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IRACINE MAN GIVENPRIZED NAVY CROSS:HKROISM OF VINCENT WACKER, WHO RISKED HIS lilFE TO SAVE OTHERS DVRING WAR, IS REWARDED.I♦1iiIVincent M Wacker. of 1701 Mead ' street, this morning received by registered mail a navy cross and citation from the government for extraordinary heroism during the world war.Mr, Wacker was a seaman on board ; the r. S. S. Corona on April 17. 1918, j and was journeying up the coast of j France when the Florence H., a convoy loaded with 1.000 tons of smokeless powder was set off by an infernal machine and exploded. The crew rescued 11 men who were seen in the water and Wacker, discovering a Spaniard with a bad wound in his head, rescued the man at his own k peril.Life lines were cast to the Spaniard,» but instead of grasping one of these 11 he kept watching the floating wreck- age. The powder had been packed in 1 tin cases with an outer covering of j , wood. These caught Are and as they burned and melted the tin exploded.I i Wacker slipped from abroad the Cor-j ona an made his way to the Spaniard g by stepping on the boxes. The res-f cued man was taken on board the I Corona but died a half hour later. Wacker slipped from aboard the Corat about 11:30 at night during pitch I darkness. The flames resulting from y the explosion shot into the air for j 1 about 2 30 feet causing an illumination i as bright as midday. Efforts were |- made to get at the drowning men by ' means of small boats, but this was practically impossible owing to the j large amount of wreckage.The citation, which is signed by Josephus Daniels, secretary of the j navy, says: “The president of the jUnited Statc-s takes pleasure in pre- j,r senting the navy cross to Vincent M. I : Wacker, seaman. U/ S. N., for serv- ;; ices during the world war as set forth i ” in the following citation: ‘For extra-y ! ordinary heroism as a member of the crew of u boat sent out from the V. e S. S. Corona to the rescue of men 'v from the Florence H., which vessel, loaded with explosives, burned in the o harbor of Quiberon on the night of a April 17, 1918, almost immediatelyV after the outbreak of tire, the water \5, j in the vicinity of the Florence H. was j je. covered with burning powder boxes, i r many of which exploded scattering j * flames throughout the wreckage. The j crews of the Corona’s boats drove f ie their crafts into the burning mass j j p.’ without thought of danger to them- 1 f ig selves and, assisted by boats from s lt;1 the other ships present in the har- j j [p bor, succeeded in saving the lives of lt;i* many men who, but for the help so i t d ; promptly and bravely extended, must j have perished in the wreckage.ILt
Newspaper Details
Racine Journal News
Racine, Wisconsin, US
Fri, Nov 12, 1920
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 28 Apr 2019
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