15 DAYS ON A RAFT

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XXXII, Issue 8872, 15 February 1943, Page 4

15 DAYS ON A RAFT

EXPERIENCE OF A SAILOR SHIP SUNK IN ATLANTIC BLEAK DAYS, WILD NIGHTS ' Even before the convoy left port, I had a feeling that things were going to be tough on this trip. For one thing, my mother was worried. She didn't say so, but I sensed it. It wasn't my first Atlantic convoy, either. I'd been on British merchant ships ever since the war began. If she had been apprehensive before she had never let on. But she was uneasy this time, I knew. And so was I." A seagoing veteran of 21 was speaking.

His face lost its l>oyishness and appeared almost drawn, as he recalled the bleak days, the cold, wild nights when he and his comrades huddled on a life raft that tossed like a chip on the vast Atlantic.

To get the story took a bit of persuasion. It was not a pleasant one to recall. Yet, if his experience might give heart to someone else in a tight spot, help them to hold on to life and hope, he would talk. If it would help folks to realise more keenly what a tough proposition this war really is—then its telling might be justified. So he went on.

"We set out in a rough sea, with the wind whipping the ocean like an eggbeater. Our vessel bucked and rolled as its swung- into the convoy. Things seemed to go wrong on that ship from the first —little things. But it wasn't until we'd been out nearly two weeks that we had our first bad mishap. "We'd been cutting through a heavy fog for about 16 hours. I'd just come off the watch and turned in when there was a terrific jolt. I grabbed my lifebelt and rushed topside, thinking sure it was a torpedo.

"It wasn't. But it was almost as bad. We had smashed head on into the ship in front of us. It all happened in a flash, and the ship was gone like a phantom. Our bow was smashed in and the forward compartments filled with water. We found we could proceed slowly under our own steam, but had to drop out of the convoy.

"There we were without the protection of our cruisers—crippled, unprotected, a perfect target for the Üboats. To make matters worse, the fog lifted shortly afterward and the next day I picked up the warning that two subs were in the vicinity. We redoubled the watch, but we never saw the submarine or the torpedo that got us.

"Our ship rolled over and sank within three minutes. There wasn't even time to send out an S.O.S. I just managed to' get my life preserver on, grab the small portable radio transmitter and jump. "The suction of the sinking vessel drew me under. It seemed a long time before I came to the surface again. But all the while I seemed to hear these words, 'Fear not, I am with thee. Fear, not, I am with thee.' "It's hard to explain, but somehow in those few seconds I was suddenly conscious of all the promises of the Bible about the nearness and presence of God, even there is the depths of the sea.

"I came up, gasping and choking, in a heavy slick of Diesel oil. Four life rafts had been blown free with the explosion, and a capsized lifeboat to which three men were clinging. I swam to one of the rafts. Two others pulled themselves up beside me, and we looked around. There were three rafts, with three men on each and the overturned boat. The fourth raft got away. Twelve left of a crew of 41! "We managed to manoeuvre the rafts together and fasten them. Prospects of rescue seemed good, and we were not in depair. It wouldn't be long of course, we assured each other. There'd be ships. Food provisions seemed ample. Five one-pound tins of malted milk tablets, three onepound tins of chocolate squares, six pounds of hard biscuits, and five gallons of water on each raft. "We settled down and tried to dry ourselves in the sun and wipe the oil off our faces and lacerated hands. We took account of our supplies, worked out a system of rationing, organised a sort of shipboard routine and all was quiet until the next day, when a shout from one of the men on watch throught us all bolt upright.

"He was pointing at the horizon, shouting and waving. A low-flying bomber hummed acros sthe sky. We waved frantically and screamed at it. I fumbled with the radio transmitter, trying to send out a signal, but the

thing wouldn't work. "The plane disappeared, and we sat back exhausted. Meantime, the boys who bad been perched on the keel of the lifeboat managed to get it, righted and climb

"On the '.bird day. things took a turn for the worse. A storm was blowing up and we decided it would be wiser to separate the rafts. They might pound each other to pieces in a heavy sea. Goodbyes were said. We hardly expected to see each other again. Some of the boys swapped messages for families that the survivors could pass along. "Three times that night we were thrown into the sea. and each time battled our way back to the raft. Again those words, 'Fear not, I am with thee." And I knew He was. Nothing short of His power could have saved us.

