New-York tribune., 1918-12-19
Transport Burns
AS Distress Plea
Goes Unanswered
Celebrating Signing
of Armisticc Misinterpret
Signal Rockets and the
Ophir's Fire Proves Fatal


the English ships lying in the har-
bor, thinking We were celebrating,
answered our calls with signal rock
cts, Roman candles and Necry
lights" From the Odyssey of Yeo-
man r. 7. Bradley, of the u. S. S.
Ophir.
many and various tales Of "thc man
who fired the last shot" Seamcn do
not dispute these. But seamen who
arc acquainted with the history Of the
transport Ophir insist that the honor
OF bearing the last casualty rests with
the navy.
Maybe you remember the report that
came week or SO ago, a brief state
ment from London 20 the effect that
the United States transport Ophir had
been lost through explosion on the
night of November II on the Gibraltar
coast, and that two Of the crew per
lShcd.
"Ihat covers thc facts all right a
friend of one Of the survivors remarked
yesterday, land yet somehow it doesn't
seem exactly to dc justice to what
happened. Sec here" Ho held out
the thumb-scarrcd pages Of the Odys-
sey of Woman II. 4. Bradley, penned
Tor his mothers eyes at Y. Nj. c. A..
barracks in Norfolk.
Therein in brief, stumbling sentences
is set down the full record of the
ordeal of the men of the Ophir en-
On {hn irl,t ~ Il
was gay with red fire and bunting in
celebration of the armstice signing
Called Hoodoo Ship
At the outset you should know of
the peculiar spell that was supposed to
hang over the Ophir. From the hour
she was taken over from the Dutch ser
wee, she was known as "the hoodoo
ship Calamity appeared ever in wait
Tor her. On the night Of October 21 :,
when she left New York on what was
to prove her final voyage, bearing
troops and cargo of TINT and gaso-
lene for the American aviation service
IN Italy, there was unrest and vague
apprehension.
Twenty-four hours out of New York
she encountered U-boat After a
short. desperate encounter, the Ophir
managed to get away. But the feeling
c. uneaslness was in no wise allayed
The next afternoon a young ensign died
of Spanish Influenza
After the troops had been landed all
right the ship set out on the voyage
to Italy.
But when we were two days off the
coast of Africa" writes Yeoman Brad
ley, "wehit a storm. 1t was a pretty
bad storm. The sea was running high
and the boat was under almost all the
time"
They were forced to put back to
Glbralter and it was November 9 be-
fore they got under way again
Fire Breaks Out
"And then" says Yeoman Bradley,
"after we'd been out two days fire
broke out in our forward hold"
That was where the INT and gaso-
lene were.
Once more the Ophir turned about.
below decks grimy men were fighting
hre, managing to keep it somewhere
within bounds. With engines working
full blast and every hand standing to
the doomed craft covered the previous
two DAYS voyage in something under
twenty-five hours
1t was Just dusk on the night of No
vember II, when all the air was full
OF delghtcd Screeches of sirens and all
British craft that studded the harbor
were bedecked with flags and pennons,
the Ophir limped back into port, send
ing up distress signals.
The response was the heart-breaking
one recorded by Yeoman Bradley, at
the head Of this story.
AT the time, those who know the full
tale add although the fire fighters had
managed to keep the flames from the
/ T cases, the gasolcne was blazing
merrlly, shooting out great spurts of
fire. But what were mere fire and
shooting flame to attract attention on
this night of nights? The surround
ing vessels blew their celebrant sirens
] louder in reply.
Rockets Only Response
The Ophir dropped anchor and re
doubled her distress signals. Still the
gala rockets and varihued lights were
the only response.
1--WE soon had all hoses going" says
Bradley, "but of no avail"
The Gagged fire grew angrier and an
grler, eating away one partition after
another, driving man after man ey-
hausted from its path. Finally, in one
convulsiVc rush, it leapcd above decks
encompasslng the whole upper portion
Of the ship
"Thc harbor was lit up by the
flames,' Bradley records, "but still we
received no help. This was about 6
o'clock.
"About T." his chronicle continues
I'VE pulled up anchor and ran the good
ship aground. We then flooded her
but she was too far gone'
1t was then that The order came tc
leave the ship. All chance of saving
the T n I was gone by that time. Dis
aster was certain.
Bradley's narrative omits this liter.
lude, but he has supplied it to friends
orally snco-the sound of rejoicing
bells ashore and of band music mcrr,
ing family with the roar of the flames
IN the mems ears; the gaunr faced
little company standing there in the
raVaScd hold, drawing lots to see in
what order they should debark through
the pGrtholcs
How Deaths Occurred
1t was while one of their number
vas scrambling through portfolio that
the screen ordinarily used to shield the
boats lights from submarines slipped d
from its fastening 1t struck tie out
going sailor in the back, and that was
how one of the deaths occurred. The
other had happened earlier, a suffoca-
tlon case.
Altogether the process of debarka-
ton is said to have taken about thirty
minutes. 1t is at this point that Yeo-
man Bradley's record takes up the story.
About this time" he writes, "the