The Northside Sun from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 22

Rjge 12B THE NORTHSIDE SUN, JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI Thursday, July 27, 2000 OFFENDERS OF THE LAND Forrest North Northsider survives Kamikaze attack and typhoon aboard U.S.S. St. George Forrest North By VICE ADMIRAL MALCOLM W.CAGLE Special to the Sun FORREST NORTH grew up in Monroe, La I le attended Louisiana Tech University and was graduated with honors in 1941, receiving degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering. At the time of his graduation, most employment positions were wartime oriented, as Great Britain was at war with Germany. The most appealing offer he received at the time was with the Air Force Materiel Command, which offer he accepted.

1 le was assigned to a new aircraft engine plant being built by the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Mich. This plant was to build advanced 1800-2000 horsepower, double- row, radial 18 cylinder engines for bombers, fighters and Navy aircraft. I low then did he become a naval officer on a seaplane tender in the Pacific theater and a survivor of a Kamikaze attack? Read on! Production of aircraft engines for the United States Air Force and for those countries fighting Germany was vital. With the Imperial Japanese Navy's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, North wanted to be a part of the Allied Forces, in uniform, as did most young ablebodied men of the time. "No way," said the recruiters and the Army Materiel Command.

He was already involved in an "essential industry" and exempt from the draft Another year of interesting and productive engineering work passed before the Materiel Command would agree to his release. In the meantime he had become an important part of the production of thousands of vital aircraft engines for the U.S. Air Force, Great Britain and the Allies. Would the Navy take him now? Yes, they would, upon being released from the Air Force Materiel Command Finally they did say "yes." What followed was a commission as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy and the "90-day wonder" indoctrination at Fort Schuyler in New York.

velocity in excess of 120 knots, dangerous even to a large vessel. "At times there was the very real chance of structural failure or a roll past the safe limit (35 degrees). Many smaller vessels, barges, tugs and their personnel were lost The reasonably calm weather of the next day was a big relief. "Especially memorable to me was our rescue of the only survivor of a capsized seagoing tug. The U.S.

sailor had floated to safety on a large 30-foot wood timber. He was exhausted but safe. All his shipmates had been lost" SOME VS. servicemen with months and years of wartime service could now think of going home. Any ship (Navy or merchant vessel) would take back home those who could qualify for quick separation from military service.

Forrest North was one of them, He had the points and the combat service. "So I put in a request for the earliest transportation back to the U.S. I was ordered aboard a large U.S. merchant tanker to go home across the Pacific and through the Panama Canal to New Orleans. Once there, I'd be only 150 miles from Monroe, where my wife was waiting! "Alas, the tanker broke down in mid-Pacific with a major condenser failure.

We were dead in the water for 10 days until the crew was finally able to make repairs. As soon as I got ashore in New Orleans, I phoned Estelle." "Where are you?" she asked She then told me that the U.S.S. St George had arrived on the west coast 1 0 days before! Vice Admiral Malcolm W. Cagle, USN (Ret), served in WWII, the Korean and Vietnam wars. Graduated from Naval Academy, Class oj ''41, served for two and a half years on destroyer Overton, then became a naval aviator.

He commanded Fighter Squadron 88 USS Yorktown, later commanded VF-63, ammunition ship USS Suribachi (AE-21) and the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA 43). After pro motion to Rear Admiral, he commanded Task Force 71 off Vietnam; then became Chief of Naval Air Training in Pensacola, later Commander, Naval Education and Training in Pensacola. He wears the Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Medal (two), Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying' Cross and Air Medal He is married to Jane Spencer Cagle of Dallas, Texas and Jackson, Miss. They share homes in Jackson and Nelson County, Va.

Cagle has published three books, originated and published two service magazines of Gold" and and written numerous articles. and high-speed We saw the pilot's course change toward the St George. There was a PBM on the aft deck where the 50-ton crane was located. I le seemed to change course for the plane on the deck, but I thought he was aimed directly at me! At this time, all the St George's 20 mm, 40 mm and 5" guns were in action, as were those of about 20 other ships in the anchorage, all to no avail. Actually we were about as worried about exploding rounds from friendly forces as we were about the Kamikaze.

The action seemed to last an eternity, but was really over in less than a minute. "The dedicated and determined suicide pilot crashed into the St George at the base of the seaplane crane, a very solid spot The wings of the 'Tony," bombs and all, wrapped around the crane pedestal, and the bombs exploded outboard luckily for us. The engine deflected downward through three decks, killing three men, two of whom were PBM pilots, and injuring 20-30 other personnel. "The hull of the ship was undamaged, but the crane was put out of commissioa About 75 feet forward of the point of impact were 300,000 gallons of aviation gas!" After extensive repairs in dry dock at Guam, the St George steamed back to Saipan and joined the fleet of Admiral Chester Nimitz, who was CincPac. By now a great armada of B-29s was devastating Tokyo and other big Japanese cities.

