PDF Publication Title:
Text from PDF Page: 002
Chief Warrant Officer Bernard Webber “I reasoned I was a Coast Guard first class boatswain mate. My job was the sea and to save those in peril upon it.” On 24 January 2009, Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) Bernard Challen Webber crossed the bar. During his 20-year career, CWO Webber was the recipient of the Gold Lifesaving Medal and responsible for one of the greatest small boat rescues in Coast Guard history. Born in Milton, MA, on 9 May 1928, Webber began his career at sea in 1944 when he joined the Merchant Marine. After serving in the Pacific, he joined the Coast Guard in 1946. On 18 February, 1952, BM1 Webber was serving at the Chatham Lifeboat Station when a violent winter storm hit New England. Off the coast of Massachusetts, the SS Pendleton , a tanker originally built for the War Shipping Administration, was enroute from Baton Rouge, LA to Boston with a full load of kerosene and oil. At about 0550, in gale force winds, blinding snow and 60 foot seas, the vessel broke in two. In the bow, were the captain and seven crewmen. Thirty-three men remained in the stern section. There had been no time to issue an S.O.S. The stern section drifted south, about six miles off Cape Cod. The bow section was further offshore. As the men of Chatham Station were busy with the rescue of another tanker, radar picked up the two sections of Pendleton. Visually sighted shortly thereafter, it became apparent that aid could only be rendered by use of the 36-foot Motor Life Boat CG-36500. Pendleton’s stern section drifted close to shore. At 1755, BM1 Webber and three crewmen left the pier. As CG-36500 crossed Chatham’s bar, massive waves tossed the small boat, shattering the windshield and tearing the compass from its mount. Knocked to the deck, Webber struggled to regain control. Several times, the engine died as the waves rolled the small vessel in the high seas. As both the weather and visibility worsened, Webber slowed CG-36500. The small searchlight finally revealed Pendleton’s stern. Maneuvering his small boat around the mangled hulk, he saw men on the tanker’s starboard quarter. A Jacob’s ladder was tossed over Pendleton’s side and the surviving crewmembers started down the ladder. Webber moved CG-36500 closer and, one by one, the survivors jumped, landing in the lifeboat or in the sea where the crew assisted them to safety. Of the 33 men aboard the stern section, 32 were saved. With no compass to steer by, and in zero visibility conditions, Webber returned to Fish Pier and a cheering crowd. Initially told that he would receive the Gold Lifesaving Medal, and his crew lesser recognition, Webber refused. Finally, for their actions that day, BM1 Webber and his crew ( EN3 Ander Fitzgerald, SN Richard Livesey and SN Irving Maske) were awarded Gold Lifesaving Medals on 7 May 1952. A reluctant hero who disliked publicity, Webber remained in the Coast Guard, rising to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer. His 20-year career included a tour off the coast of Vietnam during Operation Market Time. He retired in 1966. Immortalized by the Coast Guard, the cutter Bernard C. Webber (WPC-1101) was commissioned on 14 April 2012.PDF Image | BOAT CREW HANDBOOK USCG 2017
PDF Search Title:
BOAT CREW HANDBOOK USCG 2017Original File Name Searched:
bch4.pdfDIY PDF Search: Google It | Yahoo | Bing
Development of a solar powered Electric Ship The Electricship website originally started off as a project to develop a comprehensive renewable, affordable, modular electric ship... More Info
Modular Boat Hull Composite The case for a unsinkable, modular composite hybrid boat hull... More Info
MS Burgenstock Hybrid Electric Catamaran Lake Lucerne Unique shuttle servicing Lucerne to the Burgenstock Resort... More Info
Ground Power Unit GPU Powered by Lithium Ion Batteries The goal of the Ground Power Unit is to provide a readily accessible, modular, ready-to-power solution for remote power... More Info
| CONTACT TEL: 608-238-6001 Email: greg@electricship.com | RSS | AMP |