Beneath The Coral Sea Poem by John F. McCullagh

Beneath the Coral Sea, located nearly two miles down,
A submersible was sent to search, and the Lexington was found.
The ship known as "the Lady Lex" had been rent by shot and shell.
For four long days she stayed in the fight until the final bell.

Two hundred and sixteen of her crew went down with her all told.
Internal fires burned white hot and ran out of control.
Scattered about the mighty Lex, her wildcats by the score,
these fighters, built by Grumman, have seen the last of war.

Men Die, Steel rusts, and memories fade of battles gone before.
Her struggle becomes legend and she enters into lore.
It is a watery grave she found beneath the Coral Sea.
But her brave crew and pilots made her mark in history.
The Japanese had been repulsed from fair New Guinea's shore.
Within a month Midway would mark the turning point of war.