I volunteered to go back with a couple of men, get the antenna up and get an SOS out. The Captain stood by. We almost had the job done when the ship gave a lurch. The Captain hollered for us to get off. He was afraid the suction of the ship going down might pull his boat under.
Rice is on top of the rear mast in the photo.
We got off and pulled away fast. At a safe distance we stopped to watch the old SS Lehigh go down. It did not take long. The stem went down as the head raised up until the ship was straight up then down it went with a rumbling roar leaving some debris behind. We all felt a lump in our throats.