Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-02-21
MlN0T Man IS
TORPED0ED
P. Judge Floated Around on
a Raft For Seventeen
Hours.

Minot, N. n, Feb. 21.~-Submarined
and compelled to float for hours with
fellow Americans sailors on a crude
raft off the coast Of France and fac
ing q cold wind during the seventeen
hour on board the raft which caused
many of his comrades to die from en-
posure has had no effect on the nerve
Of Patrick II. Judge Of Minot. He's
just "rearin' to go" again, and stated
so quite emphatically in Minot today
where he is spending Il brief visit with
mis- parents, Mr.. and Mrs. Stephen
Judge, prior to his departure for the
west coast where he will again re-
sumo. duties on board a ship. Mr..
Judge was n Of the survivors Of the
Jacob Jones. the first vessel Of the
United States navy to be to%rpcdoed
nc sunk by a German submarine The
Minot ma was a water tender OIL the
Jacob Jones when the vessel was sent
to the bottom by d; torpedo from a
German submarine.
the afternoon Of December 6, 1917,
when we were struck" he said to a
representative of The Herald.
Our boat sank in eight minutes
after she was hit and of her crew
sixty-two were lost and ferty-two saw
ed. We were cruising off the Scilly
ISLANDS between the coast of England
and France a short time before the
attack had como to my quarters aft
on the boat and had laid down in NV
DUNK to read a book. Suddenly I felt
the shock OF All explosion, and the en-
gineers' compartment was plunged in
TO darkness. got UP rather dazed and
made my way to the deck. realizing
that we had been torpedoed. made
my way over a pile of wreckaee. got
on deck where I ran into otherS'o Of nv
mates all loo2 kirn thei,. ,.o, "a IL
side oftthc boat. IT was every man fo,
himself: ! grabbed a fender and went
over With 1T into the water. .Hfxer a
while l drifted against a. sRlinter
mattress and abandoned by precarious
position OF h fender for a more se-
cure place on the mattress.
Soon afterwards ] f1oated against
a catanlaran raft on which were a
number OF other sailors. When I, the
lt'st man. got aboard this, there were
t"enty-one men on it. Lashed to this
tatt was another smaller one or which
We're eight men. The weight of the
burden Of the men on the raft was
so great that it was subne rked over
our shoe tops.
I'VE We're .atloat OF our RATS from
ago in the afternoon until s:45 the
next morning when we were picked
up ny II. II, S. Canellia. The even
zen hours or more that we spent on
the rats were hours OF misery. NJ
water was cold and there was not a
drH St,rch on us. but the raen laugh.
ed,. jeked and sang songs and did
what they would do when they got a
crack at the Huns. ~ :"
several men on the raft died DIR
ing the night from exposure, ENSIGN
hatk. whom I knew we'll, was one ~
Ithen'. Our widest time was from, ,
o'clock in the morning until dayl;ght'
q slit wind blew up and continued 70
get stronger as the night wore m A
hlgh sea rolled us and. eneulfed ns
tine after tilnc. We clung to- tho
ra1t III desperation. After daylight the
STORM lessened III velocity and the saa
abated. We felt like men who hsS
been rescued from death a second
time. " " ee'ouu''o
The sight Of the Camellia ar she
move to wa a welcome one to us We
we're taken board and every tar of
her British crew helped to make ia
comfortable, rubbing our numbed
jumps and giving us warm drinks and
FOODS. 1t seemed as though th.v
could not do enough for us. Durin1
u all the morale of the men was hirh
we neve lost our nerve. And we are
Gil anxious as ever to get back into
the fight. ! have been assigned to a,
vessel on the west coast and take It
from me I an just rearin' to co.