Evening star., 1942-06-28
Master Of Navy Graft
Sunk by Sub Praises
Daunt|ess Crewmen
1t. NuessIe Goes Under
With Little Gonnet,
But Is Soved by Roft
BY JOHN A. MOROSO, Sd,
A. P War Correspondent.

A. r. war correspondent.
WITH THE ATLANTIC FLEET,
June 18 Delayed The blazing
courage Of the crew of the torpe-
doed little seaplane tender Gannet
was described to me today by the
skipper of the ship who. living up
to ancient tradition, went down
with his ship-but lived to tell the
story.
Serious-faced 1t. Francis Edward
Nuessle. 81, told his story slowly
He was recovering from effects of
the oil he got in his eyes as he stood
on the port side of his ship when
it settled rapidly in the water.
1t was typical story Of Ameri-
can bravery as I have learned it
in travels throughout the Atlantic
with the feet A tale of men
singing in the dark. of men holding
up wounded comrades until rescue
came. of men kicking voracious
sharks in the teeth and laughing
about it.
(The Navy Department an
iloullCCu lIlc lOSS VI lllc HdllIltI
Thursday. The day after she
was torpedoed the Nazis claimed
that they had sunk her, but de-
scribed the little ship as a de-
stroyer-the usual Axis magnifi-
cationD
Boilers Exploded.
1T was several hours before day
break when torpedo struck our
starboard beam blowing up both
boilers 1t Nuessle, tall and brown
and a native Of Bismarck, N. Oak,
related.
The Gannet had been patrol
ling for six days. She had gone
along with a British vessel which
was not near her in the pitch
black darkness when the attack
cameD
The ships radio was smashed
along with one life raft" 1t. Nues-
sle. a graduate OF Annapolis in 80
and an aviator. said. and almost
every ore was stunned by the con-
cussion."
He t>ld how the chief gunner
John Bohannan. routed out his
crew, manned the gun and slapped
shell into it. although it was 50
dark a target would not have been
visible.
That wouldn't have helped any,
way. The Gannet went down in
four minutes. Men were blown out
OF their shoes, their clothing was
ripped of.
Blown Clear of Ship.
Harry S. ODonnel, %, of Sloan
Springs. Ark. a carpenters mate
f1rst class, was on lookout when the
explosion blew him clear of the
ship. He started swimming back
when he heard a man yelling for
help.
1t was Guilford ]. Ruman. 20. of
Winthrop. Me. Both of his legs
were broken as well as his back.
ODonneli swan to Ruman and held
him up till life raft rescued them.
Fifteen men died in the blast, one
dying later. More than so got of
on three small RATS. 1t. Nuessle
swan to raft when the suction
Of the ship failed to take him down.
He ordered the RATS tied together
and the wounded were hoisted
aboard while the uninjured held
on the sides.
The crew as a whole were Won
derful-excellent," 1t. Nuessle said
He told how he heard Tracy
Marcus. l8, Mullins, S. c.. shout in
the dark: Lord have mercy on our
souls. Save us from the sea"
Crewmen Sings SpirituaIs.
Knowing that Marcus had a fine
deep voice and was familiar with
Negro spirituals, 1t. Nuessle per-
suaded him to sing.
Marcus, former chauffeur for a
tobacco buyer, had some trouble re-
membering the songs he cheered his
shipmates with.
Il sang I Got Shoes. You Got
Shoes Just Beyond the River
Jordan and Everybody Thus A
Living Got to Die" Marcus said
finally
A Navy flying boat, piloted by 1t
Winslow Pettingen, Cambridge
Mass, spotted bobbing heads
around the RATS and made a daring
ocean landing. His plane picked up
II wounded men and another plane
rescued II more. A naval vessel
summoned by the planes, saved the
rest.
The men we're found as darkness
came on. The next day rain and
fog prevented flying and it is likely
they would all have died in the sea
because no one knew the ship had
been sunk.
The Gannet,, built as mine
sweeper during the World War, was
l87 feet long and $40 tons. =. Quite
Unlike in silhouette or size de-
SfrOvar &C the Gerpoorc oolloJ hor