Yesterday, we posted our review of the movie, “The Finest Hours,” a dramatization of the 1952 rescue of 32 of the crew of the T2 tanker SS Pendleton, which had broken in half in a winter Nor’easter in the Atlantic off Massachusetts. The crew was rescued by four Coast Guardsmen in the CG36500, a 36′ wooden motor lifeboat, under the command of Coxswain Bernie Webber. Just to reach the crippled tanker, Webber and his men had to cross the Chatham bar in horrific conditions. They then succeeded in locating the tanker at the height of the storm and rescuing 32 crew in a boat designed to carry 12, including the crew. Their actions are considered by many to be the greatest small boat rescue in history.
In 1967, Bernie Webber sat down for an audio interview on radio station WOCB, Yarmouth. He describes the amazing rescue in his own words.
Apparently, I don’t have the right “plug in” to listen.
Try clicking the link below the player. That one may be better for you.
the recording stops right as they arrive at the lifeboat, unfortunately
Try the link below the player. That version may work better.