"On February 7, the Marblehead limped into Tjilatjap. The dock was too small to accommodate the entire ship, so only the bow and a portion of the amidships section could be worked upon. Sufficient temoprary repairs were accomplished to enable the Marblehead to proceed to a British base on the Island of Ceylon. The rudder still could not be used on this portion of the homeward trip."

So she "limped into Tjilatjap." And on the way put out two fires. And kept the bucket-brigade going to keep her from swamping. And dodged Jap scouting planes as well as she could. And the Skipper spent 60 hours on the bridge without relief. (Try just staying awake that long!) And then they got her into dry-dock at Tjilatjap. As easy as that. A tiny floating drydock that would barely lift her nose enough to let welded patches be placed over her gaping holes.. "Every time the tide changed, we thought she'd slip out," the skipper recalled. "Soon as she left drydock she filled up again, but the pumps-were able to take care of her." So she went on to Ceylon. Still unable to use her rudder. But everything was soft and easy now, by comparison with what she's been through already. Sure, soft and easy."Further repairs were made at Ceylon, putting the Marblehead in condition to make a 4,400 mile trip to the southern coast of Africa. There, still further repairs were made and the Marblehead was able to proceed to an East coast port of the United States."That tells it in forty-five words. Two sentences. One short paragraph. About eleven thousand miles. Just routine. The Marblehead was built to sail the seas, all of them, and across them. What if she had been hit a few times? Patch her up a bit, and she could go back to doing her job. Her routine job.She's in home port now, being repaired and refitted so she can go back again to that job. And the Navy Department has stretched one of its strictest rules a little, so that the names of some of her officers and men can be mentioned. Not all of them, of course. Not even all the heroes. Just some of them. "Nothing has impressed me so much," said the Marblehead's skipper, "as the continued cheerfulness of this crew. They were called upon to work day and night. They worked, ate, and--when they could find a place to lie down, and time, they slept -- in their oil-soaked clothing. There was neither time nor fresh water for bathing. There were numerous acts of individual heroism which contributed much to the rescue of the wounded and the saving of the ship. Some of the men who performed these acts are known. The identity of others has never been determined. The people of this country can well be as proud as I am of the courage and accomplishments of the Marblehead's crew."Proud? Sure they're proud, Skipper. But not the same way you are. Theirs is a good pride, a fine pride, and a useful pride, too, because it''s helping the men in the shops and the factories to work a little harder and produce a little more to help with this war we're fighting. But it isn't the pride of a Navy man in the Navy crew of a Navy ship. That isn't their fault. You see, it takes a Navy man to understand that kind of pride. There's so much more to it than just glory. The man in the street can call the story of the Marblehead a saga. It's all of that. Or maybe an epic. It's that too. But to a Navy man it's more than either a saga or an epic. It's a Navy tradition.The names the department released ? Oh, yes. There's the skipper, of course. Arthur G. Robinson,'13, Captain, U.S.N. Born in Brooklyn, now lives in Washington D.C., when he's ashore.And William B. (Bill) Goggins,'20, Comdr., U.S.N., who was Executive officer. He suffered severe and painful burns, and was relieved of duty, but kept coming up to the bridge, begging for something to do, until the Skipper had to order him below.And Nicholas B. (Nick) VanBergan, '21, Lt. Comdr., U.S.N., who took over after Bill Goggins was wounded. "He was a tower of strength," said the skipper.And Martin J. Drury,'25, Lt. Cdr., U.S.N., the Damage Control officer, who freed the jammed rudder and brought the fires under control.And Hepburn A. Pearce,'31, Lieutenant, U.S.N., who took charge of a repair party and aided in checking the spread of the fires.And Francis G. Blasdel, 37, Lieut. (jg), U.S.N., who entered burning areas to find out what repairs were necessary.And Lieutenant Commander Frank R. Wildebusch, the ship's surgeon whose "hunch" saved the lives of the wounded in his care.And Harvey M. Anderson, Chief Boatswain; Elliott P. Annis, Machinist; Herman E. Hock, Chief Boatswain's Mate; Frederick H. Bitter, Chief Elecrician's Mate: Hale T. McCully, Chief Shipfitter; Paul P. Martinek, Turret Captain; Dale L. Johnson, Machinist's Mate; Matin Moran, Metalsmith; Lester J. Barre, Quartermaster, 2nd class; Claude Becker, Seaman 1st class; and Fock Liang, the Chinese cook, who without being told, stepped forward to act as nurse.

That's a pretty good bunch of names. Robinson, Goggins, Van Bergen, Drury, Pearce, Blasdel, Wildebusch, Anderson, Annis, Hock, Bitter, McCully, Martinek, Johnson, Moran, Barre, Becker, Liang. All good Americans. And all Navy. Officers and men of the Marblehead.

This piece was taken from COUGAR SCREAM, VOL. II Saturday, 1 August, 1942 NO. .XI; Published Weekly Aboard The U. S. S. Washington For The Good of The Ship And The Service, Printers - Noble. C.W.. Chief Printer; Doeppe. L. F., Prtr. 3c; Schoemaker. E. K., Sea. 1c; Rollins. J. W.. Jr., Prtr. 1c; Hartmann. A. G.. Sea. 1c; Miller, A. J.. Sea. 1c

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