Twenty year old Thomas D.

Ray, Untied States Navy, had spent his birthday at sea in the Indian Ocean having rounded ape !orn the "irst part o" #eb $%&'. (oung Tom was a Navy gunner in the )rmed *uard Service on the )merican Steam +erchant, SS Richard D. Spaight, a ,iberty Ship. !is ship was -ust a year old and had only le"t .ilmington N. . in Sept. $%&/ and now was ma0ing its way down the Sue1 anal with a load o" war material to Durban, South )"rica. Tom was having an adventure that most young men could only dream o". !is latest was a camel ride to the *reat 2yramids where he and three other sailors and a merchant seaman had their pictures ta0en with the pyramids and Sphin3 rising in the bac0 ground.

,4R, Tom, 5Sam6, Nagle, Ness and 7 On #eb /8, $%&' the ship le"t +assawa, 9ritrea "or Durban, South )"rica. The Navy sailors o" the )rmed *uard spend most o" their time at the guns mounted "ore and a"t. The a"ternoon o" +arch $:, $%&', was li0e many that the crew had spent since leaving +assawa. The ship;s crew included < o""icers, '8 crewmen and /& armed guards =the ship was armed with one 8in, one 'in and eight /:mm guns>. *uns were cleaned, shells were chec0ed, and dinner was served a"ter the days; wor0 was done. 9ach evening the heat inside the ship sent the crew topside to cool o"" "or a "ew hours a"ter eating dinner. The unescorted SS Richard D. Spaight =+aster Russell !oover ?uynn in charge> was at 5general @uarters6 as was the practice each evening. The )rmed *uards were at their stations on loo0out "or any activity that might bring harm to the ship. The merchant seaman were lying around, playing games or reading. +erchant Seaman harlie #owler was playing darts on the a"t hatch, Tom was watching "rom his position on the 86 rear gun. The '6 gun, "orward o" the A$ hatch, was pointed west loo0ing toward the setting sun and the direction most li0ely that an attac0 would come "rom. Sailor 9rnest 2rice, on the '6 bow gun, did not see the submarine, U4$</, or the two torpedoes leaving trails in the water as they headed "or the starboard side o" the ,iberty Ship. The only Navy O""icer on board, 9nsign 9dwin B. )bbott also did not see the torpedoes as they approached the slow moving ship. The "irst torpedo struc0 at the A$ hold and sent sailor 2rice and some o" his gun crew into the water. The second torpedo struc0 between holds A/ and A' and sent young Tom over the stern, with li"e -ac0et and helmet. The wrist watch on Tom;s right arm stopped at CD$E as he hit the water.

Seaman #owler went over the side without a li"e -ac0et. Tom and Seaman #owler were drawn toward the turning propeller which is now hal" out o" the water. The men both good swimmers, cannot out swim the current that is pulling them closer with each revolution. The e3plosions e3tensively damaged the ship and showered the dec0 and surrounding area with debris. One merchant seaman sitting on the A$ hatch was blown overboard and drowned, while another lying on a mattress on the same hatch survived. !e was blown higher than the mast, but stayed on the mattress and landed right side up to be rescued. The bow immediately became submerged and the stern li"ted the turning propeller and rudder out o" the water. This saved Tom "rom being pulled under the ship any "arther and into the propeller. Tom sur"aced about 8: "eet "rom the ship and swam to a ra"t "loating nearby. )s Tom climbed on the ra"t he saw that his right hand was bleeding and had small bits o" metal under the s0in. Sailor Bill +ortimer, stationed with the stern gun, helped get one o" "ive li"eboats into the water and he began to pic0 up men that had -umped or were thrown overboard. )s his li"eboat pic0ed up men in the water, it to dri"ts towards the propeller and was swamped. Tom is one o" eight seamen that managed to get on to a ra"t -ust as the sun sets. Soon the ship;s motor launch approached the ra"t, through the gloom with only the light "rom the burning ship as a guide. The surviving o""icers, crewmen and armed guards that abandoned the ship, have climbed into the remaining "our li"eboats and ra"ts. Be"ore the launch reached the ra"t, shell"ire "rom the unseen submarine opens up on the abandoned ,iberty Ship. The U4$</, ommanded by apt. )smus Nicolai lausen, sur"aces about /::: yards away and "ires about $/4$8 rounds "rom the dec0 gun, hitting the disabled ship about$: times and causing the ship to sin0 within two hours. The ,iberty Ship;s crew "loated in silence as they watched the *ermans sin0 the Richard D. Spaight. Tom and the other seaman 0new the *ermans would not ta0e them on board the submarine. So were they to be shot or set adri"t7 The answer came a"ter their ship slipped under the waves. The *erman O""icer, in good 9nglish, told the survivors that he was sorry that he had to sin0 their ship, all the while the *erman crew held guns on the men in the li"eboats. !e @uestioned the survivors about the ,iberty Ship;s cargo, but was told they carried only steel, concrete and drum oil, the standard lie. The *ermans o""ered medical supplies, some "ood and water and then le"t the area. )s the seaman breathed a sigh o" relie" they also began to reali1e that the li"eboats were about 'E: miles northeast o" Durban, South )"rica, in the middle o" the Straits o" +adagascar. +ost o" the seriously wounded were put in the motor launch and headed west. The ra"ts were abandoned. Tom and about eight others were in a small boat, with no motor, but it did have a sail. That "irst night a sailor named Sam, whose hand and "ingers were badly in-ured, had to have three "ingers amputated. Tom "ound a pair o" scissors in the "irst aid 0it and together the men wor0ed to remove Sam;s "ingers. The motor launch with most o" the o""icers and wounded made land"all a"ter three days in ape St. ,ucia. Two boats made land"all later that day in Richards Bay, South )"rica. Tom;s smaller li"eboat reached the shores o" Fululand on the si3th day a"ter the attac0. The men made a camp on the shore, up by the tree line. In large letters they wrote 5Doctor6 in the sand, as a sign "or help. They hoped that a passing plane would see the writings in the sand.

Tom and his "ellow sailors were not sure i" they had landed in a sa"e area or not. +any villages and towns along the cost were "riendly with the *ermans and i" they were not "riends with the *ermans they -ust may be anti4British or anti4)merican anyway. )"ter a "ew days on the beach watching "or rescue planes and seeing none, Tom and a "ellow sailor "ound a trail inland and decided to "ollow it. ) "ew miles in as they rounded a curve in the trail when a native Fulu ran right past them. Neither party stopped or even loo0ed at the other as both were surprised and unsure o" the intent by the other. )"ter a "ew minutes Tom and the seaman turned o"" the trail into the "orest to hide. They stayed but a shot time to be sure that they were alone and then headed bac0 to the beach. The Fulu headed to a Dutch village and told o" two white men lost in the "orest. The Dutch contacted a nearby )llied +ilitary Base which sent out a plane to search the area and the ne3t day "ound the li"eboat and survivors on the beach. ) "ew days later the men were on their way to ape Town, were they stayed until new orders and new assignments could be made. )s with all good war stories, while Tom is recuperating in the hospital he meets a young nurse who acts as his tour guide during his stay in ape Town. But that is another story. ByD Games ). Ray, /:$&