The most serious disaster encountered in all our mine sweeping occurred on July 12th, the sinking of the Richard Bulkeley. Caught in its kite, a mine was seen close to her stern, near the surface. To get it further away the kite wire was being veered when the mine exploded. The after part of the ship's hull was shattered. She sank in seven minutes.
Commander Frank R. King, who was in command of the division of trawlers as well as the Bulkeley, went down with the vessel. When the blast came, his first thought was the safety of his crew. Half stunned by the explosion, one man, whose life-preserver had been blown off, struggled to the deck. Commander King took off his own life-belt, buckled it around the sailor, and helped him get clear of the ship before she took her final plunge. Until the vessel disappeared he was still hunting for members of the crew who might be left aboard. When last seen, as the Bulkeley went lower into the water, he was on the bridge. He went down with his ship, a heroic figure, sacrificing his life to save his men. It was a solemn privilege to me, a few months later, to pay tribute to the memory of this gallant officer by naming one of our new destroyers in his honor.
Altogether, two officers and nine men were killed during these hazardous operations, and 23 ships were damaged. Regrettable as was this loss of life, it was small in comparison with that of our comrades in the British mine-sweeping service.
The mine field was removed, consisting of 50,000 mines, spread over an area of some 6,000 square miles of the stormy North Sea, and the entire barrage swept up by September 30th. On that day the hazard to shipping by this vast enterprise in the North Sea was removed.
When the Mine Force returned to the United States, it was given a welcome as genuine as that accorded our battleships when they returned from service abroad. As the vessels steamed up North River, November 24, 1919, they were reviewed by the Secretary of the Navy, distinguished officers and citizens on Admiral Strauss' flagship, the Black Hawk.
This marked the end of that enterprise which "shut up the hornets in their nests"—that bold adventure which was the greatest new naval offensive of the war.
CHAPTER XIII
PRESIDENT WILSON AS A STRATEGIST
SPEAKING TO OFFICERS OF THE FLEET AT YORKTOWN, HE ADVOCATED NEW AND BOLD METHODS—"WHY NOT SHUT UP THE HORNETS IN THEIR NESTS?"—"LEAVE OUT OF YOUR VOCABULARY THE WORD 'PRUDENT'; DO THE THING THAT IS AUDACIOUS TO THE UTMOST POINT OF RISK AND DARING."