The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-12-30
Some Stories of the Gallant Deeds of American Gunners When Torpedoed Without Warn ing-The Experiences on Merchant Ships
 Which Traverse the Danger Zone
By RALPH D. PAINE (Brom the Records of the Navy Department)


 I less than a minute. The two port I boats were got into the water with
 great difficulty. The navy men acted
 as they should. No navy man was 1 lowered in the boats. All worked tC | get the boats out and lower away. IT l the port forward boat I sent one man down the fall to prevent frantic mem 1 bers of the crew from cutting the boat | adrift. When l gave the order the navy men abandoned ship, some 1 jumping overheard and some sliding 1 down the falls. They were swimming l in the water, but after half an hour of hard work all hands were picked up.
 "The ship was turning in a circle and the engines had not been stopped.
 It was sometime before they stopped of their own accord and the ship lost her headway
 After the ship was hoplessly lost
 and the crew in the boats the sub marine came alongside the third offi- cer's boat and asked us in English the name of the vessel, her tonnage, and who her owners were The com mander was masked and wore auto goggles. He then fired two shots into the engine room to hasten the sinking and then steamed away on the surface
 LANDED IN MOROCCO
 'The caputain's boat was picked up by a Spanish trawler and the chief of ficer's boat landed in Morocco after three days. This boat was fired on by an armed ship, 12 shells being shot at it. probably mistaking it for a sub marine. The third officers boat was picked up by an English steamer, which was afterward engaged by submarine armed with two guns The steamer was hit twice, but escaped by means Of her smoke screen and speed. The three United States navy gun ners, who had been in the lifeboat assisted the British gunners during the action. which lasted until the sub- marine had fired 36 shells. Our gum ners were warmly praised by the cap tain of the vessel in his report to the admiralty. After landing they were sent home in another British steamer ana stood watch and watch with these English gunners during the voyage.
 The chief officer of our own tanker which was torpedoed had been formerly chlef gunner's mate in the American n navy He was of great assistance It was also due to his seamanship and the navy style, of rigging the lifeb oats that we were successful in getting them away. There was only one American sailor in the forecastle and he had a dishonorable discharge from the navy. There were no Americans in the firemen's quarters. '4iS ACN SOHSlSlSu Ol 1Te6kS, &, Hollanders. and Swedes When the gen. eral alarm was sounded these people dropped everything and flew for the life boats. To stop this I gave loaded pis- tols to the captain, the chief officer and the chief engineer on watch.
 The gunner who wrote the report omitted to mention that these lifeboats containing his men and the ships crew were 200 miles from the nearest land By Gods mercy they managed to escape rounderlng or starvation and a favoring breeze enabled them to hoist sail and so tighten the task of bending at the heavy oars They lived on the rations which were stored in the boats against such an emergency, slim allowance but enough to keep body and soul together The most grievous hardship was shortage of tobacco. One man had little in a bag so they dried it on a thwart and doled out pinches, which were rolled into cig- arettes and smoked to the last ash while stuck on knife blades
 The incident of the American and Eng fish gunners serving together to fight off a submarine was the first of the kind in the war, a bit of real history in a way. It proclaimed that once again blood Is thicker than water as Con- modore Tatnal declared when the red ensign and the Stars and Strikes flew to- gether in front of the Taku forts
 STORY OF THE ORLEANS
 These records of sinking and drowning may resemble each other in certain de- tails. but they help to drive home the truth which the American people must grlmly learn for themselves. These at tacks and murders are directed by a foe which has discarded all the dictates and precepts of humanity, whose morals are those of the Dark Ages. which is bent upon obliterating civilization itself. The story of the chief gunner of the Ameri- can steamer Orleans helps to suggest what Germanp means by s'the freedom of the seas
 Tt had just turned dusk and left the bridge and went to the forward gun and changed the power of the sight tele- scope and tested out the night sighting circuit From there went to the after gun, when a torpedo struck the shin abaft the No. hatch about 100 feet from the bow There Were two distinct shocks and the water flew a hundred feet into the air The ships crew rushed into the boats with no one to lower them IT was every man for himself.
 The boats assigned to the armed guard were blown away in the air I told the guard to get into the other boats as best they could and went into No } boat forward on the port side. This boat was filled and nobody trying to lower it I came up the forward fan and with two of my men lowered the boat within five feet of. the water and gave the or der to hold it there. The ship still had great headway.
 II then went down into the engine room and found the engines had not been stopped. Being unable to stop them myself. I returned on deck and sung out that unless the engines were stopped no boats could be lowered. Captain Tucker who was on deck, called for a volunteer to go down and Stop the engines One of the assistant engineers. Mir Kelly climbed out and went below at great risk of drowning with the ship. which was going eight knots at this time
 "When I came on deck somebody cut the forward falls of the boat and 2a men were thrown into the water. The keel of the boat smashed the bow of an- other boat just ahead of it. Two of the armed guard were picked up later,