The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-01-11
Honor Upon
Honor Vas Made
Upon Skipper;
King Sends
Telegram I
sv EDWARD CURTIS

ashore, capt. huTt LARSEN tolu
he story today of his monumental
light with the raging Atlantic-a
,wo-weeks battle against wind,
waves and cold.
He told a cheering crowd of
| thousands: Il deeply regret that
was not in position TO bring the
enterprise back with me"
From the deck of the rescue
ug Turmoil he watched the death
hroes OF the hugh Flying En-
erprise Thursday, minutes after
re leaped into the water from the
living freighter. She went down in
o fathoms (250 feet of water, 81
miles off this fishing port, after
thrashing, titantic battle with
he sea.
THAT really hurt me, quite a
Of" Carlson said.
1t was that last gale" which
struck the stout ship its death blow.
he courageous, 37-year-old skip
per told packed news conference.
THE last few days gale was
too much" he said. There were
high seas going and they were too
much"
His worst moment in the long
ordeal, he said, was the moment
that the Flying Enterprise diSap-
peared."
He obviously loved his ship.
u commanded that ship for
three years and made A crossings
of the Atlantic" he said.
She was a very we'll built ship.
She was an extremely solid ship.
| had command of that ship for
over three years and crossed the
Atlantic many times, so knew
what she could take"
He will go back to sea, he said.
And it may be aboard another
Flying Enterprise. The Isbrandtsen
Line. owner of the ship, referring
proudly to the heroic master, has
announced that he can have a new
command whenever he wants it
and that likely there will be a
new Flying Enterprise for him one
day.
Carlson seemed calm as he de-
scribed his ordeal, a solitary battle
for a week after he ordered his
! crew of 40 and 10 passengers to
abandon ship on Dec. 20, four days
after the Christmas hurricane hit
him. He managed to get four to
six hours sleep a night, sleeping
half on the port wall and half
on the floor" of the crafty tilted
vessel.
1t was hungry affair for him
for while.
Il found down in the storeroom
a big pound cake with big hole
in it, and / put my arm through
1t and brought il up" he said.
He lived on the pound cake and
water for several days. Later he
found some wine and beer aboard.
Still later, the U. S. destroyer Will
lard Keith got hot coffee and food
to him. BY night, he read by the
light of Pickering candle. His
book was THE Seaman and the
Law"
Things frightened for him after
a week of lonely battle, when the
salvage tug Turmoil. coming close
by, put aboard First Mate Kenneth
Dancy, q.
| What did they talk about on those
long, eerie nights?
Well. we talked about this press
business, Carlson replied. ITO be
frank, we were both scared of it. y
When the last moments of the
Flying Enterprise arrived, he and
Dancy jumped together into the
sea and swan hand in hand toward
the Turmoil. They clambered I'D
a rope ladder a few minutes later.
Garrison stepped onto the Prince
OF Wales pier in Falmouth today.
wearing an diversified black rain.
coat he borrowed from one of his
rescuers, at l0:0S a. m. (5:08 I'm.
EST.
Il just cannot find words enough
to express my gratitude to you =
he told the crowd.
Honor upon honor was thrust
upon the skipper Lloyds of London,
the insurance underwriters. gave
him a medal. King Frederik of
Denmark--Carlsen is Danish.
born naturalized American-sent a
telegram of congratulations. The
U. S. Coast Guard announced plans
for formal commentator.
Garrison said he kept pictures of
his wife and two children by his
side and prayed to God during his
two-week fight to bring the dam
aged vessel into port.
Car.sen came ashore at this
Cornish fishing town from the tug
which tried for six days TO get his
storm-battered, heeled-over freight
er into port and then had 10 pluck
him from the Atlantic just before
she sank.
The fishing folk Of Cornwall. who
Tor generations have known the
sea and respected and feared its
might, gave him conqueror's vel
come.
AT the top of the steps were his
mother and father, Mr.. and Mrs.
Martin Carlson. who few from
Denmark TO greet their hero son
xIhAE IL lookad IL. -