at 400 miles per hour.
03:59The gun crews would have approximately 45 seconds of firing time per target.
04:03Miss.
04:04And the kamikaze would hit.
04:05Below decks, steward first class Carl Clark led his eight-man damage control team to their station near the ammunition
04:12lockers.
04:1329 years old.
04:15Six black sailors aboard a crew of 336.
04:18Damage control meant one job.
04:20If the ship caught fire, put it out before the ammunition detonated.
04:25Clark had watched USS Little's magazine explode four minutes ago.
04:29He understood exactly what happened when damage control teams failed.
04:33Sanders watched the radar scope.
04:3525 contacts.
04:37Range?
04:3715 miles.
04:39Closing fast.
04:40The first wave would arrive in approximately three minutes.
04:43He reached for the ship-wide intercom.
04:45His hand was steady.
04:47The words were simple.
04:48The kamikazes were three minutes out.
04:51And every gun aboard Aaron Ward was about to start firing.
04:55What happened next would determine whether 336 men lived or died.
05:00Whether the ship that wouldn't die could survive an attack more intense than any destroyer had ever faced.
05:06The radar contacts split into attack formations.
05:10Range?
05:1010 miles.
05:12Sanders took a breath.
05:13The guns would start firing in 90 seconds.
05:16And once they started, some of them would never stop.
05:21The first kamikaze appeared at 1851.
05:25Mitsubishi A6M-0.
05:27Single-engine fighter converted to suicide roll.
05:31500 pounds of explosives packed into the fuselage.
05:34Pilot aimed for Aaron Ward's bridge superstructure.
05:37Range?
05:387,000 yards.
05:40Mount 51 opened fire.
05:42Twin 5-inch guns.
05:44High explosive shells.
05:45The forward turret crew fired six rounds in eight seconds.
05:49The first shell missed high.
05:51The second missed low.
05:53The third connected at 4,000 yards.
05:56The Zero's left wing disintegrated.
05:58The aircraft rolled inverted and slammed into the ocean 100 yards off Aaron Ward's starboard quarter.
06:05First kill.
06:06The second kamikaze came 30 seconds later.
06:09Different approach.
06:10Low and fast from the port side.
06:12Nakajima B-6N torpedo bomber.
06:15Heavier aircraft.
06:17More explosives.
06:18The port side Bofors mounts engaged at 6,000 yards.
06:22Four 40-millimeter barrels per mount.
06:24Tracer rounds lit up the twilight sky.
06:27The gunners walked their fire into the bomber at 3,000 yards.
06:31Hits sparked across the fuselage.
06:33The aircraft's fuel tank erupted.
06:36The bomber cartwheeled into the sea 800 yards out.
06:39Second kill.
06:40Gun crews reloaded.
06:4260 seconds had passed since general quarters.
06:45Two kamikazes down.
06:47Zero hits on Aaron Ward.
06:49The mathematics looked better.
06:5023 attackers remaining.
06:52The crew began to believe they might survive this.
06:55They were wrong.
06:56The third kamikaze dove from directly overhead.
06:59Yokosuka D-4Y dive bomber.
07:02The pilot had climbed to 8,000 feet while Aaron Ward engaged the first two attackers.
07:08Standard kamikaze tactic.
07:09Distraction followed by vertical dive.
07:12The combat information center radar lost the contact in the clutter.
07:15Nobody saw him until he was at 4,000 feet.
07:19Already committed to his dive.
07:21Already too close.
07:22Mount 52 swung skyward.
07:24The 5-inch guns elevated to maximum angle.
07:27Fired three rounds.
07:29Missed.
07:30The 40-millimeter mounts tracked the diving bomber.
07:33Their barrels couldn't elevate enough.
07:35Maximum elevation?
07:3690 degrees.
07:37The kamikaze came down at 85 degrees.
07:40The 20-millimeter gunners had the angle, but not the range.
07:44They opened fire at 1,000 yards.
07:46Too late.
07:48The bomber released its 250-kilogram bomb at 500 feet.
07:52The bomb punched through Aaron Ward's main deck near frame 81, penetrated the hull below the waterline, detonated in the
07:59after-engine room.
08:00The explosion ruptured fuel tanks, flooded the after-engine room and after-fire room instantaneously, killed four men in the
08:08engineering spaces, severed hydraulic lines to the steering gear.
08:12One second later, the kamikaze itself crashed into the superstructure amid ships.
08:17The aircraft's 500 pounds of explosives detonated on impact.
08:21Burning aviation fuel sprayed across the entire midship section.
08:26The explosion destroyed the radar array, knocked out ship-to-ship radio communications, started fires in three separate compartments.
08:34The rudder jammed hard left.
08:36Aaron Ward healed into a tight circle.
