Imperial Valley press., 1924-06-13

get practice. Far in the distance
was the California and behind il
drifted n huge target ut which the
other vessels were to fire.
Eighty-odd men were in gun tur-
ret No. 2. Fifty of them were sta
toned ut the three guns, while the
others were in the handling rooms
; Lieut.. Thomas +. Cellars was in
command, while Ensigns Marcus
Erwin, j. j. Levasseur and James
McCrea were with him.
Working with speed and cheering
each other as they labored, the
sailors, stripped to the waist, roll
cd in the huge shells and crammed
behind them in the breeches of the
guns the sacks of powder.
The breeches of guns 5 and 6
were closed, locked and ready to
fire. That of No. 4 still stood
open. -Four sacks of powder lay
on the floor.
Then came the explosion. Some
one may have given a premature
order to fire. A short circuit in an
electric light cord drawn across the
powder bags. A bit of ignited
fragment left from the shell fired
just before, or u spark from the
powder ram-all have been ad-
vaneed as possible causes of the
blast.
There was 4 roar, binding blast
of flame, Il cloud of smoke-and
silence.
! Outside, members of the crew
rushed to the turret. Entrance was
impossible. The heat had melted
the two small doors until they were
a part of the big steel tank.
An acetylene torch was secured,
and with it hole was cut into the
turret. Lieut.. III. Donald Smith
volunteered to be the first to en-
ter. Donning gas mask, he crept
through the hole, into the fuming
heated interior of the turret. lie
found it well filled with water.
Someone, in the heat and terror of
the moment-some hero who will
never be known-turned on the
water and prevented possible fur
ther explosions with even greater
damage.
Creeping forward, Lieut.. Smith
found bodies, twisted, blackened,
mangled bodies, but never sign
of life. Not one of the men left in
the turret was alive.
Only Three Survivors
With Capt. William T. Brotherton
in command, the Mississippi turned
and started for the harbor. Physi-
clans and men of the medical corps
rushed to the ammunition room,
where other members of the turret
crew lay burned or shocked into
Inconsistencies by the explosion.
Joseph Caviezel, Irving Etcher-
son and Robert MacAdin, from the
New Mexico, were the only ones of
eight from their vessel who went
aboard the Mississippi as obser-
vers, to survive. They owe their
lives to the fact they either jump
ed or were blown from the turret
40 feet down II hatchway into the
powder magazine, just as the. doors
of the turret closed automatically
! behind them.
Shortly after the Mississippi
reached port, and while the work OF
carrying the dead and wounded
from the turret was underway
came the second explosion. A dead
sailors hand, swinging Imply as
the corpse was lifted from the steeI
floor, touched the firing switch OF
gun No. 5. The shell exploded an(
went hurting down the harbor
passing close by the passenger
steamer Yale, outbound. This bias
increased the death total by four.
Fearing a similar explosion OF
the shell in gun No. 6, the Missis
| sippi was ordered outside thu
breakwater, where during the even
ing it steamed slowly back an'
! forth, the muzzles of its IA incl
guns pointed toward the sea.
! Newspapermen and photographer
were allowed aboard the New Mex
leo, but were kept away from thu
fated Mississippi. The three mem
I bers of the New Mexico's crew
+ who escaped, returned to their shil
and told their story, pressed TO
! details by their comrades.
/ Gas Was Terrible
"The whole thing felt more lik'
a blaze than an explosion Mac
adm said. "It was red, awfu} red
and lust sort of set fire to every
/ thing. Even the heavy steel piate
i turned white hot.
''The gas was terrible. 1t chok
ed and gagged and burned m.
throat like acid so L could hardi,
see. The boys, those alive, wer
fighting to beat back the flames $