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By William Fowler

By Kevin Dockery

Message: <blockquote data-quote="LCI449" data-source="post: 27628" data-attributes="member: 2191">Ralph Athol BlowersThe following story comes from the book, The U.S. Frogmen of World War II. The book is written by Wyatt Blassingame and published in 1964 by Random House. The following story comes from page 76, "...a landing craft had just picked up John Parrish of Team 3 and was maneuvering to recover a warrant officer named Blowers, when it stuck on a coral head. Blowers continued swimming and reached the boat. But as Parrish leaned over to help him aboard, a single sniper bullet struck the warrant officer in the head, killing him immediately. An instant later, while Parrish was struggling to pull the body of his friend aboard, Japanese artillery opened fire. As shells burst all around the landing craft, the men aboard worked furiously to free the boat. Another landing craft, moving in to help, also grounded. Then a mortar shell crashed close alongside, wounding several frogmen and members of the boats crews. Finally one of the boats got free. All the men piled into it, taking their dead and wounded comrades with them. They left the other craft stuck on the reef."</blockquote>