08:381853.
08:39Two minutes since the attack began.
08:42The destroyer traced a perfect 300-yard diameter turn.
08:45Speed dropped from 25 knots to 20 knots, then 15.
08:50The ship circled like a wounded animal.
08:53Steering control was gone.
08:54The after-engine room was flooded.
08:57Fuel fires burned across the main deck.
08:59But the guns kept firing.
09:01Mount 53 still had power.
09:03The aft 5-inch turret continued engaging targets.
09:06The starboard Bofors mounts tracked new contacts.
09:10Damage control teams rushed toward the fires.
09:12Commander Sanders shifted steering control to after-steering.
09:16Manual rudder control.
09:17The ship's circle tightened but didn't stop.
09:20Aaron Ward spun slowly clockwise.
09:23Burning.
09:24Flooding.
09:25Still fighting.
09:26At 1855, the Combat Information Center reported three more contacts inbound.
09:32Range?
09:32Five miles.
09:34Bearing?
09:35Multiple.
09:35The kamikazes had seen Aaron Ward smoke.
09:38They knew she was damaged.
09:40Standard doctrine?
09:41Finish the wounded ship first.
09:43The gun crews reloaded.
09:45They had no steering.
09:46They had flooding in two engineering spaces.
09:49They were circling helplessly.
09:51And three more kamikazes were diving toward them right now.
09:55Mount 51 tracked the nearest contact.
09:58The Bofors crews swung their mounts.
10:00The 20mm gunners charged fresh magazines.
10:03The second wave was 90 seconds out.
10:06The ship was already dying.
10:08But the guns were still firing.
10:10And they weren't going to stop.
10:151856.
10:16The fourth kamikaze approached from starboard.
10:19Aichi D-3A dive bomber.
10:22Range?
10:228,000 yards.
10:24Mount 51 acquired the target.
10:26The forward 5-inch guns fired four rounds in rapid succession.
10:31The first round exploded 200 yards ahead of the bomber.
10:34The second round connected directly with the fuselage.
10:38The aircraft disintegrated at 6,000 yards.
10:41Flaming debris scattered across the ocean.
10:45Third kill.
10:4620 seconds later, the fifth kamikaze came in low from port.
10:50Nakajima KI-43 fighter.
10:53The port side Bofors mount engaged at maximum range.
10:57Tracer fire bracketed the fighter at 4,000 yards.
11:01The gunners maintained sustained fire.
11:0440mm shells ripped through the KI-43's engine cowling.
11:08Black smoke poured from the damaged engine.
11:11The fighter rolled left and crashed 2,000 yards out.
11:15Fourth kill.
11:16The sixth kamikaze followed immediately.
11:20Zero fighter.
11:21Different angle.
11:21Steep dive from 45 degrees.
11:24Mount 52 tracked the target.
11:27Fired three rounds.
11:28The third round struck the Zero's engine block.
11:31The fighter exploded at 3,000 yards.
11:34The burning wreckage tumbled into the sea 1,500 yards from Aaron Ward's circling hull.
11:40Fifth kill.
11:42Three kamikazes destroyed in 90 seconds.
11:45The gun crews were performing beyond doctrine standards.
11:48Average kamikaze kill rate for destroyer picket ships was 40%.
11:53Aaron Ward's crews were hitting 80%.
11:56They were burning through ammunition faster than planned.
12:00But they were winning.
12:01The crew began to believe again.
12:04Five kamikazes down.
12:06Only minor damage.
12:07The ship was circling, but engineering teams were working on steering control.
12:12Fire parties had contained two of the three fires.
12:15If they could maintain this kill rate, they might actually survive the night.
12:19Then, the seventh kamikaze appeared.
12:23Yokosuka D-4Y dive bomber.
12:26It came in at wavetop height from directly astern.
12:29The approach angle put it in the blind spot created by Aaron Ward's circling pattern.
12:33The combat information center didn't acquire the contact until range dropped below 3,000 yards.
12:39Mount 53 couldn't depress low enough.
12:42The Bofors mounts were still tracking different sectors.
12:45Only the aft 20mm positions had the angle.
12:48They opened fire at 1,200 yards.
12:51Too close.
12:52The tracers sparkled across the bomber's wings.
12:55Hits registered along the fuselage.
12:57But the aircraft kept coming.
12:59800 yards.
13:00600.
13:01The 20mm rounds walked up the fuselage toward the cockpit.
13:05The pilot never deviated.
13:08400 yards.
13:09The bomber dropped its 250kg bomb at 200 yards.
13:13The weapon hit the water 10 feet off Aaron Ward's port side.
13:17Underwater detonation.
13:19The blast punched a 6-foot hole in the hull plating near the forward fire room.
