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| Corporal Chockie |
On duty at Apra Harbor in Guam, Cpl Michael Chockie, USMC, a native son of Rock Springs, Wyoming, spotted a German cutter heading for the just-interned German ship Cormoran at anchor in the bay. Shortly before, Congress had approved President Wilson's declaration of war. Notifying his superior officer, the alert Marine was ordered to fire a shot across the bow of the cutter. Immediately complying with the order, he fired the first of three shots as the enemy cutter stopped, and its crew surrendered.
Moments later, the Cormoran’s captain blew the ship up to keep her falling into American hands. Seven German sailors drowned as she sank quickly in 120 feet of water; the survivors —around 300 men—were pulled from the water by sailors and Marines. The Cormoran remains on the bottom today, a popular site for scuba divers.
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| SMS Cormoran |
The local date was 7 April 1917, and Cpl Chockie had become the first American in World War I to fire at the enemy. I haven't been able to find much information about Corporal Chockie's subsequent career other than that he lived a long life (1889–1980) and is buried at the Fort Logan National Cemetery, Denver, Colorado.
Sources: Fortitude, Vol. 18, No. 1
Nice to see a WW1 Veteran living till 1980. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteFortitudine: https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/Fortitudine%20Vol%2018%20No%201.pdf
ReplyDeleteHe later lived out his life in Colorado. At age 52, he tried to re-enlist during World War II to “fire the last shot of that war” but failed a vision test.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the additional comments. I'm going to share some of the information our readers have sent me in a future article on Michael Chockie, USMC
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