Evening star., 1945-02-22
By the Associated Press.

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Gripsholm said today that Brit
ish escort ships abandoned q
Murmansk-bound convoy in the
North Atlantic in July, 1912, and
that the Germans "had their
|pickings" Of the SO merchant
vessels.
The seaman, Walter Stankiewicz,
70, Of Baltimore, said he had been
on the freighter Carlton, which Ber-
lin and Vichy identified at the time
as the last Of 38 ships Berlin said
were sunk in the convoy.
Mr.. Stankiewicz put the number
sunk at "a, including the 5,127-ton
Carlton.
United States and British Navy
public relations officers in New York
and Washington offered no objec-
tions to publication Of his story, but
said they could not vouch for its au-
thenticity.
MIR. Stankiewicz said the convoy
was attacked few days before July
4 by submarines, on July 4 by "A
torpedo bombers and again on July
5 by submarines.
Lured Away by Warships.
Just before the first attack, he
said, the British admiral in charge
Of some IA destroyers, 6 corvettes, I
heavy cruisers and several small
boats ordered the escort to leave the
convoy, telling the merchant ships
they would have to make their own
way to port.
Mr.. Stankiewicz said he under
stood the British ships left to en-
gage in battle with German war
ships and that the battleships
Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau
lured them away.
He said he was picked up by 4
German torpedo plane whose navi-
CATION ofncer showed him charts
indicating the exact position Of each
ship In the convoy and told him
''how they worked 1t to determine
just where the convoy was"
Another seaman, George Allen
Higgins Of Norfolk, Va, who said
he scrambled aboard the plane with
Mr.. Stankiewicz, said the torpedo
planes went over the convoy in
groups of six and that you could
hear them attacking ships on the
horizon"
No information about the con-
|voy's losses has been announced by
Allied sources.
Tell Of Bad Food.
Other merchant seaman brought
back picture of critical food con-
ditions in their Naz prison camp
conditions they said we're aggravat-
ed by Allied bombing of German
transportation facilities.
Transportation in Germany Is all
shot to hell" said Capt. Henry
Stephenson Of New Rochelle, N. Y,
whose ship was torpedoed In the
Atlantic in 1o42 and who spent
more than two years in q camp 16
miles from Bremen.
Capt. Stephenson said there had
been only one issue of Red Gross
food parcels In the camp when he
left last January Is and because Of
the disrupted transportation there
was little chance Of more getting
through. .
Allied bombings have been Sc
effective, some seamen said, it took
their train four to five days to reach
the Swiss border by q roundabout
route. Normally, they said, the TRIP
required only eight hours. .
The 46 merchant mariners, all
captured after their ships were sunk
by the Germans, were among the
first to disembark when the Grips
holm arrived at Jersey City yester-
day from Marseille with 1,209 pas
sengers.
Taken to Army Hospital
Also aboard were 463 American
soldiers and 78 Canadian military
personnel, all Ill or wounded. The
Americans were taken to Halloran
General Hospital, where they were
Ito be interviewed today, and the
Canadians to Canada. Only a few
Of the 548 United States civilians
and "a Latin American nations
aboard were permitted to leave the
ship last night.
Awards ranging from the Purple
Heart to the Silver Star were pre-
sented to 40 Of the American SOL
diers by Brig. Gen. Ralph g. De Voc