Carr, Paul Henry, GM3c

The Roberts' skipper, Lt. Commander Copeland, later wrote in his report:

On Board the USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413) No. 2 gun, which had fired about 300 shells during the past hour, continued to bark defiance as its crew, Gun Capt, commanded by Gunner's Mate Paul Henry Carr, loaded and fired six more rounds by hand - ignoring the hazards presented by the failure of the gun's gas ejection system. Indeed, while they attempted to fire a seventh shell, an internal explosion killed all but three of the crew outright. Lt. W. S. Burton described what followed: "The first man to enter the mount after the explosion found the gun captain, Carr, on the deck of the mount holding in his hands the last projectile available to his gun. He was extremely injured. Nevertheless, he held in his hand the 54-pound projectile, held it up above his head and begged the petty officer who had entered the mount to help him get that last round out" The Petty Officer, who entered the mount, took the projectile from Carr and removed one of the other men, who was wounded and unconscious, to the main deck in order to give him first aid. When he returned to the mount, there was Gunner's Mate Carr again with the projectile in his hand, still attempting, though terribly wounded, to place the projectile on the loading tray. Dragged from the gun mount, Carr died minutes later, as did another of his wounded crewmen. Only one of the gun crew, Samuel Blue, survived.

"To witness the conduct of the average enlisted man aboard this vessel, newly inducted, unaccustomed to Navy ways and with an average of less than one year's service, would make any man proud to be an average American. The crew were informed over the loudspeaker system at the beginning of the action of the Commanding Officer's estimate of the situation, that is, a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival could not be expected, during which time we would do what damage we could. In the face of this knowledge the men zealously manned their stations wherever they might be, and fought and worked with such calmness, courage, and efficiency that no higher honor could be conceived than to command such a group of men."