13:24Ocean water flooded through the breach.
13:26The forward fire room filled in 45 seconds.
13:29The last operational engine room was gone.
13:32The bomber itself, now in flames from 20mm fire, crashed into the main deck near frame 90.
13:39The impact and explosion killed 11 men instantly.
13:42Wounded 23 more.
13:44Started fires across the forward superstructure.
13:47Destroyed the forward Bofors mount.
13:49Knocked out all internal communications.
13:52At 1858, Aaron Ward lost all power.
13:56The gun mounts went silent as electrical systems failed.
13:59The ship's forward momentum bled away.
14:0220 knots became 15.
14:0415 became 10.
14:05The destroyer settled deeper in the water, listing 4 degrees to port.
14:10Dead in the water.
14:12Burning in three separate locations.
14:14All engine spaces flooded except the forward engine room.
14:18And that space was taking water through damaged seals.
14:21Below decks, steward 1st class Carl Clark felt the ship shudder as power died.
14:27Emergency lighting activated in the passageways.
14:29Red battle lanterns cast shadows across the damage control station.
14:33Clark looked at his team.
14:35Eight men total.
14:36They had trained for this moment.
14:38Fire suppression.
14:39Flood control.
14:40Keep the ship alive.
14:42Then he smelled it.
14:43Cordite.
14:44The acrid chemical signature of burning propellant.
14:47He turned toward the forward ammunition locker.
14:50Smoke seeped from around the sealed hatch.
14:53The locker held 5-inch shells.
14:5540mm rounds.
14:5720mm ammunition.
14:58If that space reached cook-off temperature,
15:01the explosion would break Aaron Ward in half.
15:04Clark had watched USS Little explode from an ammunition detonation 20 minutes ago.
15:09He knew exactly what happened next.
15:11The ship had maybe two minutes before the fire reached critical temperature.
15:15Maybe less.
15:16And the radar scope showed eight more kamikazes inbound.
15:221859.
15:23Carl Clark opened the ammunition locker hatch.
15:26Heat struck his face like a physical blow.
15:29Temperature inside exceeded 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
15:32Smoke billowed through the opening.
15:34The fire had started in the aft section of the locker,
15:37where shrapnel from the 7th kamikaze had penetrated the bulkhead.
15:41Flames crept toward the 5-inch shell racks.
15:43Each shell contained 11 pounds of high explosive.
15:46The locker held 140 rounds.
15:50Clark's damage control team stood behind him.
15:52Seven men.
15:53They carried fire extinguishers rated for electrical and chemical fires.
15:57Standard Navy damage control equipment.
16:00Completely inadequate for what they faced.
16:02The team leader, a boatswain's mate second class, assessed the situation.
16:07He made the call.
16:09The locker was lost.
16:10Seal the hatch.
16:12Flood the compartment.
16:13Abandon this section of the ship.
16:16Clark didn't move.
16:17He watched the flames advance toward the shell racks.
16:20USS Little had burned for 90 seconds before her magazine detonated.
16:24The explosion had broken the destroyer in half.
16:27300 yards away, Little's bow section still protruded from the water at a 40-degree angle.
16:33130 men had been aboard.
16:3530 survived.
16:37Aaron Ward carried 336 men.
16:40If this locker detonated, the ship would break at frame 80.
16:44Everything aft of the break would sink in less than two minutes.
16:47The forward section might stay afloat.
16:49Might not.
16:51Survival estimates.
16:5220% of crew?
16:54Maybe 70 men.
16:55The rest would go down with the ship, or burn in the fuel fires spreading across the main deck.
17:01Clark stepped through the hatch.
17:02The heat seared his lungs.
17:04His eyes watered.
17:06He couldn't see more than six feet through the smoke.
17:08He advanced toward the flames with a carbon dioxide extinguisher.
17:12Behind him, the team leader shouted orders to seal the hatch and move to the next station.
17:18Clark ignored him.
17:19The extinguisher weighed 35 pounds.
17:22His fingers found the activation handle.
17:24Topside, the 8th Kamikaze struck at 1900 hours.
17:28Mitsubishi G4M bomber.
17:31Twin engine.
17:31Heavy payload.
17:33The aircraft came in from the port quarter.
17:35No guns were tracking that sector.
17:37The ship had no power.
17:39The manual gun crews were still repositioning their mounts.
17:42The bomber crashed into the port side superstructure.
17:45The impact threw men across the deck.
17:48The explosion killed six.
17:50Wounded 14.
17:51Started two new fires.
17:53The blast wave traveled through the ship's internal structure.
17:56It reached the ammunition locker where Carl Clark fought the fire.
18:00The concussion knocked him sideways into a bulkhead.
18:03He felt something crack in his left shoulder.
