Oral History Interview with William J. Stewart, June 11, 1981 Page: 5
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5
convoy patrol, a bunch of airplanes came over us and
started dropping bombs on us. The captain would take
his glasses and look up, and when he saw the bombs start
coming down, why, he would make a hard left or right turn
and go the other direction. So forty-five planes missed
us,
I'm really getting ahead of my story here. This
event was after another run which we got into when they
didn't all miss us, But I'll go ahead with it and then
come back to it. This one had five or six ships in the
convoy. When the airplanes dropped the bombs on us and
all of this, they started heading for the convoy, and the
captain looked up and said, "They're going over there to
the convoy'" We'll have to protect them!" So he turned
and went right down through them, and we kept cheering
all the time. None of the convoy got hit.
Well, that was the big change. There were a lot
of men on there that were familiar with airplanes and
knew what bombs dropped on us was like. We all called,
"Captain, don't go that way! That's where it's hazardous."
But we were proud of our ability to fight the enemy off
and protect the convoy.
The Captain that you are referring to is, of course,
Captain Rooks. Awhile ago you mentioned that the crew
was anxious to do battle with the Japanese when you wentMarcello:
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Marcello, Ronald E. & Stewart, William J., 1920-. Oral History Interview with William J. Stewart, June 11, 1981, book, June 11, 1981; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1944633/m1/7/?q=%22~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Oral History Program.