After
completion of the unloading, we watched the floor show - air raids on the ships
of our convoy. The second from the left, with smoke above it, is the U.S.S. West
Point. Formerly the peacetime "S.S. America", it was our biggest liner. The
smoke above it is from a kamikaze which almost hit it. I was familiar with the
ship because it had been my transport from the U.S. I recalled the ship's crew
cockily assuring us the ship was 'too valuable' to ever be in a combat zone.
A lot of us shared the feeling, but here
we were.
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