Evening star., 1932-05-08
Lusitania Sunk IL Years Ago
ONLY SURVIVING OFFICERS OF SHIP NARRATE TRAGEDY
ONLY SURVIVING OFF
BY LIEUT.. A. A. BESTIC
ial Dispatch to The Star.

in his neat little cottage near Liverpool
close to the sea.
Capt Turner has been living there SO
| quietly and inconSpicuously for years
| that many of his old acquaintances have
| lost track of him and, indeed. there are
| some who do not know he is in Eng
land.
I am the only surviving deck officer
Of the Lusitania, and with the anniver-
sary Of the great liners loss arriving it
occurred to me to go to Liverpool to
see my old commander and find out
how he was faring. When was an
nounced at the little snug harbor which
is his home he gave me lusty greeting.
Come in, Bissitt, my boy" he hailed.
He always has insisted upon calling me
Bissitt. IT'S good of you to look up
the old man"
AS I took the chair the commander
briskly drew up for me, I compared
him mentally with the man I had
sailed with so manv years ago. And
I found the same alertness of manner
and the same quick, penetrating look
in his sharp blue eyes. But his abrupt
quarterback manner has Softened co.l-
siderably.
Fit for Breaking up Yard"
Look at me-" he ordered, with rue
full grin "I've never had a days Ill
ness In SO years 1 was the quickest
man aloft in a sailing ship except for
a Greek I once met. And he must
have had monkey for a not very re-
mote ancestor. Now I'm At only for
the breaking-up yard"
But Can't. Turner doesn't look so. and
he doesn't look as though he thinks so.
My former commander and I talked
over that fateful afternoon off the Irish
coast, when doom struck the Lusitania
so swiftly, taking the lives Of 1,198
persons.
Did you expect We would be torpedo
ed on that pasSage?" I asked. He pom
dered the question.
YES" came his slow answer "I was
distinctly worried. I was advised by
the admiralty that I was to keep a mid
channel course. AS you remember, we
learned by wireless that there were six
submarines waiting for us in mid
channel. That was the chief reason
closed in on the coast. I thought that
If the ship were sunk nearer shore the
top deck might be above water after
she had settled. allowing the passengers
to escape. But apparently that was not
to be-"
'Is there any truth in the stories
about treasure on the Lusitania? Not
gold. of course, but"
There must be a lot of money and
jewelry in the pursers' safes" Capt.
Turner said quickly. II am quite sure
of that"
What about your own safe, cap
tain?"
There are fl,5oo that belong to me.
that's ALL" he laughed. But there's
an old sextant value. It's in the left
hand drawer of my desk on that ship.
I asked Capt. Turner why he thought
the Lusitania had sunk so quickly.
Ship Struck Twice.
Il am certain she was struck twice, :"
he replied What ship. however big,
could withstand such wounds? I saw
a ship which was beached after she had
been torpedoed. There was a hole in
her side 80 by 18 feet, although she
had been hit only once"
And so we talked on and on of the
Lusitania and her tragic end. recalling
viyidly to me impressions which had
grown dim during the years. I called
to mind my first glimpse of the Lusi-
tania, in 1907, when she was running
on her trials. My heart had gone out
to her in wonder and admiration, and
then and there / decided to go to sea
in her some day. In 1915 my dreams
came true, and I got my billet on
the. Lusitania.
I don't believe I ever thought she
would be torpedoed, not even when, on
that last voyage, I learned from the
wireless operator that so many subma-
rines were lying in wait for us. Yet,
looking back, seem to recall momen-
tary premonition that some disaster
was in the air.
How was saved? There are many
of US who find that some trivial in
cident has deep significance later on.
Had I not, month before the sinking,
strolled into a tailor's and bought a
new uniform, would have been lost.
At 10 minutes to the afternoon of
the sinking I was taking four point
bearing which, had fate SO ordained,
would have fixed the ships position
with mathematical certainty in about
20 minutes. At o'clock I was relieved
and was writing my log in my cabin
when the baggagemaster appeared.
THE men are waiting for you down
in the baggage room, sir" he said.
The baggage had to be brought up
by lift, and nothing could be touched
unless in an officers presence. l had
on my new uniform, and the baggage
room was a dirty place. So I decided
to change into an older suit before I
went down. I had hardly completed
the change when the torpedo struck.
Not a soul in the baggage room was
saved.
The 20 minutes which followed the
hit are indelibly in my memory. They
A.-4z ,E
fusion! The quieting of the passengers!
Sharp orders Then the boat stationsl
But although the engines were STEP
ped, the way of the huge vessel kept
her rushing through the water, and
Capt. Turner dared not order the boats
lowered under such conditions.
Silence Overcomes Ship.
A strange silence fell upon the ship.
1t was broken only by the whimpering
of a child, quickly comforted by its
brave mother. Such incidents were
characteristic of the behavior Of all the
women l observed.
Lower away the boats; women and
children first"
The order had come at last. I was
on the portside, the high side, when
my first boat, with 65 passengers, was
lowered go feet TO the sea. The second
boat contained one passenger-a man
paralyzed by fear. He ignored my order
TO get out told sailor to lift the
man out. The sailor leaped into the
boat with an ak
Hop it," he commanded. The order
was obeyed promptly. That was the
only trouble of this kind encountered.
BY the time I got to launching the
third boat the Lusitania's list had in
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