DESCRIPTION:
In 1940 Vincent Anderson joined the US Marine Corps and in February 1941 was in the 94-man Marine Detachment on the aircraft carrier USS Lexington CV-2, a part of the Pacific Fleet. The Lexington left Pearl Harbor on Friday December 5, 1941 and was delivering a squadron of Marine planes to Midway Island when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. On February 20, 1942 the Lexington saw action against the Japanese near Bougainville in the Solomon Islands, and Salamaua, New Guinea on March 10, 1942, and the Battle of the Coral Sea, May 4-8, 1942, where she sustained torpedo and bomb damage that eventually led to the sinking of the ship. Here is the story of the "Lady Lex" as told by a survivor.