"A destroyer is by no means a paradise of comfort"
FULL SPEED
AHEAD
Tales from the Log of a Correspondent
with Our Navy
BY
HENRY B. BESTON
GARDEN CITY NEW YORK
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
1919
Copyright, 1919, by
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
All rights reserved, including that of
translation into foreign languages,
including the Scandinavian
Copyright, 1918, by The Atlantic Monthly Company
Copyright, 1918, by The Curtis Publishing Company
Copyright, 1918, by The North American Review Pub. Co,
Copyright, 1918, by The American National Red Cross
Copyright, 1918, by The Outlook Company
To
MAJOR GEORGE MAURICE SHEAHAN
HARVARD UNIT R.A.M.C.
A Forerunner of the Great Crusade.
PREFACE
These tales are memories of several monthsspent as a special correspondent attachedto the forces of the American Navy onforeign service. Many of the little storiesare personal experiences, though some are"written up" from the records and othersset down after interviews. In writing them,I have not sought the laurels of an officialhistorian, but been content to chronicle theinteresting incidents of the daily life as wellas the achievements and heroisms of thefriends who keep the highways of the sea.
To my hosts of the United States Navyone and all, I am under deep obligation forthe courtesy and hospitality everywhereextended to me on my visit. But surely thegreatest of my obligations is that owed toSecretary Daniels for the personal permissionwhich made possible my journey? and for thegood will with which he saw me on my way.And no acknowledgment, no matter howstudied or courtly its phrasing, can expresswhat I owe to Admiral Sims for the friendlinessof my reception, for his care that I be shownall the Navy's activities, and for his constantand kindly effort to advance my work inevery possible way. To Admiral HughRodman of the battleship squadron, his sometimeguest here renders thanks for the opportunitygiven him to spend some ten days aboardthe American flagship and for the welcomewhich makes his stay aboard so pleasant amemory.
To the following officers, also, am I muchindebted: Captain, now Admiral Hughes,Captain J. R. Poinsett Pringle, Chief of Staffat the Irish Base, Captain Thomas Hart,Chief of Staff directing submarine operations,Commander Babcock and CommanderDaniels, both of Admiral Sims' staff,Commander Bryant and Commander Carpender,both of Captain Pringle's staff, CommanderHenry W. Cooke and Commander WilsonBrown, both of the destroyer flotilla, LieutenantHorace H. Jalbert of the U.S.S. Bushnell,Lieutenant Commander Morton L. Deyo,Chaplain J. L. Neff, Lieutenant F. H. King,Lieutenant Lanman, Lieutenant Herrick,and Lieutenant Lewis Hancock, LieutenantGeorge Hood and Lieutenant Bumpusof our submarines.
I would not end without a word of thanksto the enlisted men for their unfailing goodwill and ever courteous behaviour.
To Mr. Ellery Sedgwick of the AtlanticMonthly, under whose colours I had thehonour to make my journalistic cruise, Iam indebted for more friendly help, counseland encouragement than I shall ever be able