"Well, sir," he answered, "I've been going across on merchantmen. I have been torpedoed three times, but I'd like to get on a destroyer or a submarine-chaser, where I can see a little real action." That was the spirit of the reservists. Willing to perform any duty, they wanted to get into action, to be sent where the fighting was. Naval aviation was made up largely of reservists, and the Naval Reserve Flying Corps grew during the war into a force of more than 26,000, with 1,500 qualified pilots and 4,000 student officers in training. Not only were hundreds of bright young men enrolled as prospective aviators, but thousands of skilled mechanics were enlisted in the ground personnel. Looking over the list of officers of the Cruiser and Transport Force, I find that eight reservists were on Admiral Gleaves' staff, eighteen on that of Admiral Jones. Of the 166 officers who served on the _Leviathan_, the largest of all transports, 93 were reservists. On the _George Washington_ there were 63 out of the total of one hundred. Thirty-five served on the _President Lincoln_, 46 on the _President Grant_, 69 on the _Mount Vernon_, 51 on the _Great Northern_, 43 on the _Orizaba_, 28 on the _Pastores_, 33 on the _Pocahontas_, 24 on the _Powhatan_, 30 on the _Princess Matoika_. Of this large force, there was not a transport or cruiser which did not have a large proportion of reservists in its officers and crew. In carrying the American Army to France and bringing it home, the reservists did their full share of the work. They played an even larger part in the Naval Overseas Transportation Service. Five thousand officers and thirty thousand men were required to man this vast fleet of cargo ships carrying munitions and supplies to France. Of the officers all but twelve were reservists, as were a large majority of the enlisted men. Thousands more were in training to furnish crews for the hundreds of vessels being built by the Shipping Board which the Navy was preparing to man. Of our 350 submarine chasers, which were on patrol duty in French and English waters, in the Adriatic and all along the American coast, the large majority were manned by reservists, who performed this hard and often monotonous duty with a cheerfulness that was unfailing. These sturdy little 110-foot boats stayed at sea in all kinds of weather, and braved storms that even the largest vessels did not relish. The record shows that the reservists could have done anything required at any time anywhere. At the aviation assembly and repair base at Pauillac, France, during an inspection by members of the Naval Affairs Committee, one of the party, Congressman Peters, of Maine, remarked: "My watch is broken and I have tried both in Paris and at Bordeaux to get it repaired, but was told that it would take two weeks to do so." Lieutenant Commander Briscoe, in command of the repair base, told the Congressman that it could be fixed right there at the station.