18:05Later, medical examination would confirm a fractured collarbone.
18:09In the moment, Clark felt only the impact and the immediate sharp pain.
18:14The extinguisher fell from his grip.
18:16Rolled across the deck.
18:18Came to rest against the aft bulkhead.
18:20Clark retrieved the extinguisher.
18:22His left arm wouldn't respond properly.
18:24He held the canister with his right hand.
18:27Braced it against his hip.
18:29Aimed the discharge horn at the base of the flames.
18:31Activated the trigger.
18:32Carbon dioxide discharged in a freezing white cloud.
18:36The temperature differential caused metal surfaces to contract.
18:40The crackling sound of stressed metal echoed through the locker.
18:43The fire retreated six inches.
18:45Then twelve.
18:46Clock advanced.
18:48The heat was unbearable.
18:49His uniform smoked.
18:51The skin on his face felt like it was burning.
18:53He kept the discharge horn pointed at the flame base.
18:56The carbon dioxide cloud expanded.
18:59Displaced the oxygen feeding the fire.
19:01The flames weakened.
19:02Drew back toward the penetration point in the aft bulkhead.
19:061901.
19:07The ninth kamikaze hit.
19:10Aichi B-7A torpedo bomber.
19:12It crashed into the aft deckhouse.
19:14The explosion destroyed Mount 44.
19:17Killed the entire gun crew.
19:19Eight men.
19:20The blast severed electrical conduits to the emergency steering station.
19:24Manual rudder control was lost.
19:26Aaron Ward's slow circle became an uncontrolled drift.
19:29The ship wallowed in the swells.
19:32Listing seven degrees to port now.
19:35Still burning.
19:36Still flooding.
19:37No power.
19:38No steering.
19:39No way to fight back.
19:41In the ammunition locker, Clark's extinguisher ran empty.
19:44He dropped the spent canister.
19:46Grabbed the second unit from the rack near the entrance.
19:49His broken collarbone sent white-hot pain through his shoulder.
19:52He activated the second extinguisher.
19:55Aimed at the remaining flames.
19:57The fire had advanced to within four feet of the five-inch shell racks.
20:01If those shells cooked off, Clark would never know it.
20:04The explosion would vaporize everything within 20 feet of the detonation.
20:09He had maybe 30 seconds before the shells reached critical temperature.
20:13The extinguisher had maybe 40 seconds of discharge time remaining.
20:16And the tenth kamikaze was diving toward the ship right now.
20:231902.
20:24Carl Clark emptied the second extinguisher into the ammunition locker fire.
20:28The flames died.
20:30Smoke continued rising from scorched metal surfaces, but no active fire remained.
20:35The five-inch shells were hot.
20:37Surface temperature approached 180 degrees.
20:40But they hadn't reached cook-off threshold.
20:43Clark had stopped the fire with approximately 15 seconds to spare.
20:47He stumbled out of the locker.
20:48His uniform was charred.
20:50His face was covered in soot and chemical residue.
20:53His left arm hung useless from the fractured collarbone.
20:57He sealed the hatch behind him.
20:59Locked it.
21:00The damaged bulkhead wouldn't contain a secondary fire if one started.
21:04But for now, the immediate threat was neutralized.
21:07USS Aaron Ward would not suffer USS Little's fate.
21:12Not from internal explosion.
21:14Not yet.
21:15Clark looked at his damage control team.
21:17Three men remained.
21:18The others had moved to fight fires on the main deck.
21:21He pointed toward the forward section where flames from the 8th Kamikaze still burned.
21:26The team grabbed fresh extinguishers and moved forward.
21:29Clark followed.
21:31His left arm was useless.
21:32His lungs burned from smoke inhalation.
21:35He carried a fire extinguisher in his right hand and went to work.
21:39Topside.
21:40The 10th Kamikaze made its final approach.
21:45The pilot had circled the engagement area while Aaron Ward dealt with the previous attacks.
21:51He had watched the destroyer take 9 hits.
21:53Watched her lose power.
21:55Watched her guns fall silent.
21:58Now he committed to his dive.
22:00The ship was dead in the water.
22:02An easy target.
22:03He angled toward the base of the forward smokestack.
22:06But Aaron Ward's guns hadn't fallen completely silent.
22:09Mount 51 still had manual operation capability.
22:13The gun crew had shifted to local control when electrical power failed.
22:17They hand cranked the turret traverse mechanism.
22:20Used manual elevation wheels.
22:23Loaded shells by hand without the automatic hoists.
22:26The process was slower.
22:27Much slower.
22:29But the guns could still fire.
22:31The turret captain spotted the diving bomber at 4,000 yards.
22:34He ordered traverse right.
