Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 147, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 June 1912 — HEROIM of a GUNNER'S MATE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HEROIM of a GUNNER'S MATE

.HERE Is hardly a month goes by that we do not read of some heroic deed having been performed by some one or more of our brave bluejackets, and of his being rewarded by a letter of commendation from the secretary of ' the navy, or if the deed

was of such heroic qualities as to i merit special attention, by receiving the American medal of honor from the hands of the president of the United States. The American medal of honor ranks with the Victoria cross of England, or the Iron cross of Germany, 'and It is as hard, if not harder, to win. This medal always carries with it a gratuity of SIOO, but to either man or officer it means a good deal more. The pathway for a medal ,of * honor men is made easier to advancement, and an enlisted man who is a holder of one of these medals may take examination for warrant officer, no matter what his present rating. There are cases, however, where heroic deeds have been performed that have not been made the subject of a report, sometimes through Ignorance of the dangers experienced or of all the conditions. There is the case of James F. Scott, a gunner’s mate on the U. S. S. Montgomery, who, knowing of his danger, obeyed orders and went to the bottom of Narragansett bay in a diving suit, after a lost torpedo, which had slowly sunk after being fired from a submerged tube, and which might start off at any moment. Down he went and found the torpedo resting In a dangerous position, but approaching carefully he’ Inspected it, and thinking it still dangerous Parent up and reported conditions. He was again ordered down to fasten a line to it, and he went—but let him tell his own story. Torpedo Practice. ! “It was on Aug. 24, 1009. and we were firing torpedoes on the range In Narragansett Bay. I was working in tile forward torpedo room preparing an 18-inch Whitehead torpedo for firing from the submerged tube. The torpedo was set to run 4,000 yards at 27 knots per hour. We made all the adjustments and placed the torpedo in the tube ready for firing. Having prepared the torpedo for the run I was naturally interested In its performance, and went to the forec'stle to watch it. The gunner remained below to see that all went right, as he torpedo was to be fired from the bridge-firing, apparatus. The torpedo left the ship without turning over its engines, but went about 56 yards with its own initial impulse headway and then slowly sank to the bottom in about 44 feet of water. Boats were called in from the range and buoys were dropped over the spot where the torpedo sank. The diving launch was prepared and ordered away from the ship. I did practically all the diving on the Montgomery for lost torpedoes, so it was I who went out with the diving launch. We get $1.20 an hour extra pay for diving, you know. “Well, the executive officer from the ship had semi bubbles rising to the surface from the escaping air of the torpedo and was in a terrible hurry to get after It. I knew that it was dangerous to go after a torpedo that had went to the bottom the way this one had. It might start off at any minute, and besides it would probably float of its own accord by the way the air was escaping from it. You know the compressed-air charge gives a torpedo negative buoyancy, but When a certain amount would leak out ihe torpedo would have positive buoyancy end rise to the surface. This was understood, but it was insisted that I go down, although I stated that we did not generally dive for torpedoes that sank like this one did. It was thought, however, that the torpedo might get adrift and that it would be all right for me to go down If I went right away. * Was Gaining Buoyancy. “So I went out In the boat and donned the diving suit Before the helmet was put on, I told them I would find the torpedo first and look over the ground and then come up Jor a line to pot on It Going down I followed the buoy line. The water sms not very clear and I couldn’t see wore than a few feet but Just before l touched bottom the bead of the tormedo appeared right before my eyes, 2d I thoimht that It was already on y.. * i

its way up, but when my feet touched bottom I realized my mistake. “The torpedo was only four or five feet away and resting at an angle upon its tail, the head slowly swaying in the water. It showed me that it was rapidly gaining positive buoyancy. I stood still for two or three minutes to let the mud settle and the water clear so that I could see what I was going to do. My feet had sunk into the mud over the tops of my diving shoes; it was always hard walking down there. I took my time and looked the torpedo over, carefully noting that the propeller lock was off —for sometimes it is accidently left on and that sinks the torpedo—and that the starting lever had been tripped and also that the leak around the stop valve was letting air out. We always leave a leak there intentionally. Noting these things I then knew that either the main engine had stuck or the main valve had.failed to function. I knew that a little air might set the engine going, but was afraid to try this, for if those propellers got me —!

