Up on the main deck, they had what looked like mushroom vents
that would close off,
but they never had a chance to close them off.
When the ship turned over,
the water came in the vents through the whole ship.
The deck became the overhead, it just put us in an upside down position.
It took all your senses to figure out where you were.
About ten minutes after the attack started (the lights went out)
We were in there for about 36 hours.
We lost track of time.
Seaman 1/c James Bounds
Garlen Eslick sea 2/c
There was a Second Class Petty Officer. I can't remember his name now. He fell down the sloping deck and he either broke his leg or hurt it bad and he couldn't get up and he yelled for help, so another guy and I got him. We put him through the hatch and two guys above had a hold of him just as the ship completed its roll and caught him in the hatch.
The lights went out, we couldn't see anything and that was the last I remember until I came to myself. He was trapped in the hatch when it rolled.
Garlen Eslick sea 2/c