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Show TWO UTAH BOYS GO DOWN WITH TROOP SHIP I YANKEE PERFECT Soldiers Cheer the I Sinking Troop i Ship. j DISTROYER ON HAND Caitain Believes 56 r. I I L Fiissing Were Killed bv Explosion. jj WSHINGTON, May 25 A brief Britlh admiralty announcement to-I to-I day tld of fifty-six American soldiers bemglost from the contingent abroad the Bitish merchant cruiser Moldavia, f torpeoed in the English channel. LOffDON, May 25 Less than a quarir of an hour after the British arniei merchanl trrop ship Moldavia. with American troops on board, had ' been orpi doed off the southeast coast m of En;land on Thursday morning, vir tually every man had gone over the sides! the vessel into the lifeboats Eihin and Clyde Doslcy of North Troy,Yermont, leaped from the deck ;.nd wre drowned. Had it not been for this tie losses which are given officially offic-ially i- llftysix American soldiers, woulf have been confined to those killed by the explosion of the torpedo The Bosley brothers were on guard whenjthe ship was struck. There was a sbap list and, they evidently believed believ-ed th? ship was turning over WASHINGTON. May 25. A list of the otn lost on the Moldavia reached the ir department early today from Londui. As soon as it can be prepared prepar-ed aul the names verified it will hr ;,, made public. r Anencan Account of Sinking. LUIDON. May 25 Captain Johnson, John-son, to American Infantry ofTlcer who was cn board the Moldavia, gave a Daily Telegraph representative this accouit of the sinking: "Th: ship was struck just forward of the engines on the port side. All the tpops were in their bunks sleeping sleep-ing their unilorms. There was a ygj loud explosion and tfien the ship'o H whistle was blown which was a signal for oienjbody to come on deck. The ru n aci been assigned to particular $ boats and boat drill had been held gM every day. The men assembled in perfect order. Their discipline was splendid, the best I ever saw. ;fl( Moldavia Stays 15 Minutes. "The Moldavia listed to port but righted herself and ran on for about fifteen minutes to avoid being hit jt? again Then she began to sink steadily. 14: Orderb were given to lower the boatb and rafts and we got off. "Destroyers had been circling around us all the time and as soon as the Moldavia was struck they dropped drop-ped several depth charges. No second torpedo was fired and we saw nothing of the submarine. We remained in lifeboats until the ship sank when we ,rl were taken on board the destroyers. Men Cheer Sinking Ship. "As soon as the men got aboard the destroyers from the boats and rafts they began laughing and singing and when the ship sank they gave three a cheers. "Of the fifty six missing, two are corporals and the others privates. 1 believe all were killed by the exploit explo-it slon.'' ! !2 LONDON. May 24 The British Cunt inu'd on page V. ) oo YANKEE MORALE PERFECT (Continued from page !.) armed merchant troopship Moldavia: 'with American troops on board has , hcen torpedoed and sunk, according to I an official bulletin issued by tbe ad-i ad-i miralty this evening. The text of the admiralty statement follows: The armed mercantile cruiser Moldavia Mol-davia was torpedoed and sunk yeati r- , day mornftic There were no casualties among the 'crew, but of the American troops on board fifty-six to ttv present have not ( been accounted for It is feared they ; j were killed in one compartment hy the, j explosion. The Moldavia was torpedoed with- I out warning. It was a moonlight I night and, although a good look-nit was kept, the attacking submarine ! was not sighted before the torpedo , struck. Most of the men aboard were in i their hammocks when the explosion occurred amidships The sailors and - : soldiers alike showed no panic, w They (ell calmly into line and awali-erl awali-erl orders. When it was si-en thai the Moldavia was settling down, all on board were taken off by the escorting ships. The men lost all of their belongings, but were supplied with new clothing at the differ al naval ports where tin were taken. It is believed that the American soldiers missing from the Moldavia ; were sleeping on the bottom deck and were overtaken by the great inrush of water after the explosion, when thej 1 were trying to reach the main deck. It , also is presumed that some of the ! ladders were destroyed. Tbe vessel was struck below the hridc She steami 'I ahead tor sora time after heing struck and at first it , was hoped that her water-tight oom partmenta would enable her to reach port. The Moldavia is of 9500 tons gross ' and owned by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation company. , She was built at Greenock in 1903 and is 520 feel long. j The Moldavia v,as moving forward steadily on a smooth sea and was al-withm al-withm su-ht oi n - destination when the torpedo crashed Into the Doau sidi The i -se listed sharph Destroyers began rushing alongside and fore and aft In an endeavor to find A trace ol the submarine. Although they prevented the U-boat from reappearing re-appearing it Is not known whether s bi1 waa scored by the depth, charges ! which were dropped In a circle around th point from which the torpedo was sent. |