The Bureau is informed that by a decree of the President of the French Republic the award of Member of the Legion of Honor with the rank of Chevalier has been made to Commander Theodore A. Kittinger, U.S.N., with the following citation:
Commander Kittinger, in command of the yacht Corsair, escorted the O.V.H.N. convoys, etc.
It is requested that a copy of this letter be filed with this officer’s record.
Lieutenant Commander Porter became the commander of the Corsair on May 31st, and held the position until the yacht returned home one year later. It gratified him, of course, to have his own ship, and in the opinion of his officers and crew the honor was well deserved. It was a distinction also, and without precedent in a combatant ship, for a Reserve officer to be given a vessel of the size and class of the Corsair. He was later advanced to the naval rank of commander and finished his service as a three-striper.
Lieutenant Commander Tod was detached to join the organization of Admiral Wilson at Brest as Port Officer and was afterwards appointed Director of Public Works. Both positions were important and involved varied and arduous responsibilities. He was later promoted to the rank of Commander. At a dinner given by the American naval officers of the club in Brest, this rousing song of the Breton Patrol was rolled out with a vigor that rattled the windows:
1. Oh we sing of a squadron patrolling the coast
From Cre-Ach to old Saint-Nazaire.
On the job for a year, we still say with a cheer,
Nous resterons pendant la guerre.
Chorus:
Though the bar’s consigné and we’ve clumbed up to stay
At the very tip-top of the pole,
Still our drinks, short or tall, will be “Wilson, that’s all,”
The Chief of the Breton Patrol.
2. It’s a squadron that’s doing its best over here
Towards keeping command of the seas;
For by day or by night, standing by for a fight,
It’s the Breton Patrol of H. B.[5]
3. To the Point of Penmarch it is not very far;
Some forty-five miles of blue sea,—
That’s where some day poor Fritz will be blown into bits
By the Breton Patrol of H. B.
4. If we sail on request of the C.D.P. Brest,
With a convoy that’s bound for its goal;
If it’s rain, hail, or snow, the convoy must go,
That’s the job of the Breton Patrol.
5. If a depth charge turns over and falls in the sea,
And next moment your stern is no more,
There’s just one thing to do,—Prenez vite le you-you,
And pull for the Brittany shore.
CHIEF QUARTERMASTER FARR STANDS WITH FOLDED ARMS AND
INDICATES THAT HE HAS HIS SEA-LEGS WITH HIM
COMMANDER KITTINGER SAYS GOOD-BYE TO LIEUTENANT COMMANDER
PORTER AS THE LATTER TAKES OVER THE COMMAND