22:36Four men pushed the hand crank.
22:38The turret swung slowly toward the target.
22:41Too slow.
22:42The bomber was diving at 380 miles per hour.
22:46Range, 3,000 yards.
22:48The gunners loaded a shell.
22:50Closed the breach manually.
22:52The turret captain estimated lead angle.
22:54Called elevation.
22:562,000 yards.
22:57Mount 51 fired.
22:59The 5-inch shell missed high.
23:01The crew reloaded.
23:0215 seconds per shell in manual mode versus 4 seconds with power.
23:08The bomber closed to 1,500 yards.
23:11Second shot.
23:12Miss.
23:131,200 yards.
23:14Third shot.
23:15The shell exploded directly in the bomber's flight path.
23:18Shrapnel shredded the aircraft's control surfaces.
23:21The bomber rolled inverted.
23:23Crashed into the ocean 400 yards from Aaron Ward's drifting hull.
23:27The manual gun crew had just shot down a kamikaze while their ship was dead in the water, listing and
23:34burning.
23:35Sixth kill.
23:36But the 10th kamikaze wasn't finished.
23:38The aircraft had released its bomb before the 5-inch shell connected.
23:42The 250-kilogram weapon continued on ballistic trajectory.
23:47It struck Aaron Ward's deck at the base of Smokestack No. 2.
23:51Penetrated through three deck levels.
23:53Detonated in the uptake spaces below.
23:56The explosion blew Smokestack No. 2 completely off the ship.
24:00The metal cylinder, weighing 6 tons, lifted 15 feet into the air.
24:05It came down across the aft deck.
24:08Crushed searchlight No. 3.
24:10Destroyed two 20-millimeter gun positions.
24:12The blast killed four men.
24:14Wounded nine.
24:16Started fires in the galley and crew birthing spaces.
24:191903.
24:2063 minutes since general quarters.
24:23Aaron Ward had been hit by six kamikazes and four large bombs.
24:2842 men were dead or missing.
24:3054 were wounded.
24:32All engine spaces were flooded except one compartment that was taking water through damaged seals.
24:38The ship listed nine degrees to port.
24:40She was settling by the stern.
24:42Fires burned in seven locations.
24:44Internal communications were destroyed.
24:47The rudder was jammed.
24:48No electrical power existed anywhere aboard.
24:51But the damage control teams were winning.
24:54Carl Clark's team had contained the ammunition locker fire.
24:57Forward damage control had suppressed three fires on the main deck.
25:00Aft teams were making progress against the galley fire.
25:04The flooding was under control.
25:06The ship was stabilizing.
25:08She wasn't sinking.
25:09Not yet.
25:10Commander Sanders stood on what remained of the bridge.
25:13He looked at the radar scope.
25:15Dark.
25:16Dead.
25:17No power.
25:18He couldn't see incoming threats.
25:21Couldn't communicate with the fleet.
25:23Couldn't maneuver.
25:23But his ship was still afloat.
25:26His guns had shot down six kamikazes.
25:28And his crew was fighting to keep her alive.
25:31The sun had set completely.
25:33Full darkness covered the ocean.
25:36The fires aboard Aaron Ward illuminated the water for half a mile in every direction.
25:41Any Japanese pilot within 20 miles could see the burning ship.
25:44A perfect beacon.
25:46A perfect target.
25:47The question wasn't whether more kamikazes would come.
25:51The question was whether Aaron Ward could survive another attack.
25:55And whether her guns could keep firing in the dark.
26:011905.
26:02Damage control teams worked by flashlight and battle lanterns.
26:06The main deck was a maze of torn metal, burning debris, and casualty stations.
26:12Carl Clark moved through the chaos with his damage control team.
26:16His broken collarbone made every movement agony.
26:19He ignored it.
26:21Fire suppression took priority over personal injury.
26:25The forward berthing fire was spreading.
26:27Flames had reached the paint locker.
26:29Navy paint was oil-based.
26:32Highly flammable.
26:33If the locker ignited, the fire would spread through ventilation ducts to the forward magazine.
26:39Clark's team positioned themselves at the berthing compartment entrance.
26:43They discharged extinguishers in coordinated sequence.
26:46One man emptied his canister.
26:49The next man stepped forward immediately.
26:51No gaps in suppression.
26:53The flames retreated.
26:55Twelve minutes of sustained effort.
26:58The fire died.
26:59Clark moved aft.
27:01The galley fire was contained but not extinguished.
27:04Cooking oil had ignited when the eighth kamikaze hit.
27:08The oil fire burned at 900 degrees.
27:11Water made it worse.
27:13Foam extinguishers were ineffective.
27:16The solution was simple and brutal.
27:19Seal the compartment.
27:20Let the fire consume available oxygen.
