Army & Navy – HEROES: How to Keep a Secret

Through the dark, night-hung waters off Rendova Island in the Solomons crept a sleek Navy PT boat, hoping for a crack at Japanese shipping. Suddenly shore batteries discovered the craft and opened up.

Bracketed, the PT weaved desperately to escape, then came to a grinding halt on the cruel edge of a coral reef which held the thin mahogany plywood hull like a bear trap. Jap fire was creeping closer. The youthful skipper ordered men to destroy secret devices and papers, gave the word to abandon ship. One enlisted man was killed on deck; the others swam through shark-infested waters to safety aboard another U.S. vessel.

Dawn, and a check-up of the rescued, brought bad news. The man killed aboard the PT had been assigned to go below and get one device of great importance; had he been able to dispose of it? It was not a matter for guesswork; capture of the equipment would give the enemy a priceless advantage in Pacific operations.

Stripping off his uniform, a young officer swam to the boat and hauled himself over the gunwale, dropping to cover as Jap shells whistled around him. The dead sailor was stretched out on deck, the secret device still clutched in his hand. The officer pried it loose, swam with it to deep water and let it sink out of sight.

In Washington, officers in “PT corner” of the Bureau of Ships glowed over this latest exploit of “the expendables.” They were unable to give the hero’s name officially. Unofficially they had reason to believe he was Lieut. Commander Robert Kelly, one of the original members of Lieut. Commander John Duncan Bulkeley’s squadron in the Philippines campaign.