Omaha daily bee., 1918-05-05
cRAWLS THROUGH
HOLE NSH|P'SSIDE
MADE BY TORPEDO
Remarkable Escape From
Death and Capture by Huns
Related by Commander Of
Submarine Victim.

New York, May 4.-Carried down
with his ship after being torpedoed
by a German submarine, escaping
death by diving through the hole in
the ships side made by the torpedo
and, after being picked up by one of
his boats, rejected as a prisoner of
war by the submarine commander on
account of his wounds, is the ex-
perience of Captain Walter K. Miller
of Brooklyn, commander of the
American steamer Atlantic Sun, sunk
March ? off the Irish coast. As a
substitute for Captain Miller, the
Germans took as prisoner his first
mate.
Captain Miller's story as he told it
to The Associated Press follows:
Il had just left the bridge and was
eating my dinner when the alarm
was given. l started up the short
fight of stairs to the chart room
and had made about half the distance
when the torpedo hit US.
There was a terrific roar and a
shock which seemed to shake"the ship
I to pieces. was stunned and the
next thing | knew | was floundering
under the water, surrounded by
wreckage. 1t instantly dawned upon
me that I had been blown forward
over the bridge and down into the
hold though the deck ripped open by
the explosion, and that I was being
carried down with my ship.
Il opened my eyes, however, and
looked around and to my right / saw
I small patch of green water, not
much bigger than a window toward
which | swan and l succeeded in
wriggling my way through the jagged
hole made by the torpedo in the
ships side. Clear Of the ship my real
fight commenced, that of overcoming
the suction and getting to the surface
where found and grabbed hold of
floating barrel to which | clung while
getting my breath.
Rejected Because of Wounds.
"The barrel, however, was being
drawn intp the vortex and / let loose,
swimming away toward a capsized
boat which held me safe until the
danger of being drawn down was
over. Shortly after ] was discovered
and picked up by the men in one of
our boats which had been launched.
The submarine which sunk us was
but short distance away and we
were ordered by German officer to
come alongside and surrender one of
the ships officers.
MY men tried to shield me by re-
moving my coat. but somehow I
must have been recognized and l was
told to get into the U-boat. / was
weak from my struggle and covered
with blood from several bad wounds
on my shoulders and arms and the
German officer refused to take me,
SAYING:
"'We have no use for dead man,
or one who is going to die, have to
take back with me an officer who will
be alive when | reach our base. If
do, we get bonus
He then asked for one of the
mates and was told they had all gone
down. The German commander.
however. would mot take our word
for it and searched the boats until in
some manner he recognized the first
officer and took him prisoner"
Some hours after the torpedoine
Captain Miller and his men were
picked UP Nby trawlers and landed at
British port where they received
medical attention. Captain Miller
recently came home and has already
made application for another COM
mand which he will assume just as
soon as his wounds heal sufficiently
tor him to go to sea.