This was a newspaper article that was published in "The Reporter" (Newspaper) and a part of my grandpa's book.
Thomas Lane,
of Camby, also fought in the war, lived through a typhoon in the Philippines
and was at Bikini Island when the atomic bomb was tested.
He enlisted
in 1944 in the Navy and was assigned to the LSM 481. He served on that ship
through the war. Part of the time he was stationed in the Philippinies, which
is where he encountered the typhoon. He was strapped in his bunk for three days
because no one could walk around on the ship. After the Japanese surrender, his
ship was sent to Japan to help unload tanks for several weeks.
When he finished there, he was transfered
to the USS Rockbridge which was assigned to Bikini Island for several months.
Thomas
explained that the U.S. dropped one bomb from a plane and one was set off in
the hold of a ship. Animals had been placed on one ship for observation by
scientists. "Our job was to take the scientists in to check on the animals
and feed them," he said.
He remembers
the submarines, aircraft carriers, destroyers, and battleships which were
arranged in a two to three mile circle around the target battleship. He also
remembers that it was "awful" out there. The island itself was hot
and dry and there wasn't anything to do on it but play games and visit a
tavern. He said, "I didn't like their beer, so I didn't go ashore."
What was it
like to see an atomic bomb detonated?
"I'll
never forget that," he says flatly. "All of us sat on the deck with
our heads like this (covered by arms). But I looked up, right square at
it."
He said the
second detonation especially scared him. "There was a mountain of water.
You could see the ship going up in the middle of the water." Although his
ship was anchored 7-1/2 miles away, he said he could "look up and see
montrous water coming your way." He stayed in an area two or three weeks
after the test, then came home. After his discharge in 1947, he worked for
Bridgeport Brass for 32 years. He also worked as a carpenter for the Indiana
Boy's School in Plainfield for 11 years and then retired
