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Article: William Cuming; survived ship sinking to build a firm William Cuming; built engineering firms
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- June 12, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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On Oct. 25, 1944, Navy Lieutenant William R. Cuming and hundreds
of fellow sailors clung to life rafts in shark-filled waters off the
Philippines. The Japanese had just sunk their aircraft carrier, the
USS Gambier Bay.
Hours passed, then almost two days without rescue, as the Battle
of Leyte Gulf raged. Some went mad from drinking seawater and swam
away to catch their hallucinations. More than 100 from the aircraft
carrier died in the water.
Mr. Cuming, a calm and focused radar specialist, chased the
floating demented and tied them close, said his friend Henry
Pyzdrowski, 87, who was then a 21-year-old fighter pilot.
"We'd go out and retrieve the men who would set astray," said
Pyzdrowski ...