The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1918-11-16

| we drew nearer the shore they began
using Shrapnel on us and in no time
at all our tunnels were shot full OF
holes and sieve was watertight COM
pared to them.
Naturally we were not just taking
all this punishment without any come
back. Our guns were at it fast and
from the way the fire slackened In
certain places we knew we were maxi
ing it effective. My guns did for two
enemy pieces that know of, and per-
haps several others.
The French garbies were a good
deal more excited In action than
thought they would be. They were
lodging around below decks, trying
to miss the shrapnel that came
aboard, shouting, swearing. singing
but fighting hard, at that. They stood
the gait just as well as any other
garbies would, only in their own
sweet way-which is noisy enough,
believe me.
One Of our seamen was hit 100
times by fragments of shrapnel, so
you can see what they were up
against in the lodging line. A gun
turret in action is not exactly the
best place on earth for nervous
man nor one who likes his comfort.
There Is an awful lot of heat and
noise and smell and work, all the
time in a fighting gun turret. But
during an engagement / would rather
be in gun turret every time than
between decks. At that, if anything
does happen in a turret--it is good
night sure for all, and no rain checks
needed.
One of our junior lieutenants was
struck by fragment Of shell as he.
was at his station behind the wheel
house and piece of his skull was
driven into his brain. He was car
ried into my gun turret, but he
would not let them take him to sick
bay to have his wound dressed. There.
he sat, asking every now and then
how the fight was going and then sort
of doing off for while.
After half an hour of action we put
about and started away, still firing.
AS parting slap on the back the
Turks tore off one of our big-gnn tur-i
rets, and then away we went, back to-
Brest with a casualty list of only 49,
We did not have much trouble guess
ing that 1t was dry dock for us again.
We got back to Brest after quiet.
voyage, patching ourselves up where
we could on the way, and again there
was the rush work, day and night,
to get into shape and do it over again.
They turned us out in u days and
back we went to the Turks and their
Hun assistants.
We were lucky getting inshore, only
receiving nasty smash astern, when
the Turks got our range and landed
two peaches before we got out. We
nearly tore our rudder off getting
away. But we had to come back right
away, because we had carried quite
number of heavy guns from Brest
and were given the job of running
them ashore. 1t was day and night
work and great job for fun, because,
while you never knew when you
would get 1t, you had good reason to
feel you would get damned by cute
little shell or a dainty bit of shrap-
mel before the Job was over.
Aboard ship it was deck work, of
course, and it was not much better
there than ashore with the guns, be-
cause the enemy trenches were near
the shore and they amused them
selves trying to pick us off whenever
we showed on deck. I guess we were
regular shooting gallery for them,
and some of our men thought, they
did not need all the practice they
were getting, for quite few of us
acted as bulls eyes.
But we did not mind the bullets so
much. They make clean wound or
put you away entirely; shrapnel
tears you up and can play all kinds
Of tricks with various parts of your
body without killing you. AS for
shells---well, mincemeat is the word.
The Narrows were thick with mines
and there had been great deal of
damage done there, so after a while
the British detailed their Yarmouth
trawlers to go in and sweep up. They
had to go up unprotected, of course,
and they started of one night all
serene.
Everything went well until they
turned at the Narrows and started
back. Then, before you could tell 1t,
five or six searchlights were playing
on one Of the trawlers and shells
were splashing the water all over her.
Both banks were simply banging away
point blank at them and never
thought they would get back.
They did get back, though, but
some Of them had hardly enough men
left to work ship. But that Is like
the Limeys. They will get back from
anywhere while there is one man
alive.
A chap aboard one Of the trawlers
said shell went through the wheel
house between the quartermaster and
himself and all the @. M. said was
"Gaw blimey, that tick1ed."