TRANSCRIBED FROM THE NEVADA COUNTY PICAYUNE, FEBRUARY 13. 1919 P. 8
Corfee Greece (Base 25) December 19, 1919,
Dear Papa:
We left Rogusa, Austria, on the 17th and arrived here this afternoon. The old base looks pretty deserted. There is only about 75 men now attached to it, a good part of those being jail birds. I guess we will take them aboard our chasers and start for Malta about the 21st, and we want to make Malta by Christmas. don’t know whether we will or not as our mother ship is pretty slow (about 8 knots per hour). There’s no mail here for us, guess it is piled up at Malta probably.
You all will probably get all these letters that I’ve been writing at once mail only goes out so often but now as we can write all we like. I write just as often as I feel like it.
We struck some rough sea on this trip and it has been so long since we had been to sea that I was a little seasick again. The whole trouble with getting seasick is that you don’t rock with the ship. You forget and try to brace against it. I want to get back to the farm again, were we never see a ship but still when the weather is good its fine at sea, there is so much room and the air is fine and the sun shines so bright. In the summer when we were at sea, most of the time we were all tanned or sunburned almost like Africans.
Well, the latest dope on our trip down is that we leave off visiting those cities and sail direct from Malta to Gibralta, then take the Southern route as I have heretofore layed out. That will make us arrive about a month earlier in the States than we would if we visited those different ports, we ought to get back by the first of May if nothing happens.
It is still real warm here. I don’t suppose we will see any winter this year. It would be mighty cold in a Northern climate on these boats. I imagine you all wonder sometimes just what we do or what we have done over here and just how everything is situated, etc., so I’ll try and tell you just a little about it now, as it is all over.
Well, first our duty is, or was, to get the Sub., as you already know, well for this work we were equipped with a 3-in gun on our bow, or just a little forward of midship, then just aft of midship we had a “Y” gun which shot or threw depth charges (two at a time) and on our stern we carried 9 depth charges which could be dropped overboard, then we had four spare charges for reloading the “Y” gun. We also had two machine guns, one on either side of the bridge. As you know the 3in. piece can be used as anti-air craft and it would also pierce the hull of a sub. If she stuck her nose up but they never dared do that, the whole game was to drop those cans of T. N. T. on them, and they soon realized we would do that. We worked three days out and three days in, or sometimes six days out and one in. We had to keep the banage up regardless of everything else. When most all the other ships would be in on account of a storm we would be out there bouncing around like a cork, day or night, rain or shine and that’s what got their goat. We were also equipped with hydrophones. These are a simple arraignment but they do the work. The men that operate these are known as listeners and they are so trained that they can get a bearing on the sound that comes in over these hydrophones.
Well, these chasers work in units, three chasers to a unit and they keep in touch with one another all the time by radio-telephone and radio sparks. Well, when one chaser gets a bearing a signal is given, then the listeners get their bearings and all chasers move in the direction of that bearing. Then they listen every few minutes until the listeners are confident they are over the “Hun” then the signal is given and the ash cans are dropped and the old Adriatic is given a good shaking up. Then the chasers all turn back over the place where the charges were dropped. If they find the surface covered with oil, they are of the opinion they got a sub, but its guess work to some extent, for instead of blowing them up, we blow them down and they never come up.
We don’t know just how many subs the fleet has gotten since we have been here. Myboat hasn’t gotten any but one of the others have. We were on the job all the time and did more work than some of the others, but were a little unlucky as the subs happened to never come our way. I’m confident we put a stop to them going out through here.
