The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-04-04

! While our naval forces were PLAYING
their parts in several areas, the work
of creating the headquarters staff of
a great naval organization was going
forward in London. The headquarters
for controlling extensive naval opera
tions in many widely dispersed areas,
like the headquarters of an army ex-
tending over a wide front, must nee
essarily be located far behind the
scene OF battle. Thus, a number of
remodeled dwelling houses in Gros-
'venor Gardens contained the main
lspring for an elaborate mechanism
which reached from London to Wash
ington and from Queenstown to Cor
fu- On the day of the Armistice the
&American naval forces in European
waters comprised about $40 vessels of
tAll classes, more than five thousand
Officers, regulars and reserves, and
reserves, and more than seventy Give
thousand men; we had established
about forty five bases and were repre-
hsented in practically every field of
naval operations. The widespread ac-
tivities of our London headquarters
on that eventful day presented strik
ting contrast with the humble begin
nings of eighteen months before.
/ Commander 5abcock's Two-finsered
From April to August, 1917. the
American Navy had a very small staff
organization in Europe. During these
extremely critical four months the
only American naval representatives
in London, besides the regular Naval
Attache and his aides, were my per-
sona1 aide. Commander ]. ". Babcock,
/, and myself; and our only office in
| those early days was small room in
! the American Embassy. For 2onsid-
cradle part of this time we had no
stenographers and no clerical assist
! ance of our own, though of course,
the naval attache, Captain William ID.
LdacDouga1l, and his personnel gave
us what help they could. Commander
lBabcock had a small portable type
writer, which he was able to work
with two fingers, and on this he
.laboriously pounded out the reports
which first informed the navy de-
partment of the seriousness of the
submarine
The fact that Commander Babcock
was my associate during this critical
period was a fortunate thing for me,
and a still more fortunate thing for
the United States. Commander Bah
cock and had been closely asso-
GATED for several years; in that early
period. when we. in our two persons,
at the seat OF Allied naval activity,
we not only worked together in that
little room, but we lived together. Our
office was alternately this room in the
American Embassy, and our quarters
in a hotel. / had already noted Com
mander Babcock's abilities when he
was on my staff in the Atlantic Tor
pedo FlotiIla and when he was a stu
dent at the Naval War College; but
our constant companionship through
out the war. especially during these
first few strenuous months in London,
gave me a still greater respect for
his qualities.
Many men have made vital contribu-
lions to our success in the war of
whom the public scarcely ever hears
even the name A large part of the
initiative and thinking which find ex-
preston in successful military action
originates with officers of this type.
They labor day after day and night
after night, usually in subordinate po-
sitions, unselfishly doing work which
necessarily appears in other names
than their own, daily tightening the
burden of their chiefs and constantly
making suggestions which may control
military operations or affect national
policy. Commander Babcock is a
striking representative of this type.
NV personal obligations TO him are in
calcuIable; and / am indebted to him
not only for his definite services, but
for the sympathy, the announcement,
and the kindly and calculated pessi-
mism which served so well to coun-
terbaIance my tempersmental OPP
timism.
Baby" Prepared Reports.
Our relations We're so close, working
and living together as we did, that i
find it difficult to speak of "Babby's"
services with restraint Yet there are
particular accomplishments to his
credit which should go down upon this
popular record. 1 have described the
first cons citations with the British
nayai chiefs. These were the meetings