SS Pendleton Rescue

We all rag on the Coasties, which makes them nothing special. All the sister services treat each other badly, even to differing communities within each branch.
But when fun time is over we all recognize heroism when we see it. Today marks the anniversary of what may be the greatest rescue in Coast Guard history.

Eggs sends.

CG36500

Today, February 18, 2022, the 70th Anniversary of the rescue of the crew of the T2 tanker “Pendleton” by the crew of the CG36500, we honor Bernard Webber, Andrew Fitzgerald, Richard Livesey, and Ervin Maske, whose valiant efforts became known as the greatest small-boat rescue in U.S. Coast Guard history.

At approximately 6 PM on February 18,1952, Webber, Fitzgerald, LIvesey, and Maske set out from Chatham Harbor in the 36-foot motor lifeboat CG36500 on a suicide mission to rescue the crew of the “Pendleton.”

Having lost the lifeboat’s compass during the near-impossible passage over the Chatham Bar and sailing in a snow storm in the dark, the CG36500 miraculously was headed on a course that brought them to the stern of the “Pendleton”. (The tanker had split in two hours earlier, and the stern section was drifting south just east of Cape Cod. The bow section of the boat was drifting about ten miles farther to the east.) The stern section was dark at the time the CG36500 encountered the tanker, making it nearly impossible to see.

Soon the men on the “Pendleton,” seeing the CG36500’s search light, came out on deck and began the dangerous process of descending a half-rotted Jacob’s ladder and jumping to the CG36500, all the while both vessels were being pushed about by the wind and waves.

All but one of the 33 crew on the stern of the “Pendleton” were able to make it safely aboard the CG36500, which was now carrying more people than she was designed to hold. Webber, not knowing his exact location, headed the CG36500 toward the shore, hoping to land the crew along the eastern shore of Monomoy Island or Nauset Beach, but in another improbable circumstance, he ended up steering the CG36500 right to the entrance to Chatham Harbor. Now knowing his exact location, Webber was able to bring the heavily-loaded CG36500 to the Fish Pier, at approximately 8:45 PM.

Waiting at the Fish Pier, first responders, along with many townsfolk from Chatham, were able to transport the “Pendleton” crew to Coast Guard Station Chatham or to the local hospital where they could finally receive care and comfort following their ordeal.

All of the men who sailed aboard the CG36500 on that fateful day, and all of the men rescued from the “Pendleton”, have since crossed over the bar. Only the CG36500 remains to remind us of the greatest small-boat rescue in Coast Guard history.

A more detailed account of the “Pendleton” rescue can be found in the following books:
THE FINEST HOURS* by Michael J. Tougias and Casey Sherman. New York: Scribner, 2009.
TWO TANKERS DOWN by Robert Frump. Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2008.
INTO A RAGING SEA by Bernie Webber. Cape Cod, MA: On Cape Publications, 2015.
THE PENDLETON DISASTER OFF CAPE COD, updated third edition by Theresa Mitchell Barbo and Captain W. Russell Webster, USCG (Ret.). Charleston, SC; The History Press, 2010
*A film version of The Finest Hours was released in 2016. As is the case with many film adaptations, the film is based on the true story of the “Pendleton” rescue, but deviates in some cases from the actual events. The film does an excellent job of providing a visual sense of the rescue, but should not be mistaken for a historically accurate account.

According to Coast Guard lore, you have to go out. You don’t have to come back. Thanks, Eggs

Category: Coast Guard, Guest Post, Valor