Private - 100th Aero Squadron

 

TUSCANIA TORPEDOING

 

 

To: Mr. Donald A. Smith, Adjutant

London Post, American Legion

London, England

 

February 9th, 1925

 

Dear Mr. Smith:

 

I wish to express my appreciation of your article entitled: "SEVEN YEARS AGO: THE TUSCANIA" in the January 30th edition of the American Legion Weekly. Quite a number of us who were survivors of that ill-fated voyage were rather irritated over the article by Irving S. Cobb in the Saturday Evening Post a short time later, and to which you make reference. I am glad to see that you have at last given out the truth of the matter.

 

This writer was a member of the 100th Aero Squadron at that time. We had given up our quarters to form a hospital section for the men suffering from the mumps and were ourselves quartered on the bottom deck at the time we were hit. I was out in the middle of the hatch on this bottom deck rolling up my blanket roll preparatory to landing the next morning. I certainly agree with you that the non-coms who had electric flashlights were a wonderful help to us in finding those narrow stairways in the dark.

 

I finally got to the boat station and into a life boat, which as you say, up-ended, spilling nearly everyone out. I fortunately grabbed a seat and stayed with it. Then, when we hadn't much more than reached the water, a loaded boat smashed down upon us. I don't know how it missed me. It tore part of one side off our boat. Anyway, I stayed with it, along with perhaps a dozen others, as I had failed to locate my life preserver in the darkness. We drifted away with one oar between us, and some two hours later we fortunately drifted into, and were rescued by the destroyer, "H.M.S. GRASSHOPPER" which landed us next morning at Londonderry.

 

Would be very glad to hear from you some time. I know a Post Adjutant may have some spare time for personal correspondence. At any rate accept my best regards.

 

                                                                            Very sincerely yours,

                                                                           

                                                                            Warren K. McCarty

                                                                            805 N. Van Ness Avenue

                                                                            Santa Ana, California

 

                                                                            Santa Ana Post #131

                                                                            American Legion

 

 

2005 Information Contribution:

From the Edward T. Lauer Collection

Submitted by Tim Epps of the Isle of Islay, Scotland