Memorial to be Streamed This Year for Public
On November 10th, 1975, the Great Lakes community lost 29 brave crew members of the S. S. Edmund Fitzgerald as ship and crew were declared lost to Lake Superior during a severe November storm.
The 47th annual S. S. Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Ceremony will be a closed event limited to surviving family members of the lost crew and those that took part in the rescue effort. However, those still wishing to pay their respects can view the event via live stream and on local TV. Please visit the Edmund Fitzgerald Ceremony website for more details.
At approximately 7:10pm on November 10, please hold a moment of silence and imagine the Mighty Fitz’s bell solemnly toll for the 29 souls lost.
Ernest McSorley — Captain
John McCarthy — First mate
James Pratt — Second mate
Michael Armagost — Third mate
David Weiss — Cadet
Ransom Cundy — Watchman
Karl Peckol — Watchman
William Spengler — Watchman
John Simmons — Senior wheelman
Eugene O’Brien — Wheelman
John Poviach — Wheelman
Paul Riippa — Deckhand
Mark Thomas — Deckhand
Bruce Hudson — Deckhand
George Holl — Chief engineer
Edward Bindon — First assistant engineer
Thomas Edwards — Second assistant engineer
Russell Haskell — Second assistant engineer
Oliver Champeau — Third assistant engineer
Ralph Walton — Oiler
Blaine Wilhelm — Oiler
Thomas Bentsen — Oiler
Gordon MacLellan — Wiper
Robert Rafferty — Steward
Allen Kalmon — Second steward
Joseph Mazes — Special maintenance man
Thomas Borgeson — Maintenance man
Frederick Beetcher — Porter
Nolan Church — Porter
Eternal Father, Strong to Save
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep,
O hear us when we cry to thee
For those in peril on the sea!
O Christ! Whose voice the waters heard
And hushed their raging at thy word,
Who walkedst on the foaming deep,
And calm amidst its rage didst sleep,
O hear us when we cry to thee,
For those in peril on the sea!
Most Holy Spirit! Who didst brood
Upon the chaos dark and rude,
And bid its angry tumult cease,
And give, for wild confusion, peace,
O hear us when we cry to thee
For those in peril on the sea!
Eternal Father, grant, we pray,
To all Marines, both night and day,
The courage, honor, strength, and skill
Their land to serve, thy law fulfill;
Be thou the shield forevermore
From every peril to the Corps.
Lord, guard and guide the ones who fly
Through the great spaces in the sky.
Be with them always in the air,
In darkening storms or sunlight fair.
The Chicago Times 