Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1919-02-25

now stationed at Yokohama, Japan,
and were received recently by vari-
Gus relatives of Mr.. Gray in this city:
December 10, 1918.
Dear Folks:
l started this letter aboard ship GU
S. S. Brooklyn, flagship but something
came up and l had to stop so will fin
ish it over here in the hospital where
| have been transferred on temporary
duty. Nearly all the hospital corp
men that were on the ship are here
and we haven't near enough now.
suppose you will have read plenty of
how it happened or what happened
(The writer here refers to the explos-
ion on the U. S. S. Brooklyn in which
one man was killed and "a seriously
wounded). / don't know if you know
by now that l was on the Brooklyn
Well, | am alright so it is alright If
was aboard Everyone thinks we
were lucky now that there wasn't a
magazine explosion from the fire and
that no, more were burned We were
coaling ship: the lighters came along
side about six O'Clock in the morning
and they passed coal until noon it
was awfully dirty coal and full of gas:
at chow time the air was so full of dust
il was hard to breath anywhere on the
ship. The explosion took place at
12:45 just after chow and before all
hands turned to" or it would have
been a great deal worse: as it was
only a few men were below in the coal
bunkers. l was in the sick bay and
had just started aft to the flag office
when it went up and knocked me fiat
and | was a good ways from any hatch
way. There was big jar, not loud
like a powder explosion but mostly an
air rush-then the fire. 1t was just a
big flare from the gas and only lasted
a few seconds but the flames went up
through the hatchway and vents and
shot up as high as the yard arms and
so caught many above the deck. Ev-
eryone that was on the ladders going
up or down were caught and the boys
on the topside dumping bags. the flame
came out of all the ports on the port
side and burned all the paint and the
packing on the steam pipes-that was
the most damage done. Nearly all
the firemen lost their clothes in the
lockers and two officers state rooms
were scOrched.
A chief pharmacists mate and |
went below to the freroom and bunk
ers Immediately after the flare and we
got II men from there. The gas was
pretty bad then and we had handker-
chiefs over our faces but even then it
was tough to breath. l got my eye
lashes and eye brows singed and my
nose blistered so l look pretty funny
There were "a men burned in all-37
pretty seriously. We dressed them in
the sick bay or gave them first aid. 1t
was certainly pitiful there. Most OF
them had their hands and faces burned
but some were burnt all over Their
clothing was all burned off and they
were black as coal. The entire M. ID
force was working. We made big
buckets full of picric acid solution
soaked rolls of gauze in it and wrapped
the sufferers from head to foot.
Those who were not burned sure
look funny now. They are nice ca
nary yellow color. My hands still
look like yellow k7 gloves: the stain
has to wear off AS soon as the men
were bandaged We wrapped them III
blankets and shipped them ashore to
the navy hospital and Yokohama gen
eral hospital. 1t is certainly fortu-
nate that we were in port when it hap
pened They treated them at the hos
pital and the local Red Cross here
broke out all their supplies for dress
ings. l don't know what we would
have done without them. We had a
big lob dressing the wounded and
none of the corps got any sleep until
the second night. l got four hours
sleep in two nights.
Ten boys have died since-they
were badly burned and gassed. There
are four or five more pretty bad on
now but I think the rest will pull
through I will be attached here fol
a couple of months, l guess. or until
they can handle the work and then
will go back to the ship.
This is certainly a nice billet here:
the hospital couldn't be beat in ordl'
nary times, for duty-there is Jap
enese help and we get lots OF liberty
Just now we all work from a. m. tC
D. m. and sometimes to p m, a.
there is only one corpsman to ware
and it is too much for one. About al
the patients have their hands bandage'
so they are helpless-you have to d'
everything for them and it sure keeps
one agoing. 1 never sit down excep
at chow. Some Red Cross women ar
coming tomorrow to help. / don
know what they can do but they cal
? help lots.
Sunday p. m
Today is Sunday and we had lots o
visitors and there are lots of flower
, in the wards We had memorial ser
vices at the hospital for the ten boy
who event west. l didn't suppos
there were so many Americans here
: room was fixed up for the services
there were heaps of flowers, wreath
2 and evergreens and it was mighty nice
, Each casket had a wreath from tn
! Red Cross and from the Brooklyn an
} flowers from the American embass
, and some of the Allies embassies.
The ships chaplain and Catholi
2 father held the services. The bodie
won't start home until the 29th.
p hope the ten are all. They look 10
{ all laid out with a flag on each.
= I knew some of these boys and the
: were in the draft with me.
The Brooklyn has left hated