Evening star., 1933-01-27
SEA RESCUE HERO
REJECTS PRAISES
Capt. otedman Gives Credit
to Bravery and Stamina of
~ Men He Saved.
HY the Associated Presa

BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, January PA hero
Of the sea came to port yesterday with
% men he had saved from a sinking
British freighter in Midatlantic, but he
would have none Of the credit for the
feat which old seamen had hailed as
remarkable"
The slim. young master Of the Amer
lean Merchant 36-year-old Giles
Chester Stecman. stayed in his cabin
while harbor craft Of all kinds set up
New York's welcome of whistles.
He talked quietly Of the rescue. but
he insisted the credit belonged to
others.
1t was the accuracy Of a radio d.
rection finder, he said. that enabled
the American Merchant last Friday to
locate the battered Exeter City. after
her bridge had been carried away. and
her skipper, third mate and two men,
bers OF the crew had been swept over
board by 50-foot wave.
Used IS Tons Of Oil.
And it was the pouring Of IS tons Of
oil onto the turbulent sea, l,575 miles
east OF New York, that enabled the
American ship to get close enough to
the floundering freighter to shoot q
line across, send over an empty life
boat. and pull back the % surviving
sailors. ,
Those % sailors called Stedman q
hero, but Stedman, who in 1925 saved
26 men from a sinking Italian ship
held up forbidding hand when any
one mentioned the word hero" and
much Of his praise was for the STAN
ina the "fortitude" Of the rescued
men-those men who had faced likely
death for hours while they scanned the
skyline for sight Of some rescuer.
AS Capt. Stedman, the five passengers
or his Ship his own crew and the Ex-
eter City survivors told their stories
they placed the crown Of hero on many
man.
There was Henry Victor Lothian, the
young British wireless operator, who
stuck to his post throughout the might
of terror" as some called 1t.
Mountainous waves swept over the
ship. Water often stood foot or more
deep in his little room. He had to keer
his batteries dry. His aerial had been
washed away, but when dawn came he
built a new one and then sent the 8
o. S. on which % lives depended.
Surgeon Shot Line Over.
There was Joseph Gulis Of Engle.
wood, N. j.. second ofacer Of the Amer
lean Merchant, who pored over figure.
and finally worked out the position OF
the Exeter City, several hundred miles
from where the freighters own rough
estimate had placed her In messages.
There was DR.. Cyril Bon Vaubmar
Of Baltimore. Nd. the American Mer.
chants chief surgeon, who. when hii
ship got alongside the frc'yhter. aimed
a little brass cannon and sent his very
first shot directly over the ill-fated
Exeter City, thus connecting the two
ships by 4,800 feet Of line-every foot
Of line the American craft had aboard
There was Cabin Boy Raymond Lewis
Is. the youngest Of the Exeter City
crew. who worked all night bailine
whimpered once" one Of his shipmates
said with chuckle.
Back on the American Merchant
of Boston, who beloved across the oily
water and through the whistling gale
directions to the little group huddled
on the freighter's pitching deck.
Injured Man Stands Watch.
II was 50 hoarse I could hardly
whisper" Capt. Stedman explained, sc
I handed the megaphone to Flowers
you could hear that roar Of his above
any storm"
Then there was 2o-year-old Alfred
Howell. able seaman, the last man to
see his skipper and the other three
victims alive.
He had been cut while pouring oil on
the troubled water before the storm
reached its greatest fury. Blood poison
ing had developed. His arm was in q
sling. But he had stood watch from
8 to 10 pm.
cat 6 minutes to II that Thursday
night" he said, Il was putting on my
oilslkins to 60 back to the bridge. Sud-
denly the ship shook as if-as II some
giant had tried to push it to the bot
tom Of the sea.
Il crept along the deck with a life
line and got the officers out. Then
piped Bridge gone. Stand by. All
hands on deck Then we set for work.
For hours-I guess it was about Is
time to pray or anything like that"
Old Timer Praises Mates.
Up spoke a weather-beaten man with
iron-gray hair-Chief Engineer C. @.
Roach.
"I've been sailing the sea for 80
year, and I had two boats 60 down on
me during the war. A sub got one and
a mine the other. But I never saw q
bunch Of fellows act so jolly well. The
young boys especially. They were right
as rain. And it looked pretty black
near the end for all of US.
TT was that cargo Of china clay VIC
had. you see. We couldn't pump out
any water, because there wasn't any
As fast as it poured in the clay soaked
1t all up"
Capt. Stedman told how the British
crew, acting on messages he sent them
found q sextant, and. In lieu Of naviga-
ton instruments, helped the American
merchants navigator settle their exact
location.
"Violent whole squalls were whipping
up q long, rolling sea-" he said. After
We sighted the freighter 1t took two
hours to reach heT. We were yaW13no