Corsair (Yacht); World War, 1914-1918 -- Naval operations
_Commander Kittinger, in command of the yacht Corsair, escorted the
O.V.H.N. convoys, etc._
It is requested that a copy of this letter be filed with this
officer’s record.
Lieutenant Commander Porter became the commander of the _Corsair_ on
May 31st, and held the position until the yacht returned home one year
later. It gratified him, of course, to have his own ship, and in the
opinion of his officers and crew the honor was well deserved. It was
a distinction also, and without precedent in a combatant ship, for
a Reserve officer to be given a vessel of the size and class of the
_Corsair_. He was later advanced to the naval rank of commander and
finished his service as a three-striper.
Lieutenant Commander Tod was detached to join the organization of
Admiral Wilson at Brest as Port Officer and was afterwards appointed
Director of Public Works. Both positions were important and involved
varied and arduous responsibilities. He was later promoted to the rank
of Commander. At a dinner given by the American naval officers of the
club in Brest, this rousing song of the Breton Patrol was rolled out
with a vigor that rattled the windows:
1. Oh we sing of a squadron patrolling the coast
From Cre-Ach to old Saint-Nazaire.
On the job for a year, we still say with a cheer,
_Nous resterons pendant la guerre_.
_Chorus_:
Though the bar’s _consigné_ and we’ve clumbed up to stay
At the very tip-top of the pole,
Still our drinks, short or tall, will be “WILSON, that’s all,”
The Chief of the Breton Patrol.
2. It’s a squadron that’s doing its best over here
Towards keeping command of the seas;
For by day or by night, standing by for a fight,
It’s the Breton Patrol of H. B.[5]
3. To the Point of Penmarch it is not very far;
Some forty-five miles of blue sea,—
That’s where some day poor Fritz will be blown into bits
By the Breton Patrol of H. B.
4. If we sail on request of the C.D.P. Brest,
With a convoy that’s bound for its goal;
If it’s rain, hail, or snow, the convoy must go,
That’s the job of the Breton Patrol.
5. If a depth charge turns over and falls in the sea,
And next moment your stern is no more,
There’s just one thing to do,—_Prenez vite le you-you_,
And pull for the Brittany shore.
[Illustration: CHIEF QUARTERMASTER FARR STANDS WITH FOLDED ARMS AND
INDICATES THAT HE HAS HIS SEA-LEGS WITH HIM]
[Illustration: COMMANDER KITTINGER SAYS GOOD-BYE TO LIEUTENANT
COMMANDER PORTER AS THE LATTER TAKES OVER THE COMMAND]
6. If the ship is _trop fort_, and you need a _corps-mort_,
Just to keep her quite safe in the bay,
You have only to go to brave Captain Loiseaux,
_Il nous faut le chameau, s’il vous plaît_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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