The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1919-04-12
Awarded the Distinguished serv-
ice Medal by President
Wilson.
SAVES 600 YANK SOLDIERS
Goes 70 Assistance Of Transport
Otranto When She Was Sunk in
Collision OFF irish Coast With
American Troops on
Board.
BY e. w. BARRETT.
Editor Birmingham Age Herald.

|
If ever man were entitled to tn,
distinguished service medal, 1t wa
that young British lieutenant, Fran
els w. Craven of the destroyer Noun
sey.
A dispatch from London announced
! that President Wilson had awarded
him this medal and that Maj. Gen. Bid
die. commander of the American
forces In the United Kingdom, haC
presented 1t to him.
The medal was awarded. in the
words of the London cable, Ito Lieut.
Francis w. Craven, who commanded
the British destroyer Mounsey, which
saved 600 American soldiers from the
British transport Otranto, when she
was sunk in collision off the Irish
coast on Oct. 6, 1918, with the loss
of 357 American soldiers"
Though the British government con
ferred no honor upon Lieut.. Craven for
his work. because it was not an act
of valor in war combat, no man in any
navy ever showed more courage nor
demonstrated more perfect seaman
ship than did Lieut.. Craven ON this
occasion.
The full story is worth telling, now
that the censorship is off and no fur
ther obligation rests upon the news
paper man who was in the Offing, SO
to speak, when this horror of the sea
occurred.
Flagship Of Convoy
The Otranto, which went down, was
the flagship of a convoy of fourteen
troop laden, influenza infected ships
which sailed from New York on Sept
&c last. She was a British-Australian
liner, with something like thousand
American soldier boys aboard. On hex
sister ship, the Orontes, a nasty old
plague infected refrigerator freighter
with limited and dirty passenger ac-
commodations, eighteen hundred sol
der boys, the writer and about fifty
other passengers were crowded to-
gether like cattle.
We were accompanied from New
York by battleShip, cruiser and a
destroyer. The route was to be around
the north Of Ireland and down the
Irish channel to Liverpool. All sorts
of hard luck hit the convoy and par.
ticularly the OtrantO. She first ran
into fishing feet and cut down two
boats, but saved the crews. In doing
so she fell behind, but caught up
when we ran into q fearful storm and
battling against it for sew
eral days.
Scattered In Storm.
Before reaching British waters
north of Ireland, the American naval
vessels t1rned back or were scattered
In the storm. Our old ship was strug-
CLING and our captain was begging in
messages to Capt. Davidson !
Of the OtrantO for more sea room. |
He feared going On the rocky shores
Of North Ireland. Capt. Davidson |
made no answer to repeated calls. |
Then our wireless went down, our |
boats were crushed, the smoking room |
1oors and ports were smashed in. the |
eulleyS, ullllllS SdlOOu anu lIuut SUIT
rooms were flooded. Only cold foods
we're Obtainable. To make matters
worse, 400 soldier boys were down
with pneumonia. They were dying
Ike cattle in the public rooms and
IN mattresses strewn about wherever
here was enclosed room. Medicines
we're exhausted, and dead and dying
we're all about.
In the meantime every ship put
bout to save it's own, heading into
he storm. The Otranto and other
hips not needing our captains warn
ngs were almost upon the rocks of
Ireland. A veritable hurricane was
flowing. Waves broke entirely over
he ships.
The Otranto, in trying to get out of
Is predicanent, turned across the