Petersburg High School - Missile Yearbook (Petersburg, VA)

Page 18 text:

12 The Missile The Texas blew four quick blasts, signalling that she was backing the engines, but on she came. We swung just in time, and the Texas passed us not twenty-five feet astern, cutting our towing spar line in half. We felt very fortunate indeed. The fog lifted about seven o’clock. The Florida, Wyoming, and Texas were still together with four torpedo boats. It was the next day before we found the New York, Delaware, the other twelve torpedo boats, and our convoy. We carried our convoy safely to an English port and returned to Scapa Flow. We were never for an instant in fear of the German navy, but we did recognize the dangers of the North Sea fogs. (To be continued .) Customer; Waiter, do you know it is nearly half an hour since I ordered this soup?” Waiter: “Yes, sir; but you know turtles are slow.” Mary had a Thomas cat It warbled like caruso A neighbor swung a baseball bat Now Thomas doesn’t do so. FOREGONE. That man has never been known to tell a lie. Then no woman has ever said to him “Don’t you think I am getting thinner?”

Page 17 text:

The Missile ii our own ship, and as for the other ships we had no idea where they were. We were in constant danger of running down or being run down by some of the other ships. There were sixteen torpedo boats scattered around the battle ship. Lights of every description were posi- tively prohibited when in the submarine zone, still, to safe- guard the lives of thousands of sailors, and the ships too, we were forced to use our large searchlights, which, as strong as they are, failed to pierce this thick fog for more than about five hundred feet. We also ran great risks in blowing our siren every few minutes to warn the other ships. The fog got thicker, and we reported to plotting room that visibility was zero. The uncanny stillness was often broken by the dull, abrupt sound of a siren, now on this side and then on the other. The ships had be- come separated and were groping about blindly. Sud- denly, on our port bow, coming through the fog like a ghost, we caught the faint glimmer of a light. We could not tell whether it was headed towards us or going par- allel with us. It seemed to grow brighter. On it came. We could not tell whether this light was being focused over the bow of the ship or over the side. Each second now its brightness increased until suddenly the huge for- ward guns of the Texas broke through the fog and bore down on us, and we could see that she was headed straight for our port beam, and not six hundred feet away. She was too close and going too fast to stop in time. We thought we would be crumpled and sunk. (My battle station at this time was in the forward “crow’s nest,” and I instinctively looked down into the dark North Sea to see just how far I would have to fall or jump.) We rang for full speed ahead and hard left rudder.

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The Missile 13 (Htjp fmrting flritirrsfi. I n the days beyond recollection there lived a king who was very rich and handsome. He had a daughter who was called Neoma, which means happiness. One day, Princess Neoma, as she was wondering throught the garden of her father’s palace, heard a light knocking upon the gate at the entrance to the grounds and, disobeying her father’s strict orders, she opened the gates. Before her stood a little old woman dressed in black. “I have come,” she said, “to tell you that your father has been injured and you are to come down the highway with me and I will lead you to him.” Out rushed Neoma and the gates closed behind her. As she hurried down the road, she noticed that they turn- ed many curves, and she was becoming tired and half doubtful; so she stopped and said she didn’t believe that her father was injured and how would it happen that he would be traveling such a round-about road. Just then a large and gruesome ogre jumped out from the hedge. He grabbed the frightened girl and carried her away to a big tower which was situated in the old witch’s garden. The ogre took from off a great nail, which had been driven into the immense structure, a key one yard in length, and when he placed it in the keyhole, the large door swing open on its rusty hinges. The witch then led the princess up a narrow winding stairway and after what seemed to her an endless time, they came to a narrow iron door. The witch opened this and ushered her into a dismal little room with noth-