OK, so I think I have this right, but if I don’t, there are a couple of old Navy guys who read this, and if I get too far off the accuracy trail, maybe they’ll jump in with a comment. Fine, former Navy guys then.
In the sailing ships of days gone by there were large structures down inside the hull where the masts were secured and anchored. These large structures were called castles. The area of the ship that was between the bow and the forward most mast became known as the forecastle, as in fore and aft. Over the years, no doubt aided by crewman trying to pronounce it with their mouths full at meals, forecastle became shortened and abbreviated (I know, they’re the same thing, so sue me) to foc’sle. So ends the lesson.
The FOC’SLE contains all of the officers quarters (except the Captain’s), all of the anchor machinery, and the racks for the long securing and towing ropes. On the Lexington it also contained a museum honoring CV-2, The Lady Lex, and a memorial and exhibit to Pearl Harbor Day. Both of these exhibits evoke a lot of emotion.
In the Lady Lex museum, while you are viewing photos and memorabilia from the carrier, the names of the killed, missing, or captured are being read over a loudspeaker. It’s a sad thing but not every sailor was eventually accounted for. On the plus side, about 90% of the crew, and 18 planes that landed on the Yorktown, were rescued before her battleships scuttled her to avoid the ship being captured.
We have all seen and listened to the newsreels and photos from the Day That Lives in Infamy. But somehow in this environment they hit you deep. And hard.
On the floor is a computer generated aerial view showing the waves of aircraft approaches, the sequence of the ships being struck, the ships as they tried to escape their moorings and get underway, and the times they went down or listed beyond the ability to defend themselves. Up on the screen are the sounds, the photos, and the newsreels documenting the destruction. At the end, FDR’s declaration of war to the Congress. The whole attack lasted about 90 minutes. Just think how quickly 90 minutes goes by when we’re watching a movie or having dinner with friends. On that morning 90 minutes must have been an eternity, a horror that would not end. The visit to the FOC’SLE left me drained.