The torpedo exploded on a bulkhead separating two firerooms, the explosive effect being apparently about equal in both firerooms, yet in one fireroom not a man was saved, while in the other two of the men escaped. The explosion blasted through the outer and inner skin of the ship and through an intervening coal bunker and bulkhead, hurling overboard 750 tons of coal. The two men saved were working the fires within 30 feet of the explosion and just below the level where the torpedo struck. How they escaped is a miracle. One of the men, P. Fitzgerald, landed on the lower grating. Groping his way through the darkness, trying to find the ladder leading above, he stumbled over the body of a man apparently dead. Finding he was only unconscious, Fitzgerald aroused him and took him to safety. The man would have been lost, for the water rose 10 feet above this grating as the ship settled.
Shortly after the Mt. Vernon arrived at Brest, Captain Dismukes received this letter from Brigadier General George H. Harries, U. S. A.:
Sorrow mingled with pride, for those who died so nobly. Congratulations on the seamanship, discipline and courage. It was a great feat you accomplished.
Passengers whom I have seen this morning are unable to fully or fitly voice their praises of your always worthy self or of your ship's company.
The best traditions of our Navy have been lifted to a higher plane. What a fine thing it is to be an American these days!
The olive drab salutes the blue.
Every American vessel available was pressed into service to bring the troops home after the war.
Fifty-six cargo vessels were converted into troop-carriers. Nine of the German vessels turned over under the armistice were assigned to us—the Imperator, Kaiserin Augusta Victoria, Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm, Zeppelin, Cap Finisterre, Graf Waldersee, Patricia, Pretoria, and Mobile. The capacity of all our transports was considerably increased.
But more was needed, and I gave orders to use our old battleships and cruisers to carry troops. Naval officers objected, saying these warships were not fitted for such duty. I was told the soldiers on board would be uncomfortable, and would return home with a grouch against the Government and the Navy. What happened? Army officers and men were glad of the chance to come home on a warship. It was an experience no other soldiers had enjoyed. Once aboard, they fell to and made themselves thoroughly at home. Upon the arrival at Hampton Roads of the first battleship bringing troops, the Army officers sent me a letter of thanks for the fine voyage and the opportunity to return on a naval vessel, and later other officers expressed themselves in similar fashion.
In a few months we had in operation 142 vessels carrying troops with facilities for 363,684 officers and men. The maximum was reached in June, when 340,946 embarked from France, 314,167 of them in United States transports. This exceeded the largest number carried overseas by all American and Allied vessels in any one month during the war. By the end of July, 1919, 1,770,484 men had been returned to America. The big troop movement was virtually over by October 1st, at which time nearly two million had been returned, 1,675,733 of them in naval transports. Several thousands more came later, and 11,211 had returned previous to the armistice.