The Corsair in the war zone

by Ralph Delahaye Paine

6. If the ship is trop fort, and you need a corps-mort,
Just to keep her quite safe in the bay,
You have only to go to brave Captain Loiseaux,
Il nous faut le chameau, s’il vous plaît.
7. When they’re coming too strong, and you find you’re in wrong,
In trouble at sea or on land,
There’s just one man to see and his name’s F. T. E.,[6]
To clear out the gear box of sand.
8. There’s a gallant French sailor who’s with us to-night,
He’s bound for a trip ’cross the sea;
So here’s Merci beaucoup, bon voyage, Admiral Grout,
From the Breton Patrol of H. B.
9. There are brave men in plenty and well known to all,
Who have come over here for the war,
But the best known of all is the one that we call
Old Robert E. Tod—Commodore.
10. If you want a good man, just to unload a van,
Or to anchor a ship in the Rade,
Or to work night and day, you have only to say,
“Where in hell is old Robert E. Tod?”

Lieutenant McGuire was made executive officer of the Corsair when Captain Porter took over the command. In time of peace Lieutenant McGuire had been first officer of the yacht, so he was really stepping into his old berth. Ensign Schanze, the efficient gunnery officer, had been commissioned a lieutenant in December. In May he was transferred from the Corsair to the staff of Rear Admiral McCully, the District Commander at Rochefort. For some time he acted as liaison officer on board of the French station ship Marthe Solange, and his scientific training was later employed in experimenting with and testing listening devices for detecting enemy submarines.

Ensign Gray, the communications officer who had helped to make the radio service of the Corsair notable throughout the fleet, was anxious to have a whirl at the destroyer game, like any proper-minded young Navy man, and on May 28th he was transferred to the Monaghan of the Brest flotilla. Assistant Surgeon Laub was sent to the Moccasin in April and Assistant Surgeon R. H. Hunt exchanged billets with him for a short time, shifting from the Corsair to the destroyer Nicholson. Chief Engineer Hutchison stood by the ship until September, although his health was poor and he had been compelled to seek hospital treatment ashore. After leave at home he regained his strength and sailed in the big transport Agamemnon. His position in the Corsair was filled by Lieutenant J. J. Patterson as engineer officer. Assistant Engineer Mason received an appointment as ensign in May and went ashore for staff duty at Bordeaux in the autumn. His partner in the engine-room, Assistant Engineer Hawthorn, left the Corsair in June and was assigned to the naval auxiliary service as a senior engineer officer. Boatswain Budani, who had polished off the aspiring bluejackets and taught them to be regular, sea-going gobs, was summoned to the Naval Aviation Headquarters at Paris and later sent to Italy.

At the ward-room table were new officers to be welcomed into the briny brotherhood of the Corsair, Ensign A. H. Acorn, Jr., Lieutenant Gerald Nolan, Ensign J. W. McCoy, Ensign P. F. Wangerin, Ensign C. R. Smith, Ensign S. K. Hall, Ensign R. V. Dolan, several of whom were promoted to be lieutenants, junior grade. After the armistice and while the Corsair was in the North Sea and at Queenstown, there were other changes which will be noted later.

Through the winter and spring the task of studying for commissions which had bred so many headaches in the bunk-rooms below was getting on famously. There were gloomy moments when, as has been said, one candidate felt sure that the captain would recommend him for nothing else than a firing squad, or another had believed that a “bawling out” had utterly wrecked his prospects, but such dark forebodings were mostly unfounded. Examining boards of officers were duly convened, or recommendations made for the intensive course at Annapolis, and the Corsair was like a college grinding out diplomas at Commencement time, excepting that the Navy course was far stiffer than the requirements of the campus. There were no “snap courses” in the Bay of Biscay and no bluffing the faculty.

The following enlisted men, with one warrant officer, were examined, qualified, and given commissions with the rank of ensign:

	Enlisted as
W. F. Evans, Jr.	Seaman	Sent to Annapolis
David Tibbott	Seaman	” ” ”
R. G. Seger	Seaman	” ” ”
E. B. Prindle	Q.M. 2c.	” ” ”
E. L. Houtz	Seaman, 2c.	” ” ”
C. N. Ashby	Seaman, 2c.	” ” ”
W. J. Rahill	Seaman	” ” ”
H. F. Breckel	Elec. 1c. Radio	Commissioned Overseas
A. C. Smith, Jr.	Q.M. 2c.	” ”
C. S. Bayne	Seaman	” ”
A. L. Copeland	Seaman	” ”
J. T. Herne	Seaman	” ”
A. J. Marsh	Seaman	” ”
A. V. Mason	Machinist	” ”

Chief Quartermaster F. S. Fair and Chief Commissary Steward H. A. Barry passed the examinations successfully, but failed on the tests for eyesight and were thereby disqualified for commissions, a misfortune which keenly disappointed them and their shipmates. Commander Kittinger volunteered this high opinion of them: “Two of the best men we had, I regret to say, received no rewards and it was a loss to the service. Fair and Barry get 100 per cent from me in every department. If they were physically fit to be bluejackets it might seem as though they were physically fit to be officers, but such were the regulations.”

FROM THE LEFT, LIEUT. SCHANZE, ENSIGN GRAY, LIEUT. COMMANDER PORTER, CHIEF ENGINEER HUTCHISON, COMMANDER KITTINGER, AND LIEUT. McGUIRE