The Legend Lives On

From the Chippewa on down of the big lake they call Gitche gumee...

Today marks the 50th anniversary of one of our nation's greatest maritime mysteries, the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.  All we know is that the ship was crossing Lake Superior, keeping in contact with her sister ship the Arthur M Anderson, when Captain McSorley radioed "We're holding our own" then a mere 12 minutes later vanished from the radar, never to be seen again.

Divers have since found the wreckage of the ship, and there's been lots of speculation, lots of conjecture from those who've claimed to have solved the mystery of why the Edmund Fitzgerald went down, but truth is, only God knows what really happened that stormy night of November 10. 1975.

 

I was just one day shy of turning 11 years old when the Edmund Fitzgerald sank, so even if I had been in the living room when the news was on, I wouldn't have been paying attention.  I don't remember my dad talking about it at all, so even if I'd seen the reports, I would have quickly forgotten.  

Indeed, outside the Great Lakes area, few people would remember the incident, and it would have vanished into the oblivion of forgotten history were it not for the efforts of one man who said, "I can't let that happen."

I'm talking, of course about Gordon Lightfoot, who read an article about the wreck, then sat down and wrote one of our greatest folk songs ever. 

I was in college when I first heard the song -- probably re-released in 1985 for the tenth anniversary -- and even then, I thought it was just a lovely little folk song.  I had no idea it was based on a true story.  After I found that out, I still thought it was based on something that had happened back in the 1700s.  

I was in the Navy when I found out..."Whoa!  That happened in 1975!"  From that moment on, I was hooked -- on the mystery, on the tragedy, on the romance, but none of that would have happened without the song.  So, after the church bell rings twenty nine times...

🔔  Ernest M. McSorley -- Captain 

🔔  John H. McCarthy -- First Mate 

🔔  James A. Pratt -- Second Mate 

🔔  Michael E. Armagost -- Third Mate 

🔔  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 

🔔 Thomas D. Bentsen -- Oiler 

🔔 Ralph G. Walton -- Oiler 

🔔 Blaine H. Wilhelm -- Oiler 

🔔 Gordon F. MacLellan -- Wiper 

🔔 Frederick J. Beetcher -- Porter 

🔔 Nolan S. Church -- Porter 

🔔 Robert C. Rafferty -- Steward 

🔔 Allen G. Kalmon -- Second Cook 

🔔 Thomas D. Borgeson-- Maintenance Man 

🔔 Joseph W. Mazes -- Special Maintenance Man 

🔔 Ransom E. Cundy -- Watchman 

🔔 Karl A. Peckol -- Watchman 

🔔 William J. Spengler -- Watchman 

🔔 Eugene W. O'Brien -- Wheelsman 

🔔 John J. Poviach -- Wheelsman 

🔔 John D. Simmons -- Wheelsman 

🔔 Bruce L. Hudson -- Deck Hand 

🔔 Paul M. Riippa -- Deck Hand 

🔔 Mark A. Thomas -- Deck Hand 

🔔 David E. Weiss -- Cadet

for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald, 

let's ring it one more, for the man who made sure they would never be forgotten. 

🔔 Gordon Lightfoot -- singer and songwriter. 

While we're at it, raise a glass to those who have taken up the torch, and passed it on to the next generation.  🍺

Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.  -- Joel 1 : 3

So that we may never forget...