Location: Athens, Ohio | And, tomorrow, another anniversary:
Fifty years ago tomorrow, one of the most celebrated ships in Great Lakes history was launched from a Detroit-area shipyard.
Of course, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald didn't gain renown outside of boat-aficionado circles until more than 17 years later, after it sank in a Lake Superior gale, taking all 29 officers and crewmen aboard 530 feet to the bottom.
A commemorative event tomorrow at Lake Erie Metropark, in southeastern Wayne County near Gibraltar, Mich., will mark the anniversary not of the sinking, but rather the launch of the ship that was the Great Lakes' largest for more than a decade.
Richard Orgel, a Toledo man who sailed aboard the Fitzgerald during his career as a ship's mate and was later subpoenaed to testify during the inquest about its sinking, said he plans to attend the event.
"I had friends on that ship," he said. "We need to keep the Fitzgerald accident in mind to prevent future accidents."
On June 7, 1958, the Fitzgerald was slid sideways into the Detroit River from its birthplace at the Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge, Mich., a rough-hewn community nestled between steel mills to which the ship would often deliver processed iron ore during its 17 years on the Great Lakes.
Roscoe Clark, an event organizer from Detroit, said the ceremony and related activities scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. are intended to celebrate the thousands of workers who toiled in shipyards in the Detroit area, and throughout the Great Lakes, to build the big vessels that for generations have transported the coal, iron ore, and other raw materials for the region's heavy industry.
"I wanted something other than a sad bell-ringing in November," Mr. Clark said, alluding to the annual recognition of the Fitzgerald's Nov. 10, 1975, sinking.
His goal is to have an annual Great Lakes shipbuilders' event in early June that will honor a different ship each year. Activities planned for tomorrow include art exhibits, workshops on ships and shipbuilders of the downriver Detroit area over the past two centuries, and a launch commemoration.
But any mention of the Fitzgerald inevitably turns to its tragic fate.
Thirteen of the Fitzgerald's crew were from Ohio, including its captain, Ernest McSorley of Ottawa Hills; four others from the Toledo area, and one from Fremont.
The ship sank suddenly, without a distress call, leaving only debris and empty life rafts at the surface.
The cause of the Fitzgerald's sinking remains a subject of controversy.
A U.S. Coast Guard report from August, 1977, concluded that hatch covers on the ship's cargo holds were improperly secured, causing it to take on water until it lost buoyancy. The National Transportation Safety Board initially rejected that finding, then reversed itself and accepted it.
The Lake Carriers' Association, meanwhile, postulated that while bobbing in tremendous waves stirred up by the storm, the Fitzgerald, unbeknownst to its crew, struck bottom on a Lake Superior shoal, causing a hull breach that allowed water in.
Ray Ramsey, a marine architect at Great Lakes Engineering Works when the Fitzgerald was built, is among those who subscribe to yet another theory. The Fitzgerald, which at 729 feet was more than 100 feet longer than any other Great Lakes freighter of its day, wasn't designed with enough structural strength to withstand stress over time.
Mr. Ramsey, who lives in retirement in Silver Spring, Md., recalled climbing aboard the Fitzgerald after it splashed into the Detroit River.
"I noted considerable bending [in its hull] right after launch," Mr. Ramsey said. Over time, he said, flexing in the hull could have led to fatigue - especially after regulators in 1971 allowed the Fitzgerald to increase its maximum cargo load.
"It was an accident that shouldn't have happened," Mr. Orgel said.
He said he believed there were economic reasons against any finding there was management responsibility or a design flaw to blame for the sinking.
Mr. Ramsey, who said he is unable to travel to this weekend's event because of recent surgery, said tomorrow will not be the time to rehash the cause of the Fitzgerald's sinking.
"This should be a celebration of the shipyard workers," he said. "Shipping was very important to Detroit's location and its economy. I'd like to meet [again] some of the people who were there when I was there."
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Edited by mikie 6/6/2008 3:08 PM
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Posts: 225
Location: Nordeast Minneapolis | Great points, both. I had the opportunity a couple years back to rent a car and take a tour of Normandy and the D-Day sites... HIGHLY recommended. To tour the bunkers, and then go down to Omaha Beach and know what they were up against... The whole day ranks as one of the most powerful and emotional experiences of my life. My heartfelt thanks to those that serve(d), past, present and future.
(Closed circuit to Dan- Good to have you home, brother. Let's nail a couple this weekend, shall we?) |
Posts: 59
Location: Chicago western burbs | God bless all those that have served that have given us the rights we so cherish and sometimes take for granted.
On June 6, 1944 150,000 US, Canadian, and British troops invaded Normandy. 10,000 US soldiers, mostly teenagers, gave their lives that day so future generations, like ours, can live free. Let us never forget how our predecessors have sacrificed for us.
Currently there are 2.5 million world war two vets still alive. We are losing a thousand of them a day. Please keep these men and women in your prayers.
Once again, may God bless all those who have served and continue to serve in our militaries.
Sincerly,
A person who appreciates all you have done. |
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