Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-11-23
months ON SEA PATROL
Severe STRAIN ON NERVES
Unusual Noises at Night on Board
Ship Keep One OH Edge
All the Time.
ALWAYS TARGET FOR TORPEDO
Tension Docs Not Relax Even When
Graft Is in POrt-StaggCriug sense
of Sheer Property Loss Obscsscs
One When Ship Sinks.
BY CLAIRE PRICE.

by CLAIRE PRICE.
WITH THE UNITED STATES NAVY
AT A MEDlTERRANEAN BASE, No
MEMBER 22-Thc midwatch had just
moving aft on deck TO his roon u
had been u weary midwatch ana bed
was, his only retreat; Aft he saw a
shadow, apparently human crawling
about tho gun. lie walked up TO it for
a look-see. 1t MAS the surgeon in his
Z pajamaS.
Laying a ghost" said the surgeon.
and the lieutenant wen, below and
turned in.
is an unnecessary noise a, night. DE.
stroFors are inll enough OF weird
a aSks5 TO h. e@ ezra G s.d nGinSs
gear. the beat OF tho engines and the
,Wssh OF the sea. all of which, being
necessary. help 10 lull ono to sleep. But
a loose screw OF a shell knocking and
ruttIinr about on tho gun platform or
cEEockery jarrlne with the yihEation
the ghosts that make desperate navy
men sigh for an army Job.
The surgeon wedsed piece Of paper
between u rafting shell and tho side
sof the stand and returned 10 his bed
sun the wardroom 'ranson'
The strain. Of submarine warfare Is
TENSE enough by daytime, when the
.lookouts can see. but by night. II is
Irebied. Fer At night you know moth
.tng OF wha; is happening outside the
shin and YOU know that even the look
outs know LITTLE more You know
.nothing except tina; YOU arc subject 10
,tof the dag or night \ bell in the
engine room brings YOU out Of your
bunk with bounce. y head sc? that
Staggers the ship for moment brings
you up outside in your pajamas Md
on one occasion, when tho ship was la
boring in heavy seas by night, case
the door Of the petty officers compart-
: ment in such a way As TO make a
loud noise and to lock three, petty Of
THAT they had been torpedoed: the off;
Ger of the deck brought his ship around
in ., hurry, thinking he had man nan
/. overheard. and il WAS not until the
l.ship had becn searched that the source
7of the voice was discovered
You don't feel the tcnSeness OF your
NERVES by daytime until you have
served months. without leave in the war
zone. Then the long, uncndins strain
begins to tell
STAGGERING SENSE OF
/. LOSS OF COSTLY SHIPS
: You see ships torpedoed out OF your
conveys. million dollar vessels sunk
freT sF All Your s you p UHHe
At isn't the fear ear, Of l@sing E9pT i df
dying. It's the staggering sense OF
e,he sheer loss of property. It's much
dixie ones sensation at big fire. You
may be impressed a first by the beauty
of the flames, but later when the police
lines are drawn and the reserves clanG
into action and there's something about
d couple of tircmcn having been killed,
YOU begin to feel desolated by the
value of the property going UP in
smoke before your eyes. The constant
tension of submarine warfare affects
one in much the same way;
You never 20 out with a convoy
%ithou, wondergg # you'll lose amy
bunch that you'll get through all right
/ and sometimes you have bunch other.
wise, and sometimes YOU do get
through all right and sometimes you
You watch your convoy forming off
the base You don't know the mer-
der your protection, but YOU know
what each one OF them has At the
s hack OF his mind---a wonder about
what the trip mas in store for him,
whether it will land him safely at
home or in heaven. I've heard Of mer-
chant shippers refusing to 20 TO sea.
of weathers. but whose nerve has
broken at the added risk OF facing
peril they can't see can understand
done ii. but ] can understand it
There is, too. "a weighing sense OF
responsibility for the lives OF Your
Give us a chance at Fritz.
After the trip'is over after you
have reached the base again, you
into the gig aliht$t before You're ted
Zip. He hasn't ,fcp; possibly for
three nights, but hc goes w to the
nag Office with :. laugh and . bounce
and wants 10 know what's been going
on, meets some other captains SayS
something about 200 tons ot coal and
seventh, five tons OF water and hurricS
off to the casino. There he plays tho
wheel for relaNati"u, but it'S short
lived relaxation. There is always the
feeling that the stranger at his side
is listening 10 HIM whenever hc opcus
his mouth: that just beyond the fold
ne doors in his !io;cI room somebody
IL listening; that the pullc OF glass
over his door has been removed for
purpose: that the innocent green cur
tains across ms wardrobe arc conceal
inE something tcil-talc.
HEARS NEWS or FRIEND;
''TfiEf GOT HiM LAST TUESDAY"
Meanwhile, ono OF his watcl, oi'iccrs
who before the last trip made an On.
SaEemcnt for luncheon with "a licu.
tenant on British Ship at tho base
goes ashore TO fill il, only 10 mcct
with a vast silence and the novs ma,
they got him last Tuesday II aco,ngc!
marine. and at O'Clock tho ncxt
morning his shin was torpcdocd on
both sides simultaneously torpetioed
sdeiiberateiE ~ The wardroon who're ali
the officers hut those OH watch were
Then the two submarine. approached
the lifeboats and Killed on ,hcir oc
cupants az deliberately a. dentist
pulls teeth on; ons, cabin hoy,
hatch and IN the moonlight they missed
him. He lost q leg, and after floating
4 about Tor Tour days he was picked llp
dcmented and invaded home 10 Eng
land.
Do you wonder that the courtcsics
of warfare do not always prevail at
sea nowadays" / know Of one captain
n