"We were at GQ [general quarters] before the first hit. We took one plane on the starboard side that actually was glancing. But it hit next to the 40-mm sponson in the starboard boat pocket. That caused a lot of damage. Then the flames on the after end of the flight deck were pretty visible. We couldn't see much of the bow from where we were. "But the fire was really the outstanding memory-almost to the point where the rest of it is a side issue. I think all of us felt that the danger to the ship was from the fire. But they [the crew] got it under control, and, of course, the fire was on the hangar deck. They were fueling planes down there, and that's what really fueled the fire."
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