Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 19??-1918, 1918-07-25
pi,sI,- ! was ordered % ispor - NJ

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wns Glad % ace them. tho. for nfter ali.
they were gnrbIes, and ] always f,el
more Ut home with them thnn with sol.
diers. Then, II was pretty rough stun
at Dixmnde, aud after resting up ut
the hospital, ] was keen on going to
sea ngnin.
The cnssnrd was In dry dock for re-
pairs after her hst voyage to the Oar
danelles M convoy 10 the troopshIp
Duplex. Everything was being rushed
TO get her out M koon as possible. and
crews were working day and night
There were other ships there too-su.
perdrcadnnughts. and dreadnaughts.
and bnttlcshIps, and armorod cruisers,
nll being overhnuled.
We received and placed guns OF
newer design. filled the magazines with
the highest explosives known 20 naval
use. and generally made ready for a
hard job. Our magazines were filled
with shells for our big ~ and ii.lnch
guns. A ii.lnch shell can tear hole
through the heaviest armor plate nj
1900 yards. and will do more damage
thnn you would think.
When we had conlcd aud had got
our stores aboard. we dressed for ne.
tion--or rather. undressed. The decks
were clear: hnteh covers bolted and
davits folded down; furniture. chests,
tnbles. chaIrs were sent ashore. and In
ilnmmablc gear, like our rope ham.
mocks. went overheard. You could
not Ind u single wooden chair or table
In the wnrd room.
When the ship N cleared for action,
n shell bursting inside cannot IND
much TO vet nfire. and II one bursts on
deck. there IA nothing to burn but the
wooden deck. and that IL covered with
steel plate.
Finally. we had roll call--all men
present. Then we set sail for the
Dnrdanelles M escort to the Duplex.
which had on board territorial and
provincial French troops-Gnscons
2 Pnrislans. Normans, Indo-Chinese,
spahIs. Turcos--all kinds. When we
messed. we had 10 squnt down ON the
steel ness deck and eat from metal
plates.
4 There had been a notice posted be.
fore we left that the Zcppcllns had be-
gun sea rnlds, and we kept I've eye
out for them. The news proved TO be
n fake, though. and we did not see n
single cigar while We were out.
We made the trip 10 the Dnrdnncllas
without sighting IN enemy craft, keep.
Ing In close touch with the Duplex.
and busy every minute preparing for
action.
| was made gun captain and given
charge OF the stnrbonrd bow turret.
mounting two l4-lnch guns. had my
men at gun practice daily. and by the
time we ncnrcd the Dardanclles. after
Ave days. they were In pretty fair
shape.
II was about 8 a. m. when we drew
near Cape Helles and took stations
Tor action. The Duplex was In front
OF MS. The batteries on the cape
opened up on us. and In few min
n,es later those at Kun Kaleh Joined
In.
As the Duplex made for Nv" beach
ana prepared TO land her troops. we
swung broadside on, raklng their bat
terles as we did so. and received n
shell. which entered through gun
port In the after turret and exploded.
Some bags OF powder stored there
twhere they should never have bcen)
We're fired and the roof Of the turret
was Just lifted of. II landed on deck,
tilted up against the side OF the tur-
ret.
F, On deck the rain OF fire was simply
terrific. Steel few in all directions.
II was smash. crash. slam-bang all
the time, and | do not mind saying
never thought We would come out
OF II.
Some Of the heavy armor plate up
forward was shot away and after that
the old Cassard looked more like a
monitor than anything else to me. As
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 n 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 m
certain places we knew we were max
ing It effective. My guns did for two
enemy pieces that know Of, and per
haps several others.
The French garbies were good
deal more excited In action than
thought they would be. They were
dodglng around below decks, trying
to miss the shrapnel that came
aboard, shouting, swearing, singing
but fighting hard, at that. They stood
the gaff just as well as any Other
garbles would, only In their owr
sweet way-whlch is noisy enough
believe me.
One of our seamen was hit 13(
times by fragments Of shrapnel, Sc
you can see what they were Ut
against In the dodging line. A CUR
turret In action Is not exactly the
best place on earth for a nervous