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Show GIVES IBIS " CREDIT FOR RESCUE BASE OF THE AMERICAN FLOTILLA FLO-TILLA IN BRITISH WATERS, Wednesday, Juno 20 by the Associated Press). "We owe our escape from a waterv grave to the bravery of your nieu," was the parting word of the second officer of a rescued British merchant mer-chant crew to the commanding otficei of an American destroyer which arrived ar-rived here this morning with the survivors. sur-vivors. The destroyer was ablo to land one boatload of nineteen men. A second boat, containing eighteen men, is missing, miss-ing, and, it is feared, has been lost. Six members cf tho engiueroom crew-were crew-were killed when a torpedo struck tho ship without warning several hundred miies from the nearest land. "We. were torpedoed at fi o'clock Mondav morning," the second officer told tlie correspondent, "the explosion tearing a hole through the ship and causing her to sink in fifteen minutes. Two boats got away, but soon became Feparatcd, and we fear one has gone down. "After we were out nearly twenty hours and were enduring awful hardships, hard-ships, we were hailed bv an American destroyer. 1 tell you, Old Glory never looked so good to me before. We were treated with the utmost kindness by tiie American tars and were their guests the .whole day . before they brought us in. We feel that we owe onrlives to the bravery of those boys from the states, who are daily proving their reputations as sailors and good sportsmen. ' ' The survivors were sent to a sailors' home here, while the captain made a report to Vice Admiral Sims, as acting commander of the British forces in these waters. Jam-s J- Powers of Naugatuck, Conn,, the oclv American among a crew of liftv-four rescued by an Ameri-an destroyer after thirty hours afloat, 'old the correspondent that the Germans leered at their victims. "All those nlive after the explosion got awav in four boat. All this time we saw no submarine, but when forty nrds from the sinking ship a subina- ! rine appeared ah.ingside of us, l.er rj-ew IcrawliMg out of the. conning tower and laughing Ht our predi''.ment. "The commander asked our captain the name of the ship, which was British, Brit-ish, and her destination. When this was g'ven, the submarine crew laughed and veered agr.-in, and made off. ' - The Ameriran craft came up at ! v.'h-iT. seemed like express train speed. I Ail our boats were aide to kei p pretty veil together, so thai the task of getting get-ting us on board was ouieklv aecom- j plished. ' ' |