"In the morning we looked around for the others and shouted for joy as we accounted for each raft and its crew. But the lifeboat bad disap-

peared. "We began to cut down on our rations now, to catch what little rain water we could to add to what we had. Nights were the worst of all. We would fall off to sleep and dream of being home. It was horrible to waken and realise where we were! "Our clothes were rain-soaked and cold. Often we would jump into the sea and swim around to get warm, for we were drifting in the Gulf Stream. We lived for the days when the sun came out and we could get dry for a few hours. Even when there was no rain, the dew was heavy at night and soaked us to the skin. "I used to sit by the hour and watch the fish play around the raft, I'd try to spear them with a knife, but avms never successful. One day we drank some sea water. It didn't seem to affect us. Someone pulled in a clump of sea weed and ate it. I didn't. I wasn't ravenous enough for that.

"As days went on, our life took on a simple routine. In the morning, we'd paddle up to the other rafts to see hoAv things were going. At night we sang hymns, then we'd pray. We prayed for rescue, for strength to keep on, for those we'd loved at home. One of the boys had been in the Salvation Army earlier in his life. All this came easv to him.

"But the other man—older than the rest of us,—probably hadn't seen the inside of a church for years. He went at it as earnestly as a deacon, though. In fact, he became so concerned about the error of his former ways that he went off into long, lurid confessions

and promised the Diety a life of blameless conduct from now on in return for rescue.

"Sometimes we'd get to talking about the things we would have to eat and drink when we got ashore. I was going to have at least six milk shakes, first of all. The third mate

said he was going to order a dozen 'cokes.' We talked about juicy steaks and Italian spaghetti, with lots of Parmesan cheese.

"One night we were caught up in a strange whirlpool and our raft spun around in circles for hours. Finally if either floated free or the current subsided.

"On the sixth day we lost sight of one of the rafts, but two of us still remained together. On the seventh, we woke to discover that the others had ripped off a couple of boards and rigged a sort of mast, with a tattered shirt as a signal. "On the tenth day, one of the men became delirious. We tried to talk to him, but it was no use, so we took one

| of the fellows on his raft over with us. The other remained to try to restrain his mate, but he finally went over the side. "Before we could take the survivor off. a heavy mist swept over the sea and when it lifted a few hours later all that was left of the other raft was broken pieces. We hauled in one of the buoyancy tanks that floated by. I think that really saved our lives. " We cut it open and used it for a sort of sleeping bag. It was lined with kapok, and two of us could manage to squeeze in and keep warm for a while. Then we'd get out and let the other two have it. "Our clothes were seldom dry. Nights were cold, bleak nightmares with only the narrow slats of the raft between us and the sea. Food and water were desperately low. The biscuits were green with mold. We didn't talk much. But, in spite of all this, I didn't seem to fee] weak, and paddled for hours in what we figured was the direction of land. "The fifteenth day broke with a burst of brilliant sunshine. We took heart. This was the day! we told each other. The sea was calm and a gentle swell seemed to propel us along easily in a westerly direction. Land was miles away, we knew, but we were approaching it. and there was comfort in that. Wcnever doubted somebow that we would be rescued eventually. Our prayers had sustained us. God was near, and good. "In the afternoon we saw a sight that made us catch our breath. It was a trace of smoke on the horizon. Then we heard the hum of an aeroplane. It wasn't an hallucination. We could see it! We ripped off our shifts and waved them, shouting as if the pilot could hear over the sea and the wind and the roar of his motor.

"He wasn't headed in our direction, bed in dismay. Then sharply he He was passing by. We almost sobbanked and turned. He was coming toward us. We waved wildly. He had 10 see us. He had to! "Now he circled low, signalling with his blinkers, and flew back toward the ship on the horizon, flashing the word, 'Survivors ahead. Follow me.'

"We cried and we thanked God. We lapped each other on the hack and hook hands.

"Two and a-half hours later we picked up. Later, the same ship picked up the lifeboat, with one sur-

vivor of its original crew of three. Whal did we want first? Water! We couldn't, gel enough to drink. Then a bath. We longed desperately for sleep, but it was a long time before we fell into a natural, restful sleep. "They were wonderfully kind to us —those men of the Coast Guard. Wo shall never forget."