"Be Good Seamen .. !' by Earle P. Weir
On April 10, 1942, just as watchstanders ofthe 4-8AM watch were getting their coffee, the freighter Marilyn, carrying a cargo ofsugar from Jamaica to Baltimore was torpedoed and sunk. A leading seaman named Red began gathering survivors onto his raft, and then ... A searchlight blinked on, starting a slow sweep around the horizon. The beam caught the raft, passed by, stopped , and slowly came back to us again. We stared transfixed, stiff with fear. The U-boat slowly closed with the raft. They had us for sure. Would they ram or machine gun us? Whang! A hatch opened. Then voices. German voices. There was a scurrying and bustling up there. Grinding metallic noises. Three men were securing a machine gun onto the spray shield of the conning tower. "What was the name of your ship? Where were you bound? What cargo were you carrying?" The queries came down in German-accented English. " Keep your goddamn mouths shut," grow led Red. We weren't sure who we feared the most, Red or the Germans. Red had told us to shut up. We didn't talk. A lad of eighteen or so appeared on the conning tower. In a strong German accent he shouted down: " The Captain directs me to tell you he is sorry we had to sink your ship, but it is war. We will not harm your people any further. Do you have water and rations on the raft?" " One man here 'is bare ass ," hollered Red . " The sun will cook him in a day or two." The boy on the conning tower translated to the Captain . Soon a pair of old greasestained pants and dirty shirt were flung onto the raft. The Captain talked to the boy again . " Good sailing," shouted the boy. " Be good seamen , and you will make shore." The U-boat slipped off. We were alone. "All right,you bastards, let's shape up and set watches ," ordered Red. " We' re somewhere between Kingston and Havana . Murph, quit your bitching and check the flashlights and flares . Make sure they're stored dry. Stubby, get a couple of these farmhands , get that sail out, and rigged. The rest of you guys take a snooze until I call you for your watch . When I call you, get your ass in gear. No crap from any of you ."
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..v ..v ..v They survived and were picked up by an English tanker and delivered to Florida. This account is abstracted from a yarn published in that remarkable journal, the National Maritime Union Pilot, May 1984. SEA HISTORY, SPRING 1985
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