TRANSCRIBED FROM THE HOT SPRINGS NEW ERA DECEMBER 28, 1918 P. 3
Brest, France, Dec 6, 1918
Dear Father:
Owing to the fact that censorship has been done away with will try to give you a little information about our whereabouts and also to what duty this ship has been doing in the war. You see early in June of 1917 when I was on the St. Louis that ship came across with General Pershing’s first military expedition to St. Nazaire, France, and that was when the subs were at their worst. And on the trip over we had many false alarms. But one real alarm and then a sub came up or rather just her periscope on our port quarter and fired two torpedoes which were seen very distinctly by the lookouts on watch in that part of ship. We fired several shots at the periscope without any apparent results for she submerged immediately after we directed our fire at her. We got into St. Nazaire the 27th of June and from there got leave to Paris. I was in Paris three days. We sailed from there the 6th of July and landed again in New York for some time and made short trips to the target range to drill gun crews and finally went to Boston for repairs and dry dock. Then after several short trips to the target range. We put in at Halifax, Nova Scotia for another trip across. We got to Plymouth, England the latter part of Sept. 1917 with a large bunch of officials on the war committee. The Huntington made the trip and is a cruiser of about the same ___. After lying in Plymouth for ___ days they asked for volunteers for destroyers, and nothing but men that had been to sea not under six months, destroyers being the toughest life in the navy, and one of the most important. Well, I volunteered as they wanted men of my rating which was signalman first class, and came on the Porter the 1 th of Sept. and I never can regret having volunteered for such duty. Though being accustomed to the St. Louis and seasickness never bothered me on her. I almost died on this ship for there’s nothing to equal a destroyer when it comes to rolling and pitching in heavy seas and we always made speed. But I got over that in about a month but some of my unfortunate shipmates never did get used to it and had to be transferred to the short station at Queenstown, Ireland, where we were based for recuperation. We were out on about an average of six days though sometimes ten doing mostly troop ship convoying and up to August 1st we never lost a ship. But on August 1st the Covington, formerly a German ship was torpedoed almost at twilight. Five destroyers were escorting five troops ships to rendezvous which is about 17 degrees west when she was hit, we being one of the escort, we were zig-zagging on her port beam when she was hit and the closest ship to her.
After we located the approximate location of the sub by the wake of the torpedo we headed for her though being unable to see her periscope we dropped seven depth charges in her vicinity but got no results. Two more destroyers also dropped depth charges. We then circled the Covington until about 10:30 p.m. as she was settling very low. All the crew and officers had abandoned her in boats and rafts except the ones that were killed by the explosion, which were seven. We were also with the USS Fanning when she got the U68. We could see her plainly when she came up. On April 28 of this year while returning to our Irish base from a convoy that we landed safely in France, we sighted a periscope on our star bow, and as the sub had its periscope pointed toward the English ship and was unaware of seven American destroyers in scouting line, we being on the extreme starboard end of the line and was the only one to sight her, and she was just getting ready for a shot at the English convoy and was caught napping. We headed for her at full speed which is about 33 knots almost ran her down before she chanced to see us and then she submerged. But we dropped 27 depth charges around her and hung around all that night until the next morning and all that was in sight next morning was a lot of ice and some small bit of wreckage on the surface. We started back about 8 a.m. to our base, being alone as the other ships left after they saw we could handle the proposition, and about nine o’clock the same morning we sighted a large four-horned mine which had probably been planted by the same sub we got. We sank the mine by rifle fire. Two weeks later we got an official letter from the British government thanking us for the service rendered in saving the convoy and sinking the U-boat, which finally (MISSING TEXT) the U-boat on her maiden voyage from Kiel, Germany. This is just a few of the many exciting times that I have had since over here. Will give you more details next time as I am just coming off watch it being 1 a.m. We are now based at Brest, France and have been for sometime. We go out tomorrow to meet President Wilson to escort him to his destination. With us there will be twenty destroyers. This will likely be in the movies so tell sis and the boys to watch for it and if they get a chance to see it look out for the Porter which is No. 59 her number will be on her side very plainly and I will be on the bridge though I don’t guess you could see that close. We sail for the states in about two weeks or less time, and I am coming home on a furlough the first opportunity.
