The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1913-10-06
GRAPHIC STORY
SACRIFICE BY
NAVAL OFFICER
HOW LIEUT.. o. p. MORRISON
GAVE HIS LIFE UP THAT HIS
MEN MIGHT BE sAvED-TALEs
OF HOW UNCLE SANS NAVAL
MEN FACE DANGER.

A graphic account has been given
by Reginald l.. Foster, in the New
York World, of the explosion on the
u. s. Destroyer Wake, and of the
heroic action of Lieut.. D. P. Morrison.
who sacrificed his life that his men
might be saved.
The accident occurred twenty miles
on Brenton's Reef near Newport A
southerly gale, blowing out of rain
laden skies. scared up the seas in
yellow foam. The lean, leaden-h ued
little warships of the third group of
destroyers were having their test
trials for speed.
| The Wake, under command of
Lieut. Charles e. Train, vas kissing
along and doing spendidly. Suddenly
a crack from below. like the crash
of six inch gun,--a hiss. a roar. a
scream-then silence for a moment.
The Wake quivered stopped and wal
lowed in the trough of the sea. Out
from the matches came clouds of white
and the shrill snarl of escaping steam
something had burst. The COM
mander came plunging out of his
cabin.
Engine room.7' yelled Lieut. F. Thi-
bault, who had been on deck, Casing
of the roter's exploded"
Suffering ScaIds
Everyone knew what that meant.
Down below in that white-h hot inferno
were Lieut. Donald P. Morrison, En-
gineer Officer, and eight of the crew,
sca,ded without and within Every
breath was soaring their tortured
lungs. A sailor jumped to the hatch
and tried to put himself down the
blistering ladder. Men grabbed him.
He threw them aside.
Let me CO. he yelled. squaring off
to fight, "Morrison's down there He
saved me-Pm going to save him.
Let me co."
His name was Doyle. week be-
fore Doyle had fallen overheard in
the dark, and Morrison had rescued
him. Doyle was going down alone
into the engine room to square ac-
counts. But they pulled him back and
held him.
One man held his arm over the
seething pit and drew it back with
yell of pain. Another tried to peer
down and fell back gasping.
Up the ladder crept a wheeling fig
ure, with lived face; he stumbled and
fell on the deck. Then another crawl
ed up and another and another, till
there were five.
Mr.. Morrison's down there yeti"
gasped one as he was borne into the
officers ward room forward. He was
nearest the ladder and he stood aside
to let US up first. Get him, for Gods
sake. get him. I can't go back"
And then the poor fellow passed
away into merciful Inconsistencies
from which he never awakened.
Heroic Rescuers.
Finally two men got below,-Chief |
HEnr .4ek INT lett Nd
Chief Machinist Mate Olsen. And at |
their heels jumped Chief Quartermas-
ter Spear and Chief Boatswain's Mate !
Ingham. It was burning hot down |
there, but the brave petty officers who |
had plunged into the scald could at |
least breathe
They stumbled over a man. He was /
lying on the floor, his face buried in |
the bilge, but he had saved his lungs. /
He had thrust his head into an open
ing, were he could breathe cool air /
from below. and held on while the /
steam scared his back. Ingham and
Spear lifted him to his feet,-it was
Frank Conway, oiler.
There's Mr.. Morrison" he pointed,
'tsee him, over there by the ladder.
saw him stand aside for the men. 1
must get him out"
toward the PROSTATE figure of Morri-
son. The officer lay crumpled up on
the floor three feet away from the
adder by which he might have es-
capped to tie air and life
Body Morrison Found.
Gently they lifted his poor scalded i
body up the ladder TO the deck His
lungs were all gone,-those sturdy
lungs which could have held breath
for two minutes at a stretch, those
lungs which had kept him alive under
the water when he went after Doyle.
Doyle was weeping. He knew. He
had seen
ct know why he died." said Lieut..
Train, che stepped aside to let the
men up the companicnway first Con-
way did his best to save him, burned
as he was, and Doyle tried to get
down after him, too. They say what
they please about navy discipline
svery one of our men was a hero.
Every man was at his post and the
human being could live be-
ow there were a dozen trying to get
Sewn that burning hole"