In 2016, the film “And the storm struck” was released on world screens. The picture is based on real events that occurred in February 1952, and is dedicated to the feat of the crew of the lifeboat CG-36500. The navigator Bernie Weber and his team, contrary to the terrible storm and insignificant chances of success, went to the aid of the crew of the sinking tanker Pendleton.
The result of this brave act was thirty-two saved people. What was the main character in life, and how was his future fate?
Biography
Both on screen and in reality, Bernard Challen Webber (Bernie Weber) - US Coast Guard officer. He was born May 9, 1928 in the city of Milton (Massachusetts) in the family of a priest. Despite his young age, Bernie, like his three brothers, joined the US armed forces during the Second World War. After graduation, he transferred to the coast guard. At the time of the tragedy of 1952, Bernie Weber served as assistant first-class boatswain at Chatham station. He ended his twenty-year military career with the rank of chief midshipman of the United States Navy.
Tanker wreck
This happened on February 12, 1952. A hurricane raging in the northeastern United States created a severe storm that covered the entire coast. Near the Cape Cod Peninsula, the elements overtook two tankers - Fort Mercer and Pendleton. Having detected a leak, the Fort Mercer crew sent a distress signal. The next message said the tanker was breaking. The coast guard sent five boats to help. In addition, to clarify the situation, a plane flew to the crash site.
Going back, pilot George Wagner spotted the Pendleton tanker, which was also split. Everything happened so swiftly that his team did not even have time to send a signal for help. Crew members in the bow of the ship died. And the people remaining in the stern of the vessel had very little time and opportunities for survival. The pilot handed over the coordinates of the vessel to the shore, but an increasing storm reduced the chances of salvation to zero. In addition, the main rescue forces were involved in another operation and were located sixty kilometers from the Pendleton.
Incredible salvation
Bernie Weber is an experienced coast officer. Therefore, he perfectly understood that there was no time to wait for the return of service boats. He takes responsibility and forms a rescue squad. Nobody believes in the success of the operation, since going out on a motor boat in such a storm is like death. However, there are volunteers. Together with Bernie, Sergeant Andrew Fitzgerald, sailor Richard Livesey and sailor Simon Erwin Maske are sent to help the tanker crew. Powerful waves near the dangerous bar Chatham nearly destroyed the boat and crew. But the rescuers did not give up and, despite some damage to the ship, continued to search for the tanker.
When the Pendleton was discovered, a brave crew faced another problem. It turned out that 32 people managed to survive, and the lifeboat is designed for only 12 people. Overloading can be fatal. Bernie Weber takes a risk and takes all the survivors. Very slowly and carefully, the boat CG-36500 returned to the shore. Heroes were met by local residents, who, despite the gloomy radio messages, did not lose hope.
Results of operational actions
Together, on that February day, 32 people were saved from the Pendleton tanker and 38 Fort Mercer crew members. After a successful rescue operation, which was noted as one of the most prominent in the history of the US coast guard, Bernie Weber and his crew were awarded gold medals "For saving life." The compatriots called their act a feat. However, the participants in those events themselves always believed that they simply honestly performed their duty.
Life after a feat
After the events described above, Weber was transferred from Chatham to the Woods Hall Coast Guard, where he served until 1954. In 1955, he and his family were again sent to Chatham. It is interesting that the coast guard played a significant role in the personal life of our hero. Bernie Weber met his future wife Miriam Pentinen when he served in North Truro. They married on July 16, 1950 in Milton. The wedding ceremony was held by Father Bernie - Rev. Bernard Weber. The family finally left Chatham in 1963. Then there were military operations in Vietnam, in which Weber, as an officer of the US Navy, took part. After several more translations in 1966, he ended his service.
When Weber left the coast guard, he had the opportunity to serve in the engineering corps and work in a company for the extraction of sea soil. In the last years before retiring, he was an engineer at Nauset Auto and Marine. However, the retired old sea wolf did not sit idly by. Until the last days, Bernie Weber led an active public activity. Photos of the Coast Guard veteran are presented in this article. He taught the basics of maritime affairs at Maine's Hurricane Island Outward Bound School and wrote Chatham's Lighthouses and Lifeboats. Bernard Chellen Weber died on May 9, 2009 and was buried with all military honors.
Hero's Legacy
Despite the fact that Weber is no longer alive, his namesake still serves. A high-speed patrol boat named USCGC Bernard C. Webber was launched on April 14, 2012 in the port of Miami, Florida.
The story of the incredible salvation of the Pendleton and Fort Mercer crews in 2009 was presented in The Fine Watch: The True Story of the US Coast Guard. Weber's memoirs, Chatham's Lighthouses and Lifeboats, was published in 2015. And in 2016, based on the events that took place, they made a film. The project was directed by Craig Gillespie. The role of Bernie Weber in the film was performed by the talented actor Chris Pine.