Richard A. Krebes
Member
"And later that night/when the ship's bell rang/could it be the north wind they been feelin'?"
Gordon Lightfoot. "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald".
Today is the 25th Anniversary of
the sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald.
The following list of her crew is loosely grouped by the duty stations they manned aboard the doomed ship.
It was a very humbling experience doing the list this way, for it was like I was touring the ship from Pilothouse to Galley, meeting and greeting each and every man of her crew.
And so, here are the names of the 29 men who perished when their ship suddenly was somehow destroyed and sunk sometime between 7:15 p.m.-7:25 p.m. on November 10th, 1975. When a vicious gale beset Lake Superior, and a snow squall blinded the trailing ore carrier Arthur Anderson from any view of the terrible fate that had befallen the ship ahead of it. A ship the Andy's First Mate had just talked to the captain of at 7:15...:
Ernest M. McSorley. Captain.
John H. McCarthy. First Mate.
James A. Pratt. Second Mate.
Michael E. Armagost. Third Mate.
Karl A. Peckol. Watchman.
William J. Spengler. Watchman.
Ransom E. Cundy. Watchman.
Eugene W. O'Brien. Wheelsman.
John J. Poviach. Wheelsman.
John D. Simmons. Wheelsman.
Bruce L. Hudson. Deckhand.
Paul M. Riippa. Deckhand.
Mark A. Thomas. Deckhand.
David E. Weiss. Cadet (of the deck).
Thomas D. Borgeson. Able-Bodied Maintenance Man.
Joseph W. Mazes. Special Maintenance Man.
George J. Holl. Chief Engineer.
Edward F. Bindon. First Assistant Engineer.
Thomas E. Edwards. Second Assistant Engineer.
Russell G. Haskell. Second Assistant Engineer.
Oliver J. Champeau. Third Assistant Engineer.
Blaine H. Wilhelm. Oiler.
Ralph G. Walton. Oiler.
Thomas Bentsen. Oiler.
Gordon F. MacLellan. Wiper.
Robert C. Rafferty. First Cook.*
Allen G. Kalmon. Second Cook.
Frederick J. Beetcher. Porter.
Nolan F. Church. Porter.
(* Rafferty was not the regular First Cook on the Fitz.
Richard Bishop, the regular ship's cook, was having problems with ulcers the time of the final voyage, and was unable to work.)
May Peace be to their ashes, and may their souls have been at peace all these 25 long years.
My prayers are with them and their families this day.
Richard K.
Gordon Lightfoot. "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald".
Today is the 25th Anniversary of
the sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald.
The following list of her crew is loosely grouped by the duty stations they manned aboard the doomed ship.
It was a very humbling experience doing the list this way, for it was like I was touring the ship from Pilothouse to Galley, meeting and greeting each and every man of her crew.
And so, here are the names of the 29 men who perished when their ship suddenly was somehow destroyed and sunk sometime between 7:15 p.m.-7:25 p.m. on November 10th, 1975. When a vicious gale beset Lake Superior, and a snow squall blinded the trailing ore carrier Arthur Anderson from any view of the terrible fate that had befallen the ship ahead of it. A ship the Andy's First Mate had just talked to the captain of at 7:15...:
Ernest M. McSorley. Captain.
John H. McCarthy. First Mate.
James A. Pratt. Second Mate.
Michael E. Armagost. Third Mate.
Karl A. Peckol. Watchman.
William J. Spengler. Watchman.
Ransom E. Cundy. Watchman.
Eugene W. O'Brien. Wheelsman.
John J. Poviach. Wheelsman.
John D. Simmons. Wheelsman.
Bruce L. Hudson. Deckhand.
Paul M. Riippa. Deckhand.
Mark A. Thomas. Deckhand.
David E. Weiss. Cadet (of the deck).
Thomas D. Borgeson. Able-Bodied Maintenance Man.
Joseph W. Mazes. Special Maintenance Man.
George J. Holl. Chief Engineer.
Edward F. Bindon. First Assistant Engineer.
Thomas E. Edwards. Second Assistant Engineer.
Russell G. Haskell. Second Assistant Engineer.
Oliver J. Champeau. Third Assistant Engineer.
Blaine H. Wilhelm. Oiler.
Ralph G. Walton. Oiler.
Thomas Bentsen. Oiler.
Gordon F. MacLellan. Wiper.
Robert C. Rafferty. First Cook.*
Allen G. Kalmon. Second Cook.
Frederick J. Beetcher. Porter.
Nolan F. Church. Porter.
(* Rafferty was not the regular First Cook on the Fitz.
Richard Bishop, the regular ship's cook, was having problems with ulcers the time of the final voyage, and was unable to work.)
May Peace be to their ashes, and may their souls have been at peace all these 25 long years.
My prayers are with them and their families this day.
Richard K.
