Russ (aka Mogami) versus Tris (aka TJ)

[Tristanjohn]

[font="Times New Roman"]Japanese bombers that came to Rangoon were given a rude reception.[/font]

[Tristanjohn]

[font="Times New Roman"]"They flew in without a single escort, as if we were asleep," said a military Rangoon source. "Our fighter cover chewed them up bad. I doubt they'll do that again."[/font]

[Tristanjohn]

[font="Times New Roman"]Numerous flights of Japanese bombers dropped lethal cargoes on the British fortress of Singapore. Casualties, however, were reported to be light.[/font]

[Tristanjohn]

[font="Times New Roman"]The Borneo port of Balikpapan was shelled by Japanese warships. "They'll be coming soon," said Dutch military officials. "We're bracing for them."[/font]

[Tristanjohn]

[font="Times New Roman"]8 January 1942

The Amercian destroyer Farragut was struck by a torpedo just southeast of Abemama Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. Navy authorities in Pearl Harbor said the ship was in no danger of sinking and was headed back to port under her own power. [/font]

[Tristanjohn]

[font="Times New Roman"]9 January 1942

Allied fighters engaged Japanese bombers and their escorts over the Malacca Strait north of the port of Medan in an effort to protect local shipping. A freighter was said to have been torpedoed during the battle.[/font]

[Tristanjohn]

[font="Times New Roman"]The Borneo port of Tarakan surrendered to the Japanese.

"The small garrison there had little hope of holding out against the enemy," said a Dutch military spokesman. "But they fought bravely until the end."[/font]

[Tristanjohn]

[font="Times New Roman"]The small Philippine port of Vigan on the north coast of Luzon was occupied by the Japanese. The town of Tuguegarao on the west coast of the island was also taken.[/font]

[Tristanjohn]

[font="Times New Roman"]10 January 1942

A Japanese troop transport was torpedoed about 100 miles southeast of the Borneo port of Tarakan.[/font]

[Tristanjohn]

[font="Times New Roman"]Strong Japanese naval forces invaded Tarawa Atoll last night. The only element to oppose this threat was a squadron of American PT-boats. The Japanese were met head-on.[/font]

[Tristanjohn]

[font="Times New Roman"]A dramatic radio dispatch from Amalgamated News correspondent Shep McCall, who happened to be on the scene, described the heroism he witnessed in the early dawn hours, and the determination of the brave young American men who drive these tiny lethal boats.

"I have never witnessed a more brave or stirring sight," read the transcript of his syndicated radio report.[/font]

[Tristanjohn]

[font="Times New Roman"]"The Japanese stood about two miles off the atoll. Our PTs went out to meet them in sections of two boats each. One of the enemy destroyers, hit by a torpedo, was obscured by a blinding flash, then a second PT-boat section raced in and struck her again, and a ball of fire lit-up the sky.[/font]

[Tristanjohn]

[font="Times New Roman"]"Our PTs looked like toy boats in a tub compared to the enemy's behemoths, but without exception they pressed the attack. Tracers from their 20mm guns drew lines through the night, and then a terrific explosion rocked the air as one of the Japanese battleships coughed up brilliant flames."[/font]

[Tristanjohn]

[font="Times New Roman"]"But this dedication to duty came at a bitter price. Already three or four of our sturdy little defenders had been sunk. The enemy's response was desperate. The fire from their ships was like a thousand drums beating together in hell."[/font]

[Tristanjohn]

[font="Times New Roman"]"But just as it appeared that the enemy would at last break through our thin veil of courageous defense, yet one more PT-boat section swerved through, in and around the maelstrom, and an instant later a second Jap destroyer erupted in a geyser of water and a sheet of flame. And then in a flash the other enemy battleship was set afire, raked as she was from stern to bow by our brave men's staccato-firing guns."[/font]

[Tristanjohn]

[font="Times New Roman"]"All this time the ground of the atoll was shaking underneath us from relentless thunder of shells. Out in the lagoon the seaplane tender Hulbert blew up in a mad explosion of angry orange light. The six-inch shore batteries resolutely returned the enemy's fire, and recorded several telling hits on a Japanese cruiser. Soldiers and support personnel at the base scrambled to find what cover they could. And in the aftermath, our casualties, not as bad as they might have been in the absence of those stalwart PTs, were silently mourned."[/font]

[Tristanjohn]

[font="Times New Roman"]11 January 1942

Japanese fighter planes and bombers attacked Tarawa and Makin Atolls. Amalgamated News correspondent Shep McCall reported over the radio from the scene.

"In the early morning hours, avenging Zeros from aircraft carriers offshore swooped in over the atoll and machine-gunned the PT-boat survivors from the previous night's battle. A hundred miles north Makin Atoll received the same attention. The damage wrought from these vicious attacks was severe."[/font]

[mogami]

Hi

[Tristanjohn]

[font="Times New Roman"]"Then enemy bombers arrived overhead. The freighter Vincent was hard struck and reduced to flames . . .[/font]

[Tristanjohn]

[font="Times New Roman"]". . . Hirondelle disappeared under a fountain of water as a torpedo slammed into her side . . . "[/font]