 Words at War I will tell you my story The story of a lady who died Hey, listen to the old lady fellas some gag, huh? I am the submarine tender USS Canopus Known to my men as the old lady or rather I was the USS Canopus For now, I'm dead on the day that the tan fell On April 9th, 1942 I was proudly sent to the bottom by my own men Sent to my death Forever Listen old lady, don't make us laugh I'm one of your boys One of the guys who helped send you to the bottom that day off the tan I died in a Jap prison camp When a man dies, nobody can bring him back But if you think the United States Navy has let you die Listen old lady, don't make me laugh Broadcasting company in cooperation with the Council on Books in War Time presents another in the Distinguished Series Words at War Grammatizing the most important books to come out of the present great world conflict Tonight we bring to life an excerpt from an outstanding new book Written from official sources by two officers of the United States Naval Reserve The book is battle report Pearl Harbor to Coral Sea by Commander Walter Kerrig and Lieutenant Wellburn Kelly Our dramatization tonight concerns a little known story of the Navy's part in the heroic but ill-fated battle to defend Baton and Corregidor It centers around the gallant submarine tender USS Canopus, the old lady to her men And that weird but wonderful collection of seagoing land fighters who have now entered our nation's history and legend as the foot sailors of Baton I am the USS Canopus, the old lady to my men, wherever they may be I lie here now underneath the waters between Marovellis and Corregidor Near the outer entrance to Manila Bay But even in death I'm happy But listen, that's the Navy shelling the Japanese on the coast of Luzon And listen, that's General MacArthur and his men They've all come back to the Philippines They have returned But I can remember back to the time when the only guns fired in the Philippines were aimed at us, not fired by us I can remember back to the time when we, my men and I, heard a message broadcast on the day that will live in infamy And I can remember in the days that immediately followed how the tension mounted among my officers and men For they soon knew, all of them, that we had been picked out for something special Nobody would admit it at first as we watched all the other ships of the Asiatic fleet put out to sea, leaving us behind But we knew, we knew we had to stay and tend our submarines until the Japs made it too hot for the subs to stay in the Manila area But the word was passed that we would have to stay and take it, even after our subs were gone Nobody wanted to believe it No, no, they couldn't do that to us They couldn't Maybe tied up here in the middle of a wall like a sitting duck But if we get knocked off the old ladies going down with our decks cleaned, see? Oh, good morning, Mr. Goodall Good morning, Chief Nice weather we're having, but just a week before Christmas Yes, sir it is, hot as a fox, though Not like a week before Christmas, back stateside Oh, Mr. Goodall Yes, Chief Well, sir, you know I've been on this tub for a long time Off and on ever since the Navy took her over from the grace line back in 21 Yes, I know, you're practically a plank owner Yes, sir, and I'm pretty proud of the old lady I know that too She's a happy ship, Chief Yes, sir, and always was Why I remember when she first joined the fleet Guys used to try to kid me about her name They'd say, hey, sailor, what ship you're of? Are you on that USS Canopener? I know, I guess we've all been kidded about it And I seem to remember that you've had some arguments about the old lady, Chief Well... Let's see, it seems I heard about one down in Guantanamo Well, sir, he spoke with disrespect about the old lady, didn't he, sir? Call to the can opener now, didn't he? I never did hear any details, Chief As I got it, officially speaking, that is It was just a friendly discussion between friends And after the discussion, you volunteered to buy your friend A set of false teeth Seems he ran into a door or something I'm proud of the old lady, sir That's what I want to talk to you about I know, Chief, I'm the executive officer And everybody thinks I know all the answers Go ahead Well, sir, Mr. Goodall, the war's been going on for 10 days now Here we are still tied up in Manila The old lady's a fightin' ship, sir Places at sea, not at a dock in Manila She should be on... The old man, old chief, and I feel the same way But the skipper's one on this ship, Chief And on the old lady, everybody carries out orders Understand? Aye, aye, sir With your permission, sir, nobody's questioning the old man's orders We'll all follow him, even if he's headed straight for the bottom of Manila Bay Yes, I was the ship and they were the men And together we were one As the days passed, Japan's aviators Plainer and planer That Manila and Manila Bay Could not be held with the American forces present The submarines attached to me Had to submerge in the bay during daylight hours Coming up only at night But this couldn't last We were tied up next to submarine headquarters And on Christmas Eve, the Japs came over And gave us their full attention The Japs hit sub-headquarters Next to where we were tied up My decks and side plates were spattered with shrapnel After it was all over Commander