Here’s a story told by my skipper by a Jugoslave off an Austrian ship from Pola. That was a large sub base. He said there were 27 subs operating out from Pola and that 10 went out at one time and were never heard of again, then the rest of the 27 were knocked down and shipped overland to Germany. That sounds a little fishy, but we know they were beaten at some of their games any way. At the battle of Durazzo, our chasers got two subs I believe, but my individual boat didn’t get any. The way this happened was like this. There was a hospital ship lying in the harbor and when the battle started she was given a chance to pull out to one side of the range and those yellownecks took advantage of this and pulled their subs out with her. When she got real close to a British cruiser one sub came to the surface and let go a torpedo that which just struck the cruiser’s stern. She no sooner did this than a dozen cans or so went down on her, sinking sub and all. I feel sorry for those sailors that were on those subs for there is no way for them to escape. Once a can is dropped on them. This battle was fine sport, if you will allow me to speak of it that way. There wasn’t much excitement, you see we were about 10 or 12 miles from the city and all we could see was an awful amount of smoke. Their guns wouldn’t hardly reach us, and they were shooting wild all the time. They didn’t score a signal hit, only with the torpedo and only one man was killed by it, two were knocked overboard and washed ashore and were taken prisoners. I suppose these were English sailors. Everything went fine with us. It was like this you know. Twelve of us chasers were the first to come in sight of the city, then about the time we got in our positions the battle cruisers and destroyers were on the scene. There must have been about eight destroyers and five cruisers of different nationality. French, English and Italians. Well, just as we pulled up in sight of the city the airplanes were just finishing up their work. You could see shrapnel fly past then could see them drop bombs, then an awful smoke and dust would go up in the air. Then they sailed away in fleet formation, leaving one lone plane over the city. It came up just we did. By this time the destroyers and battle cruisers were in position and the little land battery fired a little welcome, one single shot, then those big old vessels opened up with both their forward and aft turret. Then the battle was started. They lay there and belched fire and steel. In the meantime two destroyers made their way up to the entrance to the harbor with several little “scoaters” we call them. They are high power motor launches used by the Italians and carry only five men and two torpedoes. These scoaters made a mad rush into the harbor and let go their torpedoes then, took shelter behind the destroyers again. By this time the town was all smoke and through the glasses we could tell it was wrecked. It also happened that there were some ships sunk inside the harbor. Then just as we were finishing up, we saw what we thought was a powder magazine blow up. It was a little to the right of the city. Then the old battle wagons turned tail and moved out. Two cruisers took their position and shelled the town a few rounds and then we all moved on leaving the harbor and all around a mass of smoke. Really it was an easy job. We were so much stronger than they were that they had no chance at all. They only seemed to have little bean shooters, while we opened up with big fine guns. Their batteries were soon silenced. The airplane having put some of them out before we arrived, then we or they (the big ships) finished the others. Our position was on the right flank, up against the shore, to get subs. There was a land battery just above us, but it never opened up. It had been put out of commission by the airplanes.
It was about like watching a baseball game from a back seat with some tall fellow bobbing up in front of you. We received all kind of fine talk from the Italian Admiral, also from the French and English. The hospital ship was brought out a piece from the city and searched for contraband then released and conveyed back nearly to port. I understand the city was taken two days later by the Italians and American soldiers, the thing we can say about this battle, is that we are the first American naval forces to take part in a naval battle anywhere in the Mediterranean waters. This battle took place October 2, 1918.
War is such an awful thing. I know if there were any women and children in Drazzo, they must have suffered some but that was only one raid on them where they made several raids on the Italians.
I stand radio watch when we are at sea but none while in port. We used to stand 4 hours on and 8 hours off, but one of our radio men was transferred to one of those Austrian ships at Spatuto, and now we stand 4 hours on and 4 hours off. That’s pretty tough but when we start on a long trip we will manage to stand 4 hours on and 12 off. That won’t be bad at all. I am having a real easy time. I have a good comfortable bunk to sleep in, plenty of clothes and lots to eat. The only trouble with all this is I’m in the Navy and 6000 miles from home. I’m at Corfu now, but it doesn’t seem near as far from home as it did when I first landed here. I think it is because we are headed for home now, and then I thought probably it might be two or three years before I started back. I feel in fine spirits tonight, hope you are not worrying about me.
I guess I might as well close this up and I’ll write again from Malta and give you all the latest dope I can.
With love and best wishes, your son.
A.T. Reeves
U. S. S. C. No 327, cf P. M. New York.
NOTES: The date at the top of the letter is in error and should be 1918. Avery Thomas Reeves was born October 27, 1895 at Union City, Tennessee and died on January 7, 1957 in Los Angeles, California. He is buried in the Loma Vista Memorial Park in Fullerton, California. His military headstone identifies him as an California E3 serving in the US Navy during World War I. He enlisted on July 17, 1917 and was discharged December 9, 1919. His headstone application identifies him as a Radio Electrician 3rd class, U. S. Navy. He enlisted on July 17, 1917 and was discharged on December 9, 1919. He was writing to his father, Horace. Reeves is describing the October 2, 1918 Battle of Durazzo on the Adriatic Sea on the coast of Albania.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT
Corfee Greece (Base 25) December 19, 1919,
Dear Papa:
We left Rogusa, Austria, on the 17th and arrived here this afternoon. The old base looks pretty deserted. There is only about 75 men now attached to it, a good part of those being jail birds. I guess we will take them aboard our chasers and start for Malta about the 21st, and we want to make Malta by Christmas. don’t know whether we will or not as our mother ship is pretty slow (about 8 knots per hour). There’s no mail here for us, guess it is piled up at Malta probably.