27:23Suffocate it.
27:24Clark's team sealed three hatches.
27:27Dogged them tight.
27:28They listened to the fire rage behind six inches of steel.
27:32After 20 minutes, the roaring diminished.
27:35After 40, silence.
27:38Casualty stations overwhelmed the medical staff.
27:41Aaron Ward carried one medical officer and four corpsmen.
27:45They treated 54 wounded men with supplies meant for routine injuries.
27:50Morphine ran out at 1930.
27:53Plasma ran out at 1945.
27:56The corpsmen used torn uniforms as bandages.
27:59Used damage control tape as wound dressing.
28:02Performed triage by flashlight.
28:05Clark found wounded men trapped in damaged compartments.
28:08A loader from Mount 44 was pinned under fallen equipment near the destroyed gun position.
28:15Clark couldn't lift the debris with one functional arm.
28:18He recruited two sailors from a fire team.
28:20Together, they moved the wreckage.
28:22The loader had compound fractures in both legs.
28:25Clark carried him to the casualty station.
28:27His collarbone sent lightning through his shoulder with each step.
28:32He made four trips.
28:33Four men carried to medical care.
28:35Then, he returned to damage control duty.
28:38The flooding situation was critical.
28:41All engine spaces were compromised.
28:43The after-engine room held eight feet of water.
28:46The after-fire room was completely flooded.
28:49The forward-fire room had six feet.
28:51Only the forward engine room remained dry.
28:54And seawater was seeping through damaged gasket seals.
28:58Engineering teams worked to shore the damaged bulkheads.
29:01They used mattresses, wood planking, anything to slow the water ingress.
29:06The pumps were offline.
29:08No power meant no mechanical pumping.
29:11Bucket brigades formed.
29:12Men passed water topside in five-gallon containers.
29:16Primitive.
29:17Exhausting.
29:18Effective enough to slow the flooding.
29:21At 20.06, lookouts spotted running lights approaching from the south.
29:25USS Shannon.
29:26Destroyer mine layer DM-25.
29:29She had received Erin Ward's distress transmission before communications failed.
29:34Shannon approached cautiously.
29:36The ocean was dark.
29:38Debris fields from sunken ships created navigation hazards.
29:41Japanese aircraft might still be in the area.
29:44Shannon's captain brought his ship alongside at 21.06.
29:48Shannon's crew rigged towing cables.
29:51The procedure normally took 30 minutes with proper equipment and lighting.
29:54In darkness, with damaged ships and exhausted crews, it took 90 minutes.
30:00The towline was 3-inch steel cable, rated for 40 tons of strain.
30:05Erin Ward displaced 2,400 tons.
30:08But most of that weight was now water.
30:11The ship had taken on approximately 1,650 tons of seawater.
30:15Her displacement exceeded 4,000 tons.
30:19The towline would hold.
30:21Probably.
30:21At 22.37, Shannon began towing.
30:25Speed, 4 knots.
30:28Distance to Karamaretto, 48 nautical miles.
30:32Estimated time of arrival, 12 hours.
30:34If the weather held.
30:36If the towline held.
30:38If Erin Ward didn't capsize.
30:40The ship's metacentric height had dropped to approximately 1 foot.
30:45Metacentric height measured stability.
30:471 foot meant the ship would capsize if she took on another 200 tons of water.
30:53A single large wave could do it.
30:55A shift in the flooded compartments could do it.
30:58The ship balanced on the edge of physics.
31:00She floated because her crew refused to let her sink.
31:04Carl Clark collapsed against the bulkhead at 23.15.
31:08He had been fighting fires and rescuing wounded for 4 hours straight.
31:13His left arm was swollen.
31:15His face was burned.
31:16His lungs ached from smoke inhalation.
31:19A corpsman found him.
31:21Examined him.
31:22Diagnosed the fractured collarbone.
31:24Fashioned a sling from a torn shirt.
31:27Told Clark to rest.
31:28Clark rested for 10 minutes.
31:30Then, he returned to damage control rounds.
31:33The night was only half over.
31:35Shannon was towing them through enemy waters.
31:38Japanese submarines operated in this area.
31:41Enemy aircraft might return at dawn.
31:43The ship needed every hand working to stay afloat.
31:47And Carl Clark wasn't going to stop until they reached port.
31:50Or until the ship went down.
31:55Dawn arrived at 0547 on May 4th, 1945.
32:00USS Shannon continued towing Aaron Ward northwest toward Caramaretto.
32:04The tow line held through the night.
32:07The weather remained calm.
32:09Swells stayed below 3 feet.
32:11Aaron Ward's list had increased to 11 degrees.
32:14The additional 2 degrees came from water shifting in the flooded compartments as the ship moved through the ocean.
32:1911 degrees was survivable.
32:2215 degrees would trigger progressive flooding.
32:25The ship remained balanced on that narrow margin.
32:27At 0620, Shannon's lookouts spotted Caramaretto anchorage.
32:32The protective harbor held 43 damaged ships awaiting repair or scuttling.
32:37Aaron Ward would be number 44.
32:40Shannon maneuvered through the anchored vessels.
32:42Brought Aaron Ward to a designated repair berth.
32:45Secured her with multiple anchor points at 0732.
32:4913 hours after the attack began.
32:52The ship had survived.
32:54Commander Sanders assembled his remaining officers on the damaged bridge.
32:57They conducted formal casualty accounting.
33:0019 men killed outright during the attack.
33:036 died of wounds during the night.
33:0517 missing, presumed dead in flooded compartments or blown overboard.
33:10Total dead, 42.
33:12One officer lost.
33:14Lieutenant Junior Grade Robert McKay, Supply Corps.
33:1750 sailors seriously wounded.
33:204 officers seriously wounded.
33:22Dozens more with minor injuries.
33:24Total casualties, 96 men.
33:2629% of the crew.
33:28The damage assessment took 3 hours.
33:31All engine spaces flooded except forward engine room.
33:34That compartment was still taking water.
33:36All boilers offline.
33:37All boilers offline.
33:38Main propulsion destroyed.
33:40Steering gear destroyed.
33:42Radar systems destroyed.
33:43Radio communications destroyed.
33:46Primary electrical distribution destroyed.
33:48Auxiliary power destroyed.
33:50Hull breaches in 17 locations.
33:52Fire damage to 40% of interior spaces.
33:56Structural damage between frames 72 and 170.
34:00The ship was a floating wreck.
34:02But she was floating.
34:04At 1100 hours, a radio message arrived via Shannon's communication system.
34:09Source.
34:10Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief Pacific Ocean Areas.
34:15Message text.
34:16We all admire a ship that can't be licked.
34:19Congratulations on your magnificent performance.
34:21Sanders read the message to the crew over Shannon's public address system.
34:26Some men cheered.
34:27Most were too exhausted.
34:29Sanders began writing commendation reports that afternoon.
34:33Navy regulations require documentation of exceptional performance within 72 hours of action.
34:38Sanders wrote recommendations for 17 men.
34:41He documented Mount 51's manual operation kill.
34:45He documented the damage control team's fire suppression.
34:48He documented the engineering crew's flood control efforts.
34:51He documented Carl Clark's actions in detail.
34:54Entered burning ammunition locker.
34:57Extinguished fire that would have destroyed ship.
34:59Continued damage control operations with fractured collarbone.
35:03Rescued four wounded men.
35:05Worked through entire night without rest.
35:08Sanders recommended Clark for the Navy Cross.
35:11The citation was specific.
35:13The actions were verified by multiple witnesses.
35:15The recommendation went up the chain of command.
35:18It never came back down.
35:20Carl Clark was an E-6 steward first class.
35:23One of six African American sailors aboard Aaron Ward.
35:26In 1945, the United States Navy was segregated.
35:31Black sailors served primarily in steward ratings.
35:34Officer's servants.
35:35Mess attendants.
35:36Support roles.
35:37Not combat roles.
35:39Not heroes.
35:40The official policy was separate but equal.
35:42The unofficial reality was different.
35:45Sanders followed up on his recommendation three times.
35:48June 19th.
35:50July 2nd.
35:51August 8th.
35:52No response.
35:53No acknowledgement.
35:55No award.
35:56He consulted with his executive officer.
35:58They reviewed the documentation.
36:00Everything was correct.
36:01The actions were witnessed.
36:03The justification was clear.
36:05But the award didn't come.
36:06On September 28th, 1945, USS Aaron Ward was decommissioned.
36:12Her damage was too severe for economical repair.
36:16The Navy had a surplus of destroyers with the war ending.
36:19Repair costs exceeded replacement costs.
36:22The decision was administrative.
36:24The ship that survived six kamikaze hits would be scrapped.
36:28Sanders made one final attempt to secure Clark's recognition.
36:32He spoke directly with the reviewing board.
36:34The response was unofficial, unrecorded, but clear.
36:39The Navy was not prepared to award the Navy Cross to a steward.
36:43It would raise questions.
36:45It would create precedent.
36:47It would complicate the racial dynamics of the service.
36:50Sanders did what he could within regulations.
36:53He gave Clark 30 days additional leave.
36:55He ensured Clark received transfer orders to shore duty.
36:59He made certain Clark would never deploy to sea again.
37:02Small compensations.
37:04Inadequate compensations.
37:06But the only actions available to a commander operating within a segregated military system.
