Eyewitness: ‘Proud ships’ ablaze

Ralph H. Laedtke

USS Solace (hospital ship)

“I was in the head when the first shots were fired at 0755,” Laedtke said. “Shortly afterward, I ran up on the weather deck and observed many of our battleships afire, burning and crippled. The sight of these proud ships, our first line of defense, crippled by a sneak attack sickened me.

“I saw a Japanese torpedo plane swoop over the Solace while guns from the USS Dobbin fired on the plane. By this time, the wounded started arriving aboard the Solace and I had work to do. My first job was to break out additional supplies from the medical storeroom. That done, I went to my assigned job in the medical records office and spent the remainder of the day typing health records of patients who were discharged from the sick list in order to make room for casualties we admitted.”

Laedtke added: “I attempted to fingerprint, for the Navy death certificate, the remains of 27 unidentified naval personnel who were badly burned and who had been brought to the Solace.” However, “their bodies were burned so badly that they could not be fingerprinted.”