You all will probably get all these letters that I’ve been writing at once mail only goes out so often but now as we can write all we like. I write just as often as I feel like it.
We struck some rough sea on this trip and it has been so long since we had been to sea that I was a little seasick again. The whole trouble with getting seasick is that you don’t rock with the ship. You forget and try to brace against it. I want to get back to the farm again, were we never see a ship but still when the weather is good its fine at sea, there is so much room and the air is fine and the sun shines so bright. In the summer when we were at sea, most of the time we were all tanned or sunburned almost like Africans.
Well, the latest dope on our trip down is that we leave off visiting those cities and sail direct from Malta to Gibralta, then take the Southern route as I have heretofore layed out. That will make us arrive about a month earlier in the States than we would if we visited those different ports, we ought to get back by the first of May if nothing happens.
It is still real warm here. I don’t suppose we will see any winter this year. It would be mighty cold in a Northern climate on these boats. I imagine you all wonder sometimes just what we do or what we have done over here and just how everything is situated, etc., so I’ll try and tell you just a little about it now, as it is all over.
Well, first our duty is, or was, to get the Sub., as you already know, well for this work we were equipped with a 3-in gun on our bow, or just a little forward of midship, then just aft of midship we had a “Y” gun which shot or threw depth charges (two at a time) and on our stern we carried 9 depth charges which could be dropped overboard, then we had four spare charges for reloading the “Y” gun. We also had two machine guns, one on either side of the bridge. As you know the 3in. piece can be used as anti-air craft and it would also pierce the hull of a sub. If she stuck her nose up but they never dared do that, the whole game was to drop those cans of T. N. T. on them, and they soon realized we would do that. We worked three days out and three days in, or sometimes six days out and one in. We had to keep the banage up regardless of everything else. When most all the other ships would be in on account of a storm we would be out there bouncing around like a cork, day or night, rain or shine and that’s what got their goat. We were also equipped with hydrophones. These are a simple arraignment but they do the work. The men that operate these are known as listeners and they are so trained that they can get a bearing on the sound that comes in over these hydrophones.
Well, these chasers work in units, three chasers to a unit and they keep in touch with one another all the time by radio-telephone and radio sparks. Well, when one chaser gets a bearing a signal is given, then the listeners get their bearings and all chasers move in the direction of that bearing. Then they listen every few minutes until the listeners are confident they are over the “Hun” then the signal is given and the ash cans are dropped and the old Adriatic is given a good shaking up. Then the chasers all turn back over the place where the charges were dropped. If they find the surface covered with oil, they are of the opinion they got a sub, but its guess work to some extent, for instead of blowing them up, we blow them down and they never come up.
We don’t know just how many subs the fleet has gotten since we have been here. Myboat hasn’t gotten any but one of the others have. We were on the job all the time and did more work than some of the others, but were a little unlucky as the subs happened to never come our way. I’m confident we put a stop to them going out through here.
