Webber ‘s tale popping up on the big screen
Perhaps one of the most amazing and unsung USCG heroes was