Robert Waldo Seals, 611-71-75, normally a buglemaster 1st class, as I recall, he became an acting first class petty officer aboard the WeeVee.  He was badly burned by a kamikaze attack off Okinawa, when he leaned back on a turret.  He was usually up on the bridge, as a bugler, and, at one point, climbed down after a Japanese attack, and put his foot on what was left of a shipmate's throat, the head having been severed by the plane's wing.  He was on watch one night, off Okinawa, when a Jap climbed up the anchor chain with underwear on and a knife between his teeth.  My father saw him, and fired a shot, killing the Japanese.  The sailors who responded told my father he made a great shot, hitting him in the throat.  My father responded, saying, "I was aiming between the eyes!"

Kevin W. Seals