Fourth Overseas Trip
The ship remained at her berth in Hoboken from the 12th to the 22d of May, giving the crew a reasonable amount of shore leave, the men living in nearby states thus had an opportunity to visit their homes.
At 4:03 on the afternoon of May 22d, we left on our fourth eastward bound voyage with the following troops:
Troops, 10,577. 43rd Engineers; 108th Supply Train; 131st Infantry; 318th Infantry; Base Hospital No. 13, Female; Major General A. Gronkhite, 80th Div.
We followed the regular channel in leaving New York Harbor, and once more at sea, started on our fourth venture to slip through the blockade of German U-boats and to land 10,000 more troops to assist in breaking down the high pride of the German autocracy.
On the afternoon of May 23d, at 4 P. M., while the water-tight door system was being tested, one of the Army officers accidentally had his leg caught in a closing water-tight door. These doors are hydraulically opened and shut and centrally controlled by a lever on the bridge. Prior to the closing of these doors a warning alarm is sounded, but the officer, in some unexplainable manner, became confused and suffered a severe injury.
The ship’s log for the next few days showed the single entry “B,” which signifies clear weather and absolutely blue sky. The sea was unusually smooth at this time, hardly a ripple appearing on the surface of the water.