THEN TWO NUCLEAR weapons were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki! "Steaming with the invasion fleet to Japan, the St George arrived off the village of Wakayama, about a week before the signing of the surrender. The officers, and later the ship's crew, were allowed to go ashore. Surprisingly, the villagers were friendly and put all their worldly goods on tables at the roadside for sale or barter. We made good use of the pre-printed invasion yen. The Japanese seemed confident that the Americans would not just take what they wanted, as most any other army would have.

"There was one sight I can't forget In that fishing village was a company of Japanese Imperial Marines every one well over six feet tall. They had turned in their arms, and there was no conflict, but the hostility in their eyes was quite obvious." With the end of the war, the St George returned to Okinawa and anchored in Buckner Bay, at which point the ship almost became a typhoon victim and did lose most of its anchored PBMs to the very rapidly developing storm. Though being in a typhoon was not a new experience for the St. George, this one was a real monster. Lt.

North, on bridge duty at sea, reported 80-foot waves, severe rolls and pitches and wind Saipan that the St George joined up with a squadron of PBMs, new models with the same R-2800 engines with which North was so familiar. The Air Officer, having no maintenance personnel familiar with the big engines, asked for North as his Assistant Air Officer finally in the right spot The St George moved south to a large reef area and set up air-sea search, rescue and similar operations in connection with the Philippines campaign. Three months of duty off a Jap-held island (Babelthuap, in the Palau group) wasn't much fun. Two Japanese midget subs in the area were troublesome, but were finally located and destroyed. Shortly thereafter, the mother sub ran head-on into the reef and exploded.

No more worries about subs, but it was lonesome. The St George's next move was to the Okinawa group of islands south of Japan proper. In a small group of islands (Kerama Retto) southwest of Okinawa, a week before the invasion of that island group, three seaplane tenders set up a major PBM operation (about 50 planes). At this time the Japanese Kamikaze effort was in full swing, with dozens of raids every day. The destroyers and destroyer escorts on the perimeter caught most of the deadly suicide planes.

The Kerama Retto area went to General Quarters 2 1 9 times in the first 30 days of our presence there. The PBM search and rescue operations were also in full swing, primarily to support the B-29 raids from Saipan and Tinian. ON MAY 5, 1945 the St George became a Kamikaze victim. "I was at my 5" gun forward when we saw the Kamikaze diving for us from about 3,000 feet. As determined later, the plane was a new model fighter, a "Tony," very modem controls, North was one of two officers out of the 100 in his class from Fort Schuyler to receive a sea duty assignment After an agonizing wait, his orders finally arrived.

He was ordered to the U.S.S. St. George, a large seaplane tender. A seaplane tender? What was that? And where was it? Actually, the St. George was a very new ship, recently completed in Bremerton, Wash, and now berthed at the Navy Yard in San Pedro, being outfitted with supplies, fuel, four 40 mm quad-mount gun emplacements, a 5" 38-caliber anti-aircraft cannon, 20-20 mm guns, and 300,000 gallons of aviation gasoline.

As a mother ship for patrol aircraft (PBM's), the ship carried large stores of aircraft parts, bombs, torpedoes and a supply of untested 5" 38-caliber proximity-fused rounds of ammo for the forward 5" cannon. It was hoped that these would be an effective weapon against the increasing usage of "Kamikaze" aircraft attacks the practice of Jap pilots committing suicide while directing bomb-laden aircraft against our surface ves- -sels. Finally arriving on board the St George, Lt North, experienced in aircraft engines was, in the Navy's wisdom, assigned to the gunnery department as the ship's Assistant Gunnery Officer, and Gunnery Officer for the forward 5" cannon. Following an exciting rescue of the crew of a downed PBY while on the way to Hawaii, the St George sailed for WestPac with stops at Eniwetok, Ulithi, other islands and finally Guam and Saipaa FROM SAIPAN and its sister island Tinian, our B-29s had begun to wreak havoc on the main Japanese islands. It was at THE TRAIN TRIP from home in Louisiana to New York was a novel experience for a young man in new officer's blues with one shiny stripe, on a train full of military personnel, some old hands.

The best thing to do seemed to be "Salute them all!" Indoctrination at Fort Schuyler was followed by intensive gunnery training at the Naval Gunnery School in Washington, D.C. Whatever happened to the expertise in aircraft engines? After 90 days of training in all types of arms, from the .45 caliber pistol to 16" battleship cannon, gunnery mounts, sights and I Elontrir. Pnmnm. If you purchased a life insurance policy from kUIIM falCUlllU WUIIIUaiiycp 1965 New England Life Insurance Company between JRoof Ceiling Fans l. Tntii IIpH WpniJirp 1981 and 1996, you will be affected by a class action lawsuit and may have certain legal rights you need to protect.

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