An item salvaged from the American transport ship, USS Meigs, sunk during the devastating Japanese surprise attack on Darwin on February 19,1942, is to be returned to the city next month and go into the War Museum . It is one of two stone plates given to journalist Douglas Lockwood , who wrote Australia's Pearl Harbour , by colourful marine diver Carl Atkinson who at one stage owned all the wartime wrecks in Darwin Harbour.
Author Lockwood's son, Kim , a journalist and author residing in Melbourne, who next month will attend the Military Writers' Festival in Darwin , will present the plate. He informed this blog of his intention , plus the unusual story behind the plate . It seems that during the Wet season of l957 , diver Atkinson, seen here displaying a deadly box jellyfish , arrived at the front door of the Lockwood residence in Darwin , the Melbourne Herald office , clad in a plastic mac .
Doug was out , but Mrs Lockwood was home , and invited Carl in . He declined because he was not wearing anything under the raincoat , explaining that he had just got out of a hot diving suit .
He handed over two stone plates he had just brought up from the wardroom of the biggest ship sunk in the attack , the USS Meigs .
In his email to Little Darwin , Kim added :" What Carl could not have known was that the night before the bombing , my father had dined on the Meigs , invited by two officers billeted with him since mum left ." The last part of his statement refers to the fact that his mother, Ruth , had been evacuated from Darwin along with a number of other women as war tension increased .
As a result of the attack on that fateful day 250 died and between 300 and 400 were wounded. USS Meigs ,12,568 tons, was bombed , burnt and sank with the loss of two lives. The American destroyer Peary, bombed and burning , went down with guns blazing , resulting in the death of 80, including the captain , Lieutenant-Commander John M. Bermingham . Lockwood's account said among the dead ratings was one named Rude, his Christian name Darwin .
