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Location
At Sea
Age
21 Years

14th August 1944

We sailed at 0800 hours with the weather doing its utmost to be perfect. All went smoothly until 1700 hours when a ship astern of us struck a mine. I was on the bridge with the mate at the time. There were two explosions, the force of which shook us badly. Showers of water and clouds of dirty brown smoke shot into the air, and a big L.C.T sheared away from the same. Soon the clouds of smoke billowed into the air. She went down with angry, deep red flames bursting from her sides. A Liberty ship that was close began to sink by the stern but a message said that help would come from shore.

With a cargo of high grade engine aboard, we were particularly anxious not to follow the example of our one time partner! Our nerves were therefore not helped when a destroyer came close by at tea time and dropped a depth charge that nearly lifted us out of the water!

How easily that mine might have been ours for we were ahead!

Invasion of S.France