West Point Speech
Sawokla
The Sawokla sailed without incident out of the Caribbean. We were all thankful that we were one of the few ships NOT torpedoed on our way to our destination.
On the return trip we were carrying a few sick soldiers and a cargo of jute and other war-time items. It was November, and we were in the Indian Ocean, about 400 miles east of Madagascar, when the Sawokla was shelled, torpedoed and sunk by the German raider "Michel."
I was the officer on watch that night. The weather was overcast and the sea was rough, when I spotted an object on the horizon. I pressed the buzzer to the Captain's cabin, heard his door slam and the next thing I remember I was in the water clinging to a piece of wreckage. It was pitch dark.
Later on I would learn that I was the only one on watch that night who survived the shelling. The first salvo hit the Bridge and Radio Room.
The crew of the German raider picked me out of the water. They told me I had been in the water about 4 to 5 hours. The Sawokla went up in a blaze and sunk completely in about 7 minutes, the crew said. The Raider had 6 inch, 7 inch, and 8 inch guns, plus 6 torpedo tubes - 3 on starboard and 3 on portside, plus a Seaplane and two torpedo Boats, and depth charges.