Sackett, my skipper Sent for Lieutenant Commander Goodall Sent for me, Captain? Yes, half, sit down Not a very pleasant Christmas Eve, sir I'm afraid half December 24th, 1941 Will never linger in my memory as Christmas Eve I'm glad to see, though, the crew seems to be celebrating Yes, I feel I should tell you, sir, that they're Well, they're all restless about our situation, they Damage reports show the ship didn't get hurt too badly today Huge shrapnel holes here and there No serious casualties, thank God I called you in half to tell you to make the ship ready to get on the way Captain, that's why, sir, that's the best Christmas present the crew could get They don't mind the Japs, but they want to be all the way they can fight back Wait, half wait, I know how the men felt, how you felt But a war going on, they had to be tied up doing no fighting on their own Not only that, sir, they've seen all the other ships go out The Houston, the Langley, the Trinity, the Harlem, all the destroyers Why so we're the only ship of any size left in the Manila area I know, half, and we've got to stay here But, sir, our submarines They're leaving us today After the bombing, they can't stay in Manila Actually, sir, but they'll need a tender to take care of them They'll be taken care of by another subtender They'll be here and cared for them as long as we could Now it's too late for us to get out We could try, sir, but men are all for it I know, they'd like to make a running fight to get out No ships ever had a better crew But the Japs are in too much force to the south Besides, we've got another job to do here in the Manila area Aye, aye, sir, I'll give the order to prepare the ship for getting on the way Before you go, half, come over here and take a look out this port Overtaught Manila Rather a fireworks display, isn't it? It's not a pleasant one, sir That means Manila is now an open city Right The army's burning all the supplies, it couldn't get out But, sir, the troops on Bhutan In a bad way Not cut off yet, but they'll need all the help they can get Well, we've still got the Kanopas And I think the old lady might be able to lend a hand Now we'll find a spot over at the tip of Bhutan Malavelis would be a good place, I should say We'll hide the ship as best we can When we up anchor, sir, the crew will think we're headed out to sea Shall I tell them? I think you know how I feel about that, Hap We're both sailors We'd rather be out taking our chances with the fleet Tell the men that if we're ever so ordered We'll all go out of here together We'll take the old lady out And we'll take her out fighting My men were happy when they got the word that sometimes Maybe sometimes They'd have the chance to take me out to sea Where we felt we all belonged Meanwhile, we had a job to do Backing up the boys on Bhutan But I think the men knew that they didn't have much of a chance And I knew The ships have a feeling about these things too We knew all the time Even when we eagerly tuned in for those rosy and optimistic broadcasts That came back from the States Telling us how splendidly we were doing in the Philippines We all knew I think Even as my men walked me close to shore near Maravellis Harbour Between Corregador and the tip of the town And set to work at camouflage To hide me from prying Japanese eyes Drink some from the bow down to the bridge And make it artistic like You said it, son Us, a bunch of fighting seamen Us dressin' her up like she was headed for a cheap, sandy night dance Some war How's it going? Mr. Goodall tells me you're not happy about it You think the Japs will spot us, eh? If they don't captain, they're bliner than some folks used to think they were Before Pearl Harbor Any suggestions? We've done everything we can to hide the old lady captain We used all the net and green paint, we could lay in hands on But captain, you see this cyclist right back of us Yes, there's nothing we can do about that Of course there isn't But you see, if Japs planes fly over Corregador And then head this way Where they're bound to see us Outline against the cliff And that's with camouflage or no camouflage Yes, I know They bombed us a week ago Yeah, this time captain I hope we've done a better camouflage job You don't sound too optimistic But I think we'll soon find out, chief Mr. Goodall Sound General Quarters They've been taking the dressing station Get every care you can give them Now, as to the ship The hull's all along the side, sir There's one big hull through the main deck, sir One bomb struck the top of the smoke pipe and exploded All exposed areas were damaged by shrapnel The bow is dished in for us, sir And there are several hulls below the waterline The ship is taking water There's already a sharp list She's healing over on the side I've started the pumps and repair parties Tell the repair parties to seal up every hull that's taking water half Stop the pumps I know, I know Chief, how much work is the army sending us? Not all we can handle, captain Looks like everything they bust up on batan They send it in to us Gun mechanisms, engines, tank fittings Airplane propellers Why, yesterday an army dentist Asked us to build some fancy mouth bridgeway And? Why, captain, we build it for him, naturally A man can't fight unless he can eat And a man can't eat unless he's got a good set of crockery Well, as