History of The United States Coast Guard - The 1950s - Pendleton Rescue

Pendleton Rescue

On 18 February 1952, during a severe "nor’easter" off the New England coast, the T2 tankers SS Fort Mercer and SS Pendleton broke in half. Pendleton was unable to make any distress call; she was discovered on the unusual shore radar with which the Chatham, Massachusetts, Lifeboat Station was equipped during the search for Fort Mercer. BM1 Bernard C. Webber, coxswain of motor lifeboat CG-36500 from Station Chatham and his crew, consisting of Andrew Fitzgerald, Richard Livesey, and Ervin Maske, rescued the crew of Pendleton, which had broken in half. Webber maneuvered the 36-footer under Pendleton's stern with expert skill as the tanker's crew, trapped in the stern section, abandoned the remains of their ship on a Jacob's ladder. One by one, the men jumped into the water and then were pulled into the lifeboat. Webber and his crew saved 33 of the 34 Pendleton crewmen. Webber, Fitzgerald, Livesey, and Maske were awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for their heroic actions.

In all, U .S. Coast Guard vessels, aircraft, and lifeboat stations, working under severe winter conditions, rescued 62 persons from the foundering ships or from the water; only five lives were lost among the crews of Fort Mercer and Pendleton. Five Coast Guardsmen earned the Gold Lifesaving Medal, four earned the Silver Lifesaving Medal, and 15 earned the Coast Guard Commendation Medal.

The rescue of men from the bow of Fort Mercer was nearly as spectacular as the Pendleton rescue, but is often overshadowed by the Pendleton rescue. Eight officers and crew were trapped on the bow of Fort Mercer and four were rescued using rafts and a Monomoy surfboat. By contrast, all aboard the bow of the Pendleton perished.