PANORAMA OF THE UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY AT ANNAPOLIS
Inset: Rear Admiral Edward W. Eberle, Superintendent, who guided the destinies of the Naval Academy during the trying days of the War.
One day in New York four young fellows suddenly walked out of a motion-picture studio and enlisted. Two of them were high salaried photographers, but they said nothing about that and went in as seamen. Several months afterwards a call was sent out for a few men experienced in photo work. One of these four was found shoveling coal at Pelham. He had been for three years the photographer for Sidney Drew, but he was plugging along at coal passing, and doing a good job until found fitted for other work.
"Captain, I'd like to get a transfer," was the request a young reservist made of his commanding officer in 1918. The captain was surprised. The youngster had rendered service in the armed guards and was doing well on a cargo transport.
"What is the trouble with your present duty?" the Captain asked.
"Well, sir," he answered, "I've been going across on merchantmen. I have been torpedoed three times, but I'd like to get on a destroyer or a submarine-chaser, where I can see a little real action."
That was the spirit of the reservists. Willing to perform any duty, they wanted to get into action, to be sent where the fighting was.
Naval aviation was made up largely of reservists, and the Naval Reserve Flying Corps grew during the war into a force of more than 26,000, with 1,500 qualified pilots and 4,000 student officers in training. Not only were hundreds of bright young men enrolled as prospective aviators, but thousands of skilled mechanics were enlisted in the ground personnel.
Looking over the list of officers of the Cruiser and Transport Force, I find that eight reservists were on Admiral Gleaves' staff, eighteen on that of Admiral Jones. Of the 166 officers who served on the Leviathan, the largest of all transports, 93 were reservists. On the George Washington there were 63 out of the total of one hundred. Thirty-five served on the President Lincoln, 46 on the President Grant, 69 on the Mount Vernon, 51 on the Great Northern, 43 on the Orizaba, 28 on the Pastores, 33 on the Pocahontas, 24 on the Powhatan, 30 on the Princess Matoika. Of this large force, there was not a transport or cruiser which did not have a large proportion of reservists in its officers and crew. In carrying the American Army to France and bringing it home, the reservists did their full share of the work.
They played an even larger part in the Naval Overseas Transportation Service. Five thousand officers and thirty thousand men were required to man this vast fleet of cargo ships carrying munitions and supplies to France. Of the officers all but twelve were reservists, as were a large majority of the enlisted men. Thousands more were in training to furnish crews for the hundreds of vessels being built by the Shipping Board which the Navy was preparing to man.