One week that stands out in the memories of the officers and men of the U.S.S. Corpus Cristi is the one of February 10,1945. It was during this week that our ship carried out an intense search in the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean for the survivors of the torpedoed Liberty ship S.S. PETER SILVESTER.

We departed from Fremantle harbor on the afternoon of the tenth and soon were informed of our mission. We were to proceed to a point eight hundred miles due West, the approximate position the ship was reported to have been torpedoed.

The sinking occurred the previous Wednesday, and so far the only report was that there were about twenty men drifting on two rafts near the scene of the disaster. The voyage was uneventful for the first two and a half days although all hands were on alert at all times. On the night of Monday, the twelfth, we were nearing the area, and in hope that the rafts might be near, we turned our twenty four inch searchlight skyward for about five seconds at a time. The light can be seen for about sixty miles at night and in addition it illuminated the ship from stem to stern. This itself was not a very comforting  thought since there was every possibility that the submarine that did the “dirty “work , could still be in the area

The illumination was continued all that night but there were no flares to reward our efforts nor any signs of life whatsoever. At daybreak on Tuesday all lookouts were at their best and each man was eager to be the first to spot something.

 

At about 0700, we were rewarded when both the mast lookout and the bridge lookout spotted what they believed to be a raft on the horizon. After closing the range we were convinced that these were the two rafts that were reported by aircraft a few days before.

Ten or fifteen minutes later we were surprised to discover there were not two rafts but FOUR, and they were filled to capacity with men.

After making a long sweep around them we drew along side and prepared to pick them up. At close range it was easy to see many of these men were in bad condition from exposure. Their faces and bodies covered with a thick coating of fuel oil and their expressions  were a combination of bewilderment and joy. Not a few of them were seen to have tears accompanying their weary smiles. When the survivors were aboard the crew cheerfully turned to the job of making them as comfortable as possible. Our doctor and pharmacist mate rendered expert medical attention where needed.Each survivor was stripped of his oil soaked clothing and the fuel oil removed from his body. The fortunate ones who were able to stand, were given showers , and all were given clean clothes and a bunk.  Many of the crew slept on deck for the remainder of the trip.

 

 

Meanwhile, topside, an RAF Liberator had joined the search and before noon they had sighted two more rafts and one lifeboat. In a few hours all these men were aboard making a total of ninety-two survivors that we had picked up.

Captain and Armed Guard Officers lifeboat

Night was upon us soon and we proceeded to make a box search in an ever widening area. Early the next morning we were joined by two British aircraft carriers and one Australian corvette. The search continued through Wednesday and late that afternoon we were ordered to return to port with the survivors we had aboard.

During the short time that the survivors were aboard we made many friends. Many of them expressed their gratitude for what we had done – this was wholly unnecessary. Seeing the thankfulness in their faces as we took them from the sea to the ship was enough of a reward for any man.