Here’s a story told by my skipper by a Jugoslave off an Austrian ship from Pola. That was a large sub base. He said there were 27 subs operating out from Pola and that 10 went out at one time and were never heard of again, then the rest of the 27 were knocked down and shipped overland to Germany. That sounds a little fishy, but we know they were beaten at some of their games any way. At the battle of Durazzo, our chasers got two subs I believe, but my individual boat didn’t get any. The way this happened was like this. There was a hospital ship lying in the harbor and when the battle started she was given a chance to pull out to one side of the range and those yellownecks took advantage of this and pulled their subs out with her. When she got real close to a British cruiser one sub came to the surface and let go a torpedo that which just struck the cruiser’s stern. She no sooner did this than a dozen cans or so went down on her, sinking sub and all. I feel sorry for those sailors that were on those subs for there is no way for them to escape. Once a can is dropped on them. This battle was fine sport, if you will allow me to speak of it that way. There wasn’t much excitement, you see we were about 10 or 12 miles from the city and all we could see was an awful amount of smoke. Their guns wouldn’t hardly reach us, and they were shooting wild all the time. They didn’t score a signal hit, only with the torpedo and only one man was killed by it, two were knocked overboard and washed ashore and were taken prisoners. I suppose these were English sailors. Everything went fine with us. It was like this you know. Twelve of us chasers were the first to come in sight of the city, then about the time we got in our positions the battle cruisers and destroyers were on the scene. There must have been about eight destroyers and five cruisers of different nationality. French, English and Italians. Well, just as we pulled up in sight of the city the airplanes were just finishing up their work. You could see shrapnel fly past then could see them drop bombs, then an awful smoke and dust would go up in the air. Then they sailed away in fleet formation, leaving one lone plane over the city. It came up just we did. By this time the destroyers and battle cruisers were in position and the little land battery fired a little welcome, one single shot, then those big old vessels opened up with both their forward and aft turret. Then the battle was started. They lay there and belched fire and steel. In the meantime two destroyers made their way up to the entrance to the harbor with several little “scoaters” we call them. They are high power motor launches used by the Italians and carry only five men and two torpedoes. These scoaters made a mad rush into the harbor and let go their torpedoes then, took shelter behind the destroyers again. By this time the town was all smoke and through the glasses we could tell it was wrecked. It also happened that there were some ships sunk inside the harbor. Then just as we were finishing up, we saw what we thought was a powder magazine blow up. It was a little to the right of the city. Then the old battle wagons turned tail and moved out. Two cruisers took their position and shelled the town a few rounds and then we all moved on leaving the harbor and all around a mass of smoke. Really it was an easy job. We were so much stronger than they were that they had no chance at all. They only seemed to have little bean shooters, while we opened up with big fine guns. Their batteries were soon silenced. The airplane having put some of them out before we arrived, then we or they (the big ships) finished the others. Our position was on the right flank, up against the shore, to get subs. There was a land battery just above us, but it never opened up. It had been put out of commission by the airplanes.
It was about like watching a baseball game from a back seat with some tall fellow bobbing up in front of you. We received all kind of fine talk from the Italian Admiral, also from the French and English. The hospital ship was brought out a piece from the city and searched for contraband then released and conveyed back nearly to port. I understand the city was taken two days later by the Italians and American soldiers, the thing we can say about this battle, is that we are the first American naval forces to take part in a naval battle anywhere in the Mediterranean waters. This battle took place October 2, 1918.
War is such an awful thing. I know if there were any women and children in Drazzo, they must have suffered some but that was only one raid on them where they made several raids on the Italians.
I stand radio watch when we are at sea but none while in port. We used to stand 4 hours on and 8 hours off, but one of our radio men was transferred to one of those Austrian ships at Spatuto, and now we stand 4 hours on and 4 hours off. That’s pretty tough but when we start on a long trip we will manage to stand 4 hours on and 12 off. That won’t be bad at all. I am having a real easy time. I have a good comfortable bunk to sleep in, plenty of clothes and lots to eat. The only trouble with all this is I’m in the Navy and 6000 miles from home. I’m at Corfu now, but it doesn’t seem near as far from home as it did when I first landed here. I think it is because we are headed for home now, and then I thought probably it might be two or three years before I started back. I feel in fine spirits tonight, hope you are not worrying about me.
I guess I might as well close this up and I’ll write again from Malta and give you all the latest dope I can.
With love and best wishes, your son.
A.T. Reeves
U. S. S. C. No 327, cf P. M. New York.
NOTES: The date at the top of the letter is in error and should be 1918. Avery Thomas Reeves was born October 27, 1895 at Union City, Tennessee and died on January 7, 1957 in Los Angeles, California. He is buried in the Loma Vista Memorial Park in Fullerton, California. His military headstone identifies him as an California E3 serving in the US Navy during World War I. He enlisted on July 17, 1917 and was discharged December 9, 1919. His headstone application identifies him as a Radio Electrician 3rd class, U. S. Navy. He enlisted on July 17, 1917 and was discharged on December 9, 1919. He was writing to his father, Horace. Reeves is describing the October 2, 1918 Battle of Durazzo on the Adriatic Sea on the coast of Albania.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT