Legends Laid

During the early, tense days of World War II, when the U.S. people had little to hearten them, they eagerly grasped at two legends: 1) Captain Colin Kelly had sunk the Jap battleship Haruna by plunging his Flying Fortress "almost into the mouths of flaming Japanese guns"; 2) Major James P. S. Devereux, when asked if his handful of embattled Wake Island marines needed help, radioed: "Send us more Japs!"

The Haruna story has long since been set straight, although the legend persists. Actually, the late Colin Kelly bombed a ship from 20,000 feet, was killed when his plane was attacked and set afire by Zeros. Surviving crew members thought the ship was the Haruna, which was not permanently disabled until last July.

Last week "Jimmie" Devereux, rescued at long last from a Jap prison on Hokkaido Island, anxiously sought to set his record straight. He had never asked for more Japs. Said he, dryly: "We had more than we could handle right then and there."

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