[jingram058]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

Wow! What were your information sources?

.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Bearden

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/gene-bearden/

From Wikipedia:

Originally serving at a blimp station in New Jersey, Bearden said that he was assigned to serve aboard the USS Helena in the Pacific Theater of Operations. During the Battle of Kula Gulf on July 6, 1943, he was working in the engine room of the light cruiser when it was struck by three Japanese torpedoes.[2] Forced to abandon ship as the Helena sank, Bearden fell from a ladder on the deck and sustained a fractured skull and a crushed kneecap. Hospitalized until early 1945, he underwent surgeries that inserted metal plates in his head and knee to treat his injuries.[2] In a 1949 autobiographical article published in The Sporting News' Official Baseball Register, Bearden declined to discuss his wartime experience, saying: "I was just another gob [slang for sailor], luckier than many, because I met up with a doctor who is, to me, the best orthopedic surgeon in the business."[4] Although the Helena story was repeated throughout his lifetime, it was not true. He was in the Navy, but serving in Florida during the relevant time period.[5] Copies of his Naval service records do not support the Helena story.