37:11In July 1946, USS Aaron Ward was sold for scrap.
37:16The ship that wouldn't die was cut apart in a New Jersey salvage yard.
37:20Her anchor was preserved.
37:22It now stands in Elgin, Illinois, a memorial to the ship and crew.
37:27Carl Clark remained in the Navy.
37:29Served 22 years total.
37:31Retired as Chief Petty Officer.
37:33Settled in Menlo Park, California.
37:36He never spoke about the ammunition locker.
37:38Never discussed the night Aaron Ward nearly sank.
37:41He carried the memory silently for 66 years.
37:44And then, in 2011, someone finally listened.
37:512011, Menlo Park, California.
37:54Carl Clark was 95 years old.
37:56He enrolled in a writing class taught by Sheila Dunick.
38:00The assignment was simple.
38:01Write about your experiences during World War II.
38:04Most students wrote about basic training.
38:07Deployment voyages.
38:08Letters from home.
38:09Clark wrote three paragraphs about an ammunition locker fire aboard USS Aaron Ward.
38:15Then he stopped.
38:16He had never told the full story before.
38:19Dunick read the paragraphs.
38:20She recognized immediately that this was not a standard war memory.
38:24She asked questions.
38:26Clark answered briefly.
38:27Factually.
38:28Without emotion.
38:29Six kamikaze hits.
38:31Ammunition locker fire.
38:33Broken collarbone.
38:34Four men carried to safety.
38:35No award.
38:36No recognition.
38:38Sixty-six years of silence.
38:40Dunick contacted Congresswoman Anna Eshoo.
38:43Provided Clark's account.
38:44Included the basic facts.
38:46Eshoo's office began investigating.
38:48They requested Clark's service records from the National Archives.
38:51They found Commander Sanders' original Navy Cross recommendation, dated May 7, 1945.
38:57They found the documentation of Clark's actions, verified by multiple witnesses.
39:02They found no record of the recommendation being processed.
39:05No record of denial.
39:07No record of acknowledgement.
39:08The paperwork had simply disappeared into the bureaucracy of a segregated military.
39:13Eshoo contacted the few surviving Aaron Ward crew members.
39:16Most were dead.
39:18The ship had been decommissioned 66 years earlier.
39:21The crew had scattered.
39:22But one officer remained alive.
39:24Retired Captain Lefteris Lavrakis.
39:26He had been a junior officer aboard Aaron Ward.
39:29Gun captain on Mount 41.
39:31He remembered May 3, 1945.
39:34He remembered the kamikaze attacks.
39:37He remembered Carl Clark.
39:39Lavrakis provided written testimony.
39:41Confirmed Clark's actions.
39:42Stated that Clark had saved the ship.
39:45Stated that the crew knew it at the time.
39:47Stated that the failure to recognize Clark was an injustice.
39:50Lavrakis was 92 years old when he wrote the testimony.
39:53He concluded with a simple request.
39:55Please hurry.
39:57Carl and I are both in our 90s.
39:59We need to correct this injustice for Carl.
40:02Eshoo submitted a formal request to Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, in November 2010.
40:08She requested expedited review.
40:11The Navy conducted its investigation.
40:13Verified the facts.
40:15Confirmed the original recommendation.
40:17Approved the award.
40:18On January 17, 2012, 66 years and 8 months after the attack,
40:24Carl Clark received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal
40:28with combat distinguishing device.
40:31The ceremony took place at Moffett Field in Mountain View, California.
40:35Secretary Mabus presented the medal personally.
40:38He acknowledged the delay.
40:39Acknowledged the injustice.
40:41Acknowledged that Clark had risked his life for a nation
40:44that had not fulfilled its promise of freedom and justice for him.
40:48Clark accepted the medal.
40:49He was asked about the 66-year delay.
40:52His response was direct.
40:54He stated that it would not have looked good to say
40:56one black man saved the ship.
40:59Commander Sanders had tried to compensate with extra leave and shore duty.
41:03Small gestures within a broken system.
41:06But the official recognition had taken 66 years.
41:10Clark lived to receive it.
41:12Lavrakis lived to witness it.
41:14Both men were in their 90s.
41:16Both had waited most of their lives for justice.
41:18Carl Clark passed away on March 16, 2017.
41:23He was 100 years old.
41:25He had served 22 years in the Navy.
41:28He had saved USS Aaron Ward and 240 men from ammunition explosion.
41:33He had carried wounded sailors to safety with a broken collarbone.
41:37He had fought fires through an entire night while his ship died around him.
41:41And he had waited 66 years for his country to say thank you.
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42:03Stories about damage control sailors who saved lives with courage and determination.
42:08Real people.
42:09Real heroism.
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