Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1918-05-24
COOK PROVED HERO
His Deed Of Bravery Deserves to
Be Recorded.
Joseph harelo's Saving Of comrade
WASHED Overheard Proof That
Courage in Navy Is Not Con-
fined TO the Fighters

Many brave things have been done
by the men Of these hard-driven Amer.
lean ships, and n of them stands oui
Superbly, writes Ralph d. Paine in the
Saturday Evening Post. 1t was the
rescue of q man overheard In the
midst of q storm. This vessel vas
caught out in it while on convoy duty
and her survival was little short Of q
miracle. The French marines called
1t the worst blow the Bay Of Biscay
had seen in eight years. Its violence
was that Of a hurricane, with a wind
velocity approaching a hundred miles
an hour, such a storm as would have
sorely pounded and damaged a great
Atlantic liner.
The ship was more or less knocked
into kindling wood. both masts broken
off and rolled out of her. all three boats
smashed and carried away, decks gut
ted, life rails splintered, compartments
flooded. The ship was rolling % de-
grees, or almost fiat on her side, and
when she plunged, more than half the
length of her keel was in the air. In
the midst Of 1t the steering gear jam.
med and the ship was likely to breach
to and founder unless 1t could be clear.
ed. The chief quartermaster, E. 81.
Robertson, volunteered for the job
and was presently washed overheard,
carried off to leeward on the back Of
a roaring sea.
There was not one chance in a mill
lion of saving him. He IA as good as
dead, and vanished. The ship IA run.
ming before the storm and q quarter
of an hour passed before she could be
brought to, q very dangerous n
yer, which again swept her clean. The
quartermaster had not gone down, but
was visible on the lee bow, swimming
with the courage of a man who re-
fuses to surrender to the inevitable.
Lines were thrown to him, but he was
unable to reach them. Even If the
boats had not been smashed it would
have been impossible to launch M
A life raft was showed over, and it
floated toward Robertson 10 that he
could clutch 1t and hang on.
This was merely to prolong his ag.
ony, however, for he could do nothing
more to help himself. He had been in
the water II minutes, buffeted, strang-
led, freezing. The month was Deem
Der, the temperature of the sea SO de-
grees. Among those who looked on
and pitied the exhausted man who had
made such a plucky fight Of 1t was the
ships cook, Joseph Marcio. His realm
Of pots and pans being wrecked and
awash, he turned his attention to this
affair Of the drowning Quartermaster.
KnOtting q line about his middle and
making no fuss about 1t he jumped in
to the sea and swan to Robertson, a
veritable porpoise of a sea cook with
a soul rs big as all outdoors.
The ship had some way on her and
could not be wholly stopped. 1t hap
pened, therefore, that when the cook
grabbed the quartermaster they were
slowly towed through the seas. The
strain was terrific and the rope nearly
cut the cook in two, but he chung to his
man until they were fetched alongside
and hauled aboard together.
The quartermaster was unconscious,
and the cook also collapsed on deck,
but was thawed out with no serious
damage. This Joseph Marcio was
promoted to the rating of chief COM
missary steward in recognition Of the
deed and was recommended for the
gold life-saving medal Of the navy de.
partment.