“After a moment of reflection I carefully stepped up to the torpedo and put both my hands on its afterbody and lifted it bodily but easily above my head; this was quite easy, as the iorpedo was rapidly gaining buoyancy, but it sank slowly back to the bottom. This was a very dangerous thing to do, knowing that the ton* pedo was charged and that the stop valve was open and no lock on tha propellers, but I reasoned that perhaps with a little start it would go up. I now took the 50-pound weight, which was acting as anchor for the buoy and placed it at the, tail of the torpedo and signaled to <|bme up. “I was hauled slowly to the surface, and after my helmet was removed I stated conditions to the gunner in the boat. I told him I thought that the torpedo would soon float, and this was megaphoned to the ship. On the ship a little conference was held. Orders soon came to go down again and make the buoy line fast to the tail of the torpedo after removing the weight. “Well, once more I donned the big brass helmet and stepped off the ladder into the waters of the bay and followed the buoy line to the torpedo. Soon it appeared before me, a great steely, ■vthlte-looking devil which reminded me of the cold whiteness of a shark. It was about as I left it, but I tarried to look It over carefully again. ';While I was examining the torpedo It so happened that one of the torpedo boats from- the torpedo station was coming up. the range at full speed. This being noticed from the Montgomery a signal was sent to her to go farther off, but the torpedo boat not thoroughly comprehending the signal and not seeing the diving launches it was on the opposite side froiq them —kept coming on until she passed the bow of the Montgomery when they noticed that there was a diver down. The torpedo boat immediately swung around sharply away from the launch and stopped her engines. but a large swell resulted which gave motion to the water even oh the bottom and sprayed the torpedo, causing it to bounce up and down on the bottom. I felt the motion in the

water and remained away from the torpedo. “What next happened occurred so suddenly and quickly that I have not a clear recollection of it, except that instinctively I knew the torpedo had started off at full speed and threw out my hands to save myself, that is, to push the torpedo away from my body, as its tall swung toward me. My handß encountered the afterbody and the propellers chopped them up. The torpedo rapidly gained speed and Bhot to the surface with tremendous force, passing within a short distance of the man tending the lines and air hose, and rushed -20 feet into the air, then curving down into the water ran off down the course, diving in and out of the water. The men in the launch were so excited that for the moment they forgot themselves and fell away from the pump, leaving it stopped for a moment.

His Air Stopped. rt As soon as I failed to hear the old familiar chug chug of the pump I thought that the air hose had been cut by the propellers of the torpedo and closed the relief valve to save what air I had in the suit, and was going to try to remove my shoes. (The water was so muddy that I could not see whether the hose had fallen to the bottom or ribt.) As I was closing the relief valve I noticed that my hands were mangled and I was soon much relieved to feel them hauling me to the surface. Going up I kicked my legs to Bee if I could tell if they were also cut. It happened that T came up under the wrong side of the ladder, and had to work myself around it with my elbows. As soon as I had got clear I held my hands up so that the men in the launch could see that I could not help myself. “When the torpedo had shot out of the water there was a great commotion on hoard the Montgomery. One calm and collected officer cried out: ‘For God’s sake, pull the diver up!’ He then ran to the gun deck of the ship and, meeting the doctor, began dragging him without further ceremony toward the gangway. The doctor did- not know what the matter was, but the other persisted in dragging him on, telling him as rapidly as possible.” By the time the doctor arrived at the launch the men had the diver into the boat and were cutting the suit from him. The doctor quickly applied tourniquets to Scott’s arms and he was taken to the ship in the steam launch. As soon as possible Scott was placed on the operating table and put under chloroform, while one finger was removed and the others sewed np. Scott was bom In Charlestown, Mags., but later lived in Woburn, and was the son of J. F. Scott of that city. Both his parents are dead snd he is at present still in the service