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December 14, 1916 was just another cold, foggy morning along the Humboldt coast until three Samoa schoolboys on the school grounds at 8:30 a.m. thought they saw a whale on the beach through the mists. “Pat” Gallagher, a Humboldt Times newsboy, Robert Hensel and Curtis Peterson ran across some small dunes to get a better look and discovered the U. S. submarine the H-3 wallowing in the breakers.

The boys informed the doubtful teachers, Nina Graham and Esther Merkey, who checked and then sent the boys to notify Walter Pratt, chief electrician for the Hammond Lumber Company. Pratt immediately phoned authorities in Eureka, who sent the coast guard cutter to the scene. The cutter was helpless in the sea as the submarine was practically on the shore. Men from the Humboldt Bay Life Station were on their way up the ocean beach with two horses pulling their heavy equipment, and several men hauled lighter equipment on handcarts.

Until 9 a.m. there was no one on the beach except the students. They watched the craft dip into the waves, first on one side and then on the other. I was never allowed on the beach without my parents, but when Barbara McMillan told me there was a boat on the beach and that there was no school that day, I forgot I had parents and a home and scurried to have a look at what I thought was a wrecked red boat.

There was no sign of life aboard but occasional bursts from the sub’s whistle revealed that someone was calling for assistance. By this time parents and other adults of Samoa were straggling to the beach, housework postponed. This was an unusual occurrence, and the youngsters at this unscheduled field trip were totally unaware of the significance of this news to the nation.

Shorty before 11 a.m. the life saving crew arrived from their five-mile hike. Though the men were tired they went to work at once. They were often hampered by the crowds of people who had been filtering in all morning.

One of the older boys of Samoa, Harry Morian, who was a Boy Scout, arrived on the scene with semaphore flags. He was assisted by Kenneth Farley, another Scout. When a member of the sub’s crew appeared topside, Harry sent a communication inquiring if any lives had been lost. The answer was “No,” but he reported that fumes inside the hull were causing some discomfort. It was also mentioned that a crewman had lost two fingers.

It was about this time that my mother and small sister appeared and I was jolted back to reality. They were happy to find me and after escorting me home for a quick lunch, we all returned to the beach for the rest of the day. The life-saving crew found the high wintry seas and the high tide troublesome as they attempted to shoot a line to the wreck. Time and again a Lyle Gun (small cannon) was employed to shoot a rope to the derelict vessel. Men aboard the sub would appear, and if they caught the rope they would lose it. Seasickness and gas fumes had weakened them.

The station keeper eventually found it necessary to send for a surfboat. When it arrived, surfmen were dispatched to the submarine. A member of the local crew, Werner Sweins, leaped from the prow of the boat and scrambled aboard the sub with the line. If he had lost his footing there would have been little chance of rescuing him.

Sweins fastened the line on the sub and the crowd eagerly awaited action. A bystander on the beach took the hawser and fastened it to a redwood stump. It was at that time that a massive swell rolled the submarine seaward and the slackless line snapped. The entire process started over again, and this time it was successful. When Sweins returned to the beach through the pounding surf, he received a round of applause from the onlookers. Before leaving the sub, he had raised flags revealing that all men aboard were safe.

The hawser tying the submarine to the beach hung just atop the breakers and was just right for shooting the breeches buoy (seat resembling short trousers) to the sub. After eight or more hours in their gassy prison the men were ready for their release. Just before dark we watched the first man roll down the hawser. The crowd was entirely sympathetic as each man was submerged in the icy breakers before coming to shore in the biting wind. 

Residents had been gathering blankets and clothes and had a fire roaring and hot coffee ready for the rescued men. Nurses and a doctor were also on hand. The blankets were attached to poles making a room and a windbreak. The refugees, all of whom were saved, were housed with Samoa residents until the next day. It was the wreck of the submarine that led to the losing of the heavy cruiser, the U.S.S. Milwaukee. The cruiser, with two other ships, the navy tug Iroquoise and the U.S. monitor Cheyenne, attempted to pull the sub seaward but failed. All cut their lines after the hawser between the Milwaukee and the Cheyenne broke, but for the Milwaukee it was too late. She made her berth on the beach for all time on January 13, 1917.

The submarine’s fate was put to bid, with Mercer-Fraser being awarded the contract. After several months the vessel was transported across the sand into the bay. She was towed to Mare Island where she underwent extensive repairs.

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