Bernie Webber: A Story of Semper Paratus - VA News

In mid-February 1952, Petty Officer First Class Webber was at his station in Chatham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, during a severe nor’easter. Two tankers, SS Fort Mercer and SS Pendleton, both cracked in half off the coast of Cape Cod. The SS Fort Mercer sent out the Morse code distress signal “Save Our Souls” (SOS), and the Boston and Nantucket Coast Guard crews embarked on a rescue mission to the tanker. No SOS was sent out from SS Pendleton because when it split, the front of the tanker sank rapidly. The navigation instruments and officers also went down, rendering an SOS alert impossible. The Chatham Coast Guard spotted the surviving half of SS Pendleton floating in the swells. Webber was ordered by the Chatham Station commanding officer to assemble a crew for a rescue mission. Three men volunteered: Richard Livesey, Andy “Fitz” Fitzgerald and Ervin Maske. At just 24, Webber was the most experienced of the crew as they set out on a 36-foot lifeboat.
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Brave Coasties!

A great rescue! All but one crew member saved. That took some daring and doing.

The Coast Guard is a vital link for all of us.