Your son,
Oce
NOTES: Everett Ottis “Oce” Nichols was writing to his father, W. E. Nichols. He was born on December 31, 1899 in Garland County, Arkansas and died on November 7, 1959. He is buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in Hot Spring, Arkansas.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT
Brest, France, Dec 6, 1918
Dear Father:
Owing to the fact that censorship has been done away with will try to give you a little information about our whereabouts and also to what duty this ship has been doing in the war. You see early in June of 1917 when I was on the St. Louis that ship came across with General Pershing’s first military expedition to St. Nazaire, France, and that was when the subs were at their worst. And on the trip over we had many false alarms. But one real alarm and then a sub came up or rather just her periscope on our port quarter and fired two torpedoes which were seen very distinctly by the lookouts on watch in that part of ship. We fired several shots at the periscope without any apparent results for she submerged immediately after we directed our fire at her. We got into St. Nazaire the 27th of June and from there got leave to Paris. I was in Paris three days. We sailed from there the 6th of July and landed again in New York for some time and made short trips to the target range to drill gun crews and finally went to Boston for repairs and dry dock. Then after several short trips to the target range. We put in at Halifax, Nova Scotia for another trip across. We got to Plymouth, England the latter part of Sept. 1917 with a large bunch of officials on the war committee. The Huntington made the trip and is a cruiser of about the same ___. After lying in Plymouth for ___ days they asked for volunteers for destroyers, and nothing but men that had been to sea not under six months, destroyers being the toughest life in the navy, and one of the most important. Well, I volunteered as they wanted men of my rating which was signalman first class, and came on the Porter the 1 th of Sept. and I never can regret having volunteered for such duty. Though being accustomed to the St. Louis and seasickness never bothered me on her. I almost died on this ship for there’s nothing to equal a destroyer when it comes to rolling and pitching in heavy seas and we always made speed. But I got over that in about a month but some of my unfortunate shipmates never did get used to it and had to be transferred to the short station at Queenstown, Ireland, where we were based for recuperation. We were out on about an average of six days though sometimes ten doing mostly troop ship convoying and up to August 1st we never lost a ship. But on August 1st the Covington, formerly a German ship was torpedoed almost at twilight. Five destroyers were escorting five troops ships to rendezvous which is about 17 degrees west when she was hit, we being one of the escort, we were zig-zagging on her port beam when she was hit and the closest ship to her.
After we located the approximate location of the sub by the wake of the torpedo we headed for her though being unable to see her periscope we dropped seven depth charges in her vicinity but got no results. Two more destroyers also dropped depth charges. We then circled the Covington until about 10:30 p.m. as she was settling very low. All the crew and officers had abandoned her in boats and rafts except the ones that were killed by the explosion, which were seven. We were also with the USS Fanning when she got the U68. We could see her plainly when she came up. On April 28 of this year while returning to our Irish base from a convoy that we landed safely in France, we sighted a periscope on our star bow, and as the sub had its periscope pointed toward the English ship and was unaware of seven American destroyers in scouting line, we being on the extreme starboard end of the line and was the only one to sight her, and she was just getting ready for a shot at the English convoy and was caught napping. We headed for her at full speed which is about 33 knots almost ran her down before she chanced to see us and then she submerged. But we dropped 27 depth charges around her and hung around all that night until the next morning and all that was in sight next morning was a lot of ice and some small bit of wreckage on the surface. We started back about 8 a.m. to our base, being alone as the other ships left after they saw we could handle the proposition, and about nine o’clock the same morning we sighted a large four-horned mine which had probably been planted by the same sub we got. We sank the mine by rifle fire. Two weeks later we got an official letter from the British government thanking us for the service rendered in saving the convoy and sinking the U-boat, which finally (MISSING TEXT) the U-boat on her maiden voyage from Kiel, Germany. This is just a few of the many exciting times that I have had since over here. Will give you more details next time as I am just coming off watch it being 1 a.m. We are now based at Brest, France and have been for sometime. We go out tomorrow to meet President Wilson to escort him to his destination. With us there will be twenty destroyers. This will likely be in the movies so tell sis and the boys to watch for it and if they get a chance to see it look out for the Porter which is No. 59 her number will be on her side very plainly and I will be on the bridge though I don’t guess you could see that close. We sail for the states in about two weeks or less time, and I am coming home on a furlough the first opportunity.
Your son,
Oce
NOTES: Everett Ottis “Oce” Nichols was writing to his father, W. E. Nichols. He was born on December 31, 1899 in Garland County, Arkansas and died on November 7, 1959. He is buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in Hot Spring, Arkansas.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT