World's War Events $v Volume 3: Beginning with the departure of the first American destroyers for service abroad in April, 1917, and closing with the treaties of peace in 1919.
History
World's War Events $v Volume 3: Beginning with the departure of the first American destroyers for service abroad in April, 1917, and closing with the treaties of peace in 1919.
World War, 1914-1918
At about 11 p.m. a white light flashing in the blackness of the
night--it was very dark--was sighted, and very shortly it was found that
the destroyer _Warrington_ had arrived for our rescue and about an hour
afterwards the destroyer _Smith_ also arrived. The transfer of the men
from the boats and rafts to the destroyers was effected as quickly as
possible and the destroyers remained in the vicinity until after
daylight the following morning, when a further search was made for
survivors who might have drifted in a boat or on a raft, but none were
found, and at about 6 a.m. the return trip to France was begun.
The performance of Lieutenant Commander Kenyon, commanding the U.S.
destroyer _Warrington_, and Lieutenant Commander Klein, of the U.S.
destroyer _Smith_ deserves great commendation, as they located our
position in the middle of the night, after having run a distance of
about 250 miles, during which time the boats and rafts of the _President
Lincoln_ had drifted 15 miles from the position reported by radio, and
it had been necessary for the commanding officers of these destroyers to
make an estimate of the probable drift of the boats during that time.
The only thing they had to base their estimate on was the force and
direction of the wind. The discovery of the boats was not accidental, as
the course steered was the result of mature deliberation and estimate of
the situation.
[Sidenote: Drift of the boats accurately estimated.]
[Sidenote: The missing.]
Of the 715 men present all told on board, it was found after the muster
that 3 officers and 23 men were lost with the ship and that 1 officer,
Lieutenant Isaacs, above mentioned, had been taken prisoner. The three
officers were Passed Assistant Surgeon L.C. Whiteside, ship's medical
officer; Paymaster Andrew Mowat, ship's supply officer; and Assistant
Paymaster J.D. Johnston, United States Naval Reserve Force.
[Sidenote: Two officers taken down with the ship.]
The loss of these officers was peculiarly regrettable, as they could
have escaped. Both Dr. Whiteside and Paymaster Mowat had seen the men
under their charge leave the ship, the doctor having attended to placing
the sick in the boat provided for the purpose, and they then remained in
the ship for some unexplainable reason, as testified by witnesses who
last saw them, and apparently these two excellent officers were taken
down with the ship. Paymaster Johnston got on a raft alongside the ship,
but in some way was caught by the ship as she went under, as C.M.
Hippard, ship's cook, third class, United States Navy, states that he
was on the raft with Paymaster Johnston and that they were both drawn
under the water, but when he came to the surface, Paymaster Johnston
could no longer be seen.
[Sidenote: Men working below decks.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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