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Published on 08/07/1995 All articles from this issue

BILL HENDERSON'S ESCAPE FROM THE SEA

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By Mary Cristy

Los Altos resident William C. Henderson, World War II veteran, author and retiree,is visibly moved when he speaks of the sinking of his ship in the dark, oil- slicked waters of Kula Gulf.

Today, unsinkable Bill is virtually unflappable. "When you live through something like that you know for the rest of your life that every day is a gift and you're not bothered by small problems."

He has compiled a book in the voices of the survivors who relate their individual experiences during the sinking, their ordeal in the shark-infested waters of the South Pacific, and their ultimate rescue by embattled destroyers that took time, often at the risk of their own safety, to pluck their comrades-in-arms from the sea.

"ESCAPE FROM THE SEA" presents their stories and the U.S.S. Helena's in graphic detail, and represents Bill's heartfelt tribute to his shipmates, living and dead. "There is a camaraderie among men who have fought together that is like no other, and only those who have experienced it can know the depth of feeling that comes with it."

The Helena engaged in 13 battles, beginning with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, and ending in 1943 with the action at Kula Gulf, where three Japanese torpedoes dealt a death blow to the ship and 194 crewmen. Bill missed death when a fourth torpedo, aimed at his section of the ship, failed.

"It was a dud, and I was lucky," he muses. The young seaman removed his shoes and paused to salute the flag before obeying orders to "Abandon ship!" and slip into the water, where, bouyed by a kapok life jacket, he floated on his back and watched her die. "She had been my home for two years." he recalls, "and now she was gone."

Inspired from early childhood by the stories of an uncle who served with a convoy escort for Allied ships in World War I, Bill felt destined for the Navy at age 8. At seventeen he tried to enlist but was advised to "come back in a year." Bill did... right after his eighteenth birthday.

Boot camp was followed by Trade School in Dearborn, Michigan where military personnel trained alongside Ford Motor Company employees. Bill became a crack machinist and joined the Helena as Fireman First Class.

When his baptism of fire came at Pearl Harbor in 1941 on that fateful December Sunday, Bill was sleeping peacefully in a lower bunk and was knocked out when a shipmate responding to "General Alarm" tumbled out of the upper and landed on him.

"It was my only service-related injury," he grins, "And one that didn't merit a purple heart."

"The men were grumbling, wondering why there was a drill on Sunday. The sound of the klaxon, a sound like nothing you've ever heard, blared through the ship. We knew it was war when the orders came: 'Break out service ammunition! All hands man battle stations! This is no drill' After the initial shock and mortal damage to our fleet American anti-aircraft accounted for 26 enemy planes, six of which were downed by the fighting men of the wounded Helena."

Three weeks after Pearl the Helena made its way back to Mare Island for extensive repairs while her men enjoyed 30-day furloughts, and pulled Shore duty in San Francisco.

Ready for combat once more, she set her course for New Hebrides in the Solomon Islands. Bill took with him the memory of the charred bodies of shipmates he'd helped to drag from the hold in the Pearl Harbor attack, a task that sent him retching from the scene.

In the Solomons, Admiral Ainsworth was readying his fleet to repel the Japanese.

"The battle opened at 0147 on the morning of July 6, 1943, with the Helena going into rapid fire for what seemed an unreasonably long time. From our isolated position, deep within the ship, we judged that she must be fighting for her very life. The continual flash of our guns lit up the ship, making us a tempting target for the Japanese gunners. Within minutes they had fired sixteen torpedoes at us, three of which hit their mark. They came in rapid succession and men died a quick death from the 'orce of the explosions or instantaneous flooding of their compartments. Then came the order to 'Abandon ship!'

On his raft Bill was the only man with a flash- light, a gift from his father.

"It was useful in my escape from the ship, but after it had been submerged I couldn't turn it off." Bill held it underwater as a destroyer came into view; one he knew from its' silhouette to be Japanese. "An officer on the raft wanted my flashlight to signal her. Unable to convince him it was an enemy ship, I let the flashlight sink into the Pacific. It was the only order I ever disobeyed."

Throughout the years Bill wondered many times if he might have been mistaken, thus causing his buddies to spend far more time waiting for rescue. Years later his judgement was validated by Naval Historian, C. W. Kil- patrick. In his book THE NAVAL NIGHT BATTLES OF THE SOLOMONS, Kilpatrick confirmed the prescence of the Japanese destroyer, Anigiri, and her search for survivors.

On furlough after his ordeal at sea, Bill met and fell in love with Frances Hartman. Their time together has been a life-long romance. Fran encouraged him to do the extensive research to write and self-publish the book.

Today they wait for the mailman eagerly as orders for ESCAPE FROII THE SEA arrive.

"I never knew mail could be such fun," Bill said happily.

Bill's active retirement includes work, community service, travel and happy times with Frances, their three daughters, and five grandchildren. When Bill speaks of the Helena and his lost shipmates he grows solemn and reflective, but then his happy face prevails as he considers how good it is to be alive, and he says thankfully, "How sweet it is !"