Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-10-13
6900TRANT0L0SS
BY AMERICAN ARMY
Two Companies Of CasuaIs,
Two of Replacement Troops
=. on Lost Ship.
HEROISM BY ISLANDERS

HEROISM BY ISLANDERS
American troops on the British
transport Otranto, sunk in collision
last Sunday in the North channel
numbered $50, the War Department
has announced. The contingent con-
sisted of two companies of replace
ment troops and two companies of
Casuals.
Buried With British Honors.
AN IRISH PORT. Friday, October
II (by the Associated Press).-Twe1ve
American soldiers were buried with
British military honors today after
messed by hundreds of sympathetic
citizens. The dead included Private
Raymond Simpson, an Otranto victim
whose home address is unknown, and
eleven men from another ship of the
convoy who had been transferred at
sea to another vessel while suffering
from pneumonia. They were: Charles
kayser of Seattle: Alois P. Groska OF
Dietz. Wyo.: Floyd S. and James
Evans, brothers. of Douglas. Wyo.;
Theodore G. Garner of Athens, Tex;
Philip M. Simon of Mason, Tex; James
A. Conery of Fargo, N. D.; Edward G.
Kuehl Of Wissel. Tex; Henry G.
Koehler of Yoakum, Tex; Oscar Nc
&onald of Sweetwater, Tex, and Ed
mund c. Keller of Lenox, Mich.
American flags were flown at half
staff on many buildings as the flu
neral procession passed through the
principal streets to the cemetery,
where graves had been dug side by
side in ground reserved for military
burials. The body of Keller. who was
an acting sergeant, was carried On a
gun carriage. the other caskets in
lorries, each covered with the Stars
and Stripes. Two American Army Of
f1cers, two members of the American
Red Cross and two American Young
Mems Christian Association officials
marched behind the lorrieS.
The cortege included two bands, a
large detachment of fusiliers, forty
eight of whom acted as pallbearers,
and regiment of soldiers, fifty of
whom fired a salute over the graves.
The American consul and woman
members of the American Red Cross
committee participated in the cere-
monies with other officials and mill
tary representatives. Photographs of
the scene were taken and will be sent
to the families of the dead.
Recovery of Bodies.
ISLAND OF ISLAY, Scotland, Fri
day, October lit had been planned
to bury the Otranto victims alongside
the Tuscania's dead, but this was
the lack of transportation to that
point. which is seven miles from the
scene of the Otranto wreck
Excellent police arrangements were
made for the recovery of the bodies.
The chief constable organized the is
sembled them at various sections, so
that the entire coast in the region of
the wreck had been covered.
The constable also arranged for the
making of hundreds of small bags into
which the personal effects found on
each body will be carefully stored and
labeled for shipment home. Last Fri
day was pay day on the Otranto. and
most of the soldiers had money in
their pockets.
Capt. Ernest Davidson of the Otran-
to, who is an American. said the eff
forts of the islanders to care for the
survivors and to recover the dead were
nothing short of heroic. Two soldiers,
Earl Carver and Noah Taylor. who
still are on the island, owe their lives
to the Rev. Donald Grant and his wife,
who labored hours to resuscitate them
When brought ashore the men were
almost dead.
All the survivors on the island are
ing from bronchitis and one with a
broken arm.
Soldiers in Hospital.
A BRITISH PORT. Thursday, octo-
Der 10.-The following privates, all
attached to the Coast Artillery Corps,
are in hospital. suffering from shock
and sprains: Elvin Beagle, v. E. Con-
nor. James f. Casey, James A. Full
wood. Common c. Smith. Lonnie w.
White. Henry Relaney. L. Holmes
wells. George Halter. Joseph Hess,
Corbett Williams, Charles Wethering-
ton, Joseph Howell, Sidney w. Ender-
field. Arthur Land and Corp. Ralph
Toner.
Private ]. jackson is suffering from
bruises Of the body and leg; J. Love.
Kinley. cook; ]. Flynt and B. Aber-
nethy are suffering from the effects
of the explosion.
Other survivors include L. Lyons,
compound fracture left arm: Corp. J..
Kerns, sprains; Privates w. r. Bag1ey,
II. q. Willis. shock: Ralph Lambert,
fractured rib.
The injuries to the following sur
vfvors are not specified: Sergt. Emory
Hall. Sergt John Rauber, Sergt J. S.
Miller. Privates Eugene Turro, H B.
Taylor, A. P. Christman. Perry Hend-
ley. H Steiner. H. Boagay. medical de-
partment: John Lee, James Eloach.
James Wright. ]. Hartman, Harry
Wagner. field artillery
Other survivors were Sergt. H. G.
Redmond, Corps. G. E. Oglesby, King
Annals and Privates X. Scott. F. P.
Scott H. Spyre. v. Roster. ]. H. Hern-
don. Hoskins. D. G. Greenlear.
j. T. Ford and E W. Bell.
Burial on Edge of Cliff.
ISLAND OF ISLAY. Scotland,
Thursday. October 10 Thy the Asso-
ciated Press).-American dead from
the troop ship Otranto will be buried
in the little churchyard at Kilobcman
in wide graves, accommodating twen-
ty bodies each. The church was too
small TO hold more than a hundred
bodies and scores were placed under
improvised shelters in the churchyard.
AS RAPIDLY as the bodies can be assem-
bled from now on they will be buried
In groups of twenty in an open field
on the edge of a cliff commanding a
wide view of the sea and directly
overlooking the scene of the wreck,
Owing to the heavy surf and the ex-
treme difficulty of combing the long
stretches of rock bound. high-cliffed
coast of the island the progress of the
searching parties is slow and 1t NAV
be many days before the bodies of all
the victims are recovered
The task of conveying the dead over
the rough ground from distant points
to kilochoman is proving a difficult
problem. No four-wheeled vehicles
can be used and the bodies are being
transported on carts.
Legs Not Needed in Swimming.