I said, gentlemen It's obvious we can't hide the canopas from the Japs We pride that and fail If the Japs bomb us again, our machine shots may be wrecked And the boys on batan need the stuff our shots turn out Now I have a plan If it works, the Japs won't bother us again But what is it, captain? The Japs may do things that seem strange to us, gentlemen But even the Japs are not silly enough to drop bombs on a ship That's already been bombed and sunk Bombed and sunk? But captain, you don't mean... I don't intend to scuttly, old lady Of course, my plan may not work, but we've got to try it Now, let's see When is the Japs photo reconnaissance plane do over on his regular flight? Photo Joe from Tokyo Let's see I make it just two hours, sir And he's never more than five minutes off Two hours, and we've got to get busy When photo Joe comes over again The old lady's going to look the very way she's probably already been described In Japanese propaganda A few flight headquarters for Mosa Acknowledge? Japanese Imperial Flight Headquarters for Mosa You may report, please Now, flying over US Navy's submarine tender conopus Between Corregidor and Marvellous Manila Bay Ship is listed over on-site Bad list Deck is shambles of wreckage All top-side wrecked Large holes in deck Smoke pouring from holes She is no more US Navy's submarine tender conopus is Destroyed to pieces Destroyed to pieces Now, the Japs love that expression And how many times they've used it to tell their people That our fleet was no more But I was not destroyed to pieces I, the USS Conopus Was very much alive How about up there, chief? Has photo Joe gone? Head is safe at Tokyo, Captain Bright eye and a bushy tail And lying and bragging all the way All right, man You can put those smudge parts out I'll leave all the wreckage topside just as it is And don't do anything to take the list off the ship If the Japs think we're finished All the better for us Maybe we can catch up with our work for the men on batan Man, the Bridget would like to see you, sir Bridget? Frank Bridget of Pat Wington? Ten planes have gone south with the Navy ships The man the Bridget stayed behind, sir, like the conopus Well, show him in Yes, sir, come right in, sir Hello, Frank Good to see you, Sacko Well, what goes, Frank? Have the Japs broken our lines on batan? Oh, no, nothing that serious, yet Our lines are holding, but that's just about all They're getting weaker every day I'm worried about what might happen behind our lines What do you mean? Well, as you know, the Army has stabilized the front on batan about 20 miles north of there Yeah, I do The machine shops of the conopus Well, they're humming night and day Forging arms and repairing equipment Right, but between here and the Army's lines Well, there's very little to prevent the Japs from landing And if they do, why, they'll cut off the men on batan Yes, yes, I see what you mean Well, Frank, what can be done about it? What can the conopus do? You've only let us know I knew you'd feel that way about it Well, Admiral Rockwell and General Wayne Wright have ordered me to form a defense battalion Sort of a, well, a naval defense battalion Sort of sea-going land fighters But, Frank, well, you get the men They just don't exist Every man the Army's got is desperately needed on Corregidor of batan Well, I've got about 150 sailors, ground crewmen that were left behind when the planes of Pat Wing 10 fought their way south Yes, but only 150 men Yes, that's only a few, I know But I've got another hundred sailors that were left with nothing to do when the ammo dump at Cavite was blasted off the map And, well, I was hoping to get the conopus A hundred or two But, Frank, these men are sailors They've had no training in land tactics Ah, but I thought of that, too You see, I've got about a hundred unassigned Marines So, we'll train our sailors as land fighters That is, if the Japs will just give us time Well, how many men do I get from the conopus? Hmm, leave me short-handed Well, I'll let you have 130 Good And, Frank, you might pass the word that the conopus has never yet turned down a call for help and never will That was what all of my men thought of me and felt about me from the skipper on down A ship is sensitive about such things and a ship is a proud ship only when she and her men are one But it was amusing to watch my men in training on the drill field they set up a shore My executive officer, Goodall was second in command and the chief he finally broke down and confessed somewhat ashamed that he'd once done a hitch in the army so they made him a drill master The sailors only had white uniforms so they dyed them in coffee grounds The uniforms came out of bright yellow But finally the chief got the sailors whipped into some kind of shape with the help of the Marines and they set off on their first defensive maneuvers What do the Jairies do as they do? They're not doing too badly, chief I wonder, looks smart, Mr. Goodall Of course they haven't had much training but one of the army was to see them in them yellow uniforms every one with a different kind of gun Well, the army had never stopped laughing Look at them yellow uniforms a bunch of yellow perils Well, the army on the tan hasn't got much to laugh about, chief Things are looking very grim Yeah, no, Mr. Goodall They decide to land along in here somewhere and cut them off on the tan from the rear Well, let's hope that doesn't happen at least until this outfit learns a little more about land war Chief, chief Looks like caliber Japanese stuff Yeah, we'll soon find out, Mr. Goodall because here comes an army close to look out and he's losing no time Hey, Joe, stop up a bit, bud What's that racket up ahead? The nips, they've landed I've got to get the word to the army GHQ Why do you swap juggies and gyrines? This is what we didn't get a chance to train for Let's go! Someday their full story will be told A story of five days of the weirdest and most unorthodox fighting on record The Japanese were picked men well trained in land warfare They knew that in breaking through the enemy's lines you first located the position of the enemy's reserves then you attacked and the reserves weren't but of course that was the joke The men who had prod my decks the men from the Canopus and the other sailors and marines they didn't have any reserves and there were a lot of orthodox rules of land warfare which they didn't know anything about had never heard They only knew that their naval textbook said attack and destroy on the third day Mr. Goodall The Japs have infiltrated us they've sneaked men between our lines they're behind us Why are you so excited about it? Do something about it Do something? Look Mr. Goodall I'm not trying to tell you how to run this war but I've had some experience in land maneuvers If the enemy outflanks you or gets behind your lines you're supposed to retreat That's one of the rules I read it in the book Send some men back there and clean out those Japs This was strange warfare and the Japs didn't understand it This kind of warfare worried the Japs In fact one Nipponese officer sat down and wrote of his complete bewilderment The Americans are using a new type of suicide squad They wear bright yellow uniforms They thrash about and make a plenty of noise When they reach open space they sit down on a stump and light a cigarette talking to each other in loud voices Then when we move they shoot It is very difficult most difficult to combat these methods Such tactics are a little short of insane Foot sailors not only held the Japs they began to push them back never allowing the enemy to do the damage for which he'd been put ashore At the end of five days the foot sailors fewer in number all tired many wounded were relieved by the gallant Filipino scouts the Japs were pushed back into the sea Perhaps it is yet too early to pass a judgment but there's a chance a very good chance mind you that the foot sailors and marines kept the tan from falling by days and even weeks but of course the end was only postponed we all had known it for some time and on April 9th 1942 Commander Sackett called all the officers and men together on my decks the retreating army was destroying its supplies and the tan and the Japs were advancing ever victorious All right men this is the end for us and the old lady were finished here I told you earlier today we would be on our own as soon as the army surrendered on the tan I told you that because we all know that Karegador's overcrowded and already on short rations however I've just received later word from GHQ on Karegador they've decided to take just two units one unit's an army outfit the other is the naval forces at Malavales the officers and men of the USS Canopus but the ships are the old lady shall we blow her up where she lies? We will not the old lady still got steam in the boilers she's going out of here under her own power we'll give her the decent burial she deserves in deep water All right men a song a goodbye for the old lady Eternal father strong to say whose arms are the fine the restless way the ocean deep in on a pointed live escape all here part of my story I the submarine tender USS Canopus known to my men as the old lady I'm dead buried beneath the waters between Karegador and Bataan Listen old lady this is the chief I'm dead see I died in the job prison came down I'm in the now but you dead don't make me laugh Yes chief as I lie here underneath the waters of Manila Bay I am dead dead and gone forever Yeah well listen to what it says here in this book a book called battle report I'll read it but was this true was it true that there would never be another canopus hell no it was not true said the navy department although perhaps not officially in these words the old lady was too good a ship to die there would be a new canopus bigger faster stronger and the gods of the sea being kind almost as stout hearted and true as the old lady herself that's what it says in the book and I can tell you old lady a new canopus is in the works the navy's promise is being kept the name canopus will live forever tonight on words at war we've brought you a dramatization of excerpts from the book entitled battle report by commander water kerrig and lieutenant wellburn kelly the adaptation of his book was written by lieutenant kelly commander and the production was under the direction of anton m. leader next week words at war will present the radio dramatization of faith of our fighters by captain elwood c. nance this series of programs is brought to you in cooperation with the council on books in wartime by the national broadcasting company and the independent radio stations associated with the nbc