The Sunset Prayer at Sea
(Offered Every Evening at Sea by the Ship’s Chaplain)
Thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and Thine holy name is called upon by us; leave us not, O Lord our God.
O Lord, hear our prayer; and let our cry come unto Thee.
Remember, most gracious Virgin Mother, Star of the Sea, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy aid and sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, we fly to thee, Virgin of Virgins, our Mother, to thee we come; before thee we stand, sinful and sorrowful. Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petition; but in thy clemency hear and answer us. Amen.
Lord, save us waking, watch us sleeping that we may wake with Christ and rest in peace.
Visit, we beseech Thee, O Lord, our distant homes and families; Thine angels guard them with Thy peace and benediction. Bless this ship we beseech Thee and drive far from it all the snares of the enemy; guide it upon a tranquil course unto the wished-for-haven—guard our Captain, his officers and crew, and the soldier-troops and passengers committed to their care; let Thy holy angels dwell hereon to keep us in peace and let Thy blessings be always upon us. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord.
Into Thy hands, O Lord, we commend ourselves.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, this night to keep us without harm.
May the Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night and a perfect end. May the Almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost bless and preserve us all. Amen.
The ship pursued her course steadily during the night watches and the men relieved one another at midnight and at 4 A. M. The morning sun broke clear and clean over the eastern horizon and discovered to us that our gallant destroyers had left us during the darkness, proceeding by pre-arranged plan to a similar duty of escorting an east-bound transport loaded with troops. Our voyage continued without further excitement at a speed of twenty and a half knots. We arrived in New York the morning of June 8th and made fast to the dock with little difficulty. No sooner had our gangplank touched the dock than our mail clerk was seen heavily laden with eagerly-sought-for mail.
Fifth Trip Overseas
Eight days was ample time to give half the crew a five-day leave, and five days’ leave gave many of the boys who lived within traveling distance of New York, an opportunity to see home again for a few days. It was at this time that the one-third fare rate was put into effect for soldiers and sailors on furlough and it is needless to say this greatly assisted many boys who did not have the full fare to reach home.
By evening, June 14th, all necessary supplies were loaded in our holds. Our quota of troops, this trip were as per the following list:
Troops, 10,423; 32d Engineers; 145th Infantry; 146th Infantry; 134th Machine Gun Battalion; 135th Machine Gun Battalion; Major General C. S. Farnsworth.
For thirty-six hours after leaving Ambrose Channel Light Ship, just outside of New York, we were escorted by one destroyer, submarines were busily engaged off our coast-line these days. After the destroyer left us we continued on our voyage in the customary manner, holding abandon ship drills each day and operating the water-tight door system to insure its being in perfect working order. The weather was extremely warm and as a consequence it was found necessary to allow the soldiers from the lower compartments to sleep on the outer decks.
On the 17th, at ten minutes to eleven in the morning, the Leviathan acted queerly, circling around in the smooth sea, which aroused the curiosity of all on board. This circling was caused by the steering apparatus going out of commission, but it was soon repaired.
We certainly expected to see more of “Fritz” than ever on this voyage, but not a solitary event occurred outside the daily routine. Brest, France, was reached on the morning of the 21st, troops and cargo were disembarked and we headed for sea once more on the 24th accompanied by four destroyers.
The return trip was interrupted once. The destroyers had left us after a day’s journey and no sooner had they done so when our gun-crews opened fire on a suspicious object astern of us. The destroyers by this time were on the horizon and hearing the firing of our guns proceeded to join us once more. Both number five and seven guns fired nine shots at the object sighted which disappeared immediately and we signaled to our destroyers that everything was O. K. and that we could proceed once more unescorted.
The weather for the remainder of the voyage was excellent. Fire Island Light Ship, which is thirty-two miles from Ambrose Channel, was sighted July 1st and in a few hours we were tied up at our pier in Hoboken with another trip to our credit.
Sixth Trip Eastbound
Another eight days in New York and another five-day leave for the men of the crew. The five-day leaves were most welcome after a trip of seventeen or eighteen days at sea especially when the days consist of vigilant activity and high tension. The five days soon passed and as soon as we were provided with sufficient supplies of coal and water our troops came aboard.
Troops, 10,534; 313th Infantry; 314th Infantry; 311th Machine Gun Battalion; 310th Machine Gun Battalion; Base Hospital No. 67; Base Hospital No. 68; Base Hospital No. 7; Base Hospital No. 47; 304th Field Signal Battalion; Brig. General Wm. J. Nicholson, 79th Div.
We left for our sixth voyage across on July 8th at 6:30 P. M., and by nightfall we were well out to sea escorted by the destroyer Walke which left us the next morning. On the eight to twelve watch that morning we passed a considerable amount of wreckage, probably the result of submarine activities off our coast. Abandon ship drills were held as usual. The weather was fair and warm and a few soldiers were overcome by the heat making it necessary for the troops in some compartments to sleep on deck at night.
The U. S. S. Covington had been sunk by an unseen submarine just prior to our sailing, and with this fresh in our memory it was not necessary to remind the lookouts and gun crews to be especially vigilant and keep a sharp lookout at all times. We sighted our escort of destroyers at 8 A. M., on July 14th and passing through the danger zone safely, we anchored in Brest at 1:50 P. M., July 15th, one of the hottest days we had ever experienced.
With all troops sent ashore and all cargo taken off we embarked our usual quota of passengers and left Brest at three o’clock on the afternoon of July 18th. We had 115 wounded soldiers on board, also the captain and officers of the U. S. S. Covington and the officers and crew of the S. S. Buffalo that had been sunk by submarines. We left with a convoy of four destroyers that stayed with us until noon the next day. The weather was good for the most part and the trip was made without trouble or excitement of any kind. The wounded soldiers were a cheerful lot and were well cared for. Some had been gassed, others lost limbs, but the prospect of home made them all happy.