Hammond looked over at the corpsman. The man was finishing up with the loose bandage. “He’s going to be okay, Captain, but it got his arms and hands. Normal times I would send him ashore,” the corpsman said.
The Chief looked over at the corpsman. “Bullshit. I ain’t leaving this ship. I got to go back and get that fireroom in shape. This will heal up okay,” he said lifting his arms and waving them around.
The corpsman raised his hand. “Hang on, Chief. I’m not saying you have to go. But if you want those arms to stay on, you need to keep them still.” The corpsman placed a sling around his head and eased an arm into it. “You need to let these arms rest. Don’t pop the blisters and don’t put anything on them. They’re going to hurt like hell for a few days. I’ll get you a few pills to take for that. The main thing is you stay inside and in the Chief’s Quarters. Come back every morning and afternoon for us to re-bandage and look you over. For now, I need you to lie down in one of our racks and just rest,” he said.
The Chief started to protest, but Hammond stopped him. “Chief, he’s right. If you follow your instructions to the letter, I’ll see about letting you stay aboard for the show. But if you give any problems the deal’s off. Now lie down and let us get some work done.”
The Chief deflated and said, “Aye, sir.” He was led to a bed to rest. Hammond watched him leave and asked the corpsman, “Can he stay?”
The corpsman grinned. “Probably. The burns aren’t that bad. We can handle it unless he gets an infection. He’s going to hurt for a while, though. Probably won’t help his disposition,” the young man said smiling.
Hammond smiled at the man. “Good job. Where’s the Doc?”
“In surgery. They are using it for Owens. The place needs to be sterile. Come on, sir.” The corpsman took the Captain over, helped him into a sterile gown, and placed a mask on his face. The Captain entered the surgery space. Two doctors and two corpsmen were standing over Owens cleaning where they could and applying sterile dressings over the exposed flesh. He was bathed in light revealing all the terrible details. Owens’ uniform had been cut away and he lay naked on the table. The dungarees protected his legs and torso. Even his chest was red but relatively unhurt. The rest was a different matter. Owens’ face was blackened and peeling. His arms and hands were much the same. The flames had burned him deeply in several places and his skin seemed to be dripping off him. In some cases, the doctor removed the skin completely. They were covering everything with coated gauze to protect the flesh underneath.
Doc Dickerson had seen a lot in his 40 years of medical service. He had come out of retirement to return to this ship, but he never imagined he would see someone with injuries like this again. Luckily, he knew exactly what to do. He noticed the Captain come in and motioned him over. Owens had patches over both eyes and his breathing was rough. “He’s under, Captain,” Dickerson said quietly as he worked. “I’m going to keep him alive, but he needs to get to a burn center as soon as possible.”
He looked over at the Captain. The eyes said it all — the shock, the concern, the helplessness, and the desire to help one of his own. Dickerson had been through many commands. The good ones always had that look, he thought to himself. “I’m not sure how much he will ever be able to use his arms and hands again. The fingers are pretty much gone on one hand,” he said.
Hammond looked at the man’s fingers. They had been burned down to the bone in four cases. The other doctor was working on his left hand, wrapping each digit with the gauze. Hammond started to feel a little queasy and looked back at the boy’s face instead.
Dickerson followed his eyes. “He will require a lot of cosmetic surgery after this. Skin grafts and a lot of therapy. Luckily the rest of his body is okay. They can get the grafts from there. My big concern is infection. About one fourth of his body is without its protective layer. This gauze helps a lot. It’s coated with antibiotics. But the sooner we can get real skin back on, the better he’ll be. I’m also concerned how much he breathed in. His lungs have some fluid in them. I’m hoping it’s mostly from smoke and not fire. If they’re burned, he won’t last the night. I plan on keeping him asleep. He doesn’t need to feel the pain yet and he’ll be easier to transport.”
“The Admiral says we can send him to the beach by helo day after tomorrow. Is that OK or should I speed up?
“How much sooner would we get there?
“Maybe a few hours.”
“Then day after is fine. But if we can, let’s not shake things up much. I would recommend we get there as soon as we can and fly him out. I’ll go with him and meet you there,” the Doc said.
Hammond nodded. “I’ll talk to the Admiral about speeding things up a little and maybe postponing a gunshoot. That will all help. How about the others?” he asked.
“Ask Grotke about the Chief, but the others are ok. This guy is my main concern. Now let me keep working here. I’ll come see you when I’m done,” Dickerson said.
Hammond nodded. “Thanks, Doc,” he said.
Dickerson reached over and squeezed his arm. “We’ll make it,” Dickerson said.
Hammond turned and left the compartment. The other doctor looked up as Dickerson re-gloved. “I like him,” he said.
“He’ll do. Now let’s make this guy well,” Dickerson said as he placed another layer of gauze.
The Admiral increased speed to the maximum for the slowest ships do on just one boiler per shaft. That meant the formation would arrive in helo range eight hours earlier than planned. Owens had a bad night, but he was stable enough to travel. Doc Dickerson kept him heavily sedated and he was wrapped securely for the trip. The SH-60 refueled before landing on the Iowa’s pad early in the morning. Both Owens and Dickerson were loaded aboard and the big doors shut. The hospital was at the far range of the helo’s endurance, but with the severity of the injuries everyone knew it was the best thing to do.
Hammond had seen the men to the helo and stood there until the helicopter was out of sight. Then he made his way back to the pilot house. He never liked losing a crewman. In this case it was an unfortunate accident. The line that ruptured looked substantial, but the one section was thinner than the ends. A sudden jump in pressure or even the vibration associated with the operating boiler probably opened it up. The engineers immediately pounced on the damage. The XO assigned an officer to make a formal investigation and all the people were being interviewed and the parts retrieved. At the same time the damaged line was replaced and the boiler room cleaned. The bilges were totally dried and cleaned and any lagging replaced on the pipes. The Chief Engineer went over the boiler with a fine tooth comb and determined it was ready for operation. Late the next afternoon fires were lit once more and the boiler brought up to operating specifications. Fireman Maxwell was allowed the chance to light the boiler while Chief Houck and the rest of the team watched. Houck and the other two had to leave after lightoff since the heat from the boiler would not help their healing. Hammond swore he almost saw a tear in the Chief’s eye.
Breakfast was a quick affair before a prefire briefing in the wardroom at 0730. Hammond arrived to find the wardroom full of weapons and fire control crewmen as well as representatives from other departments. The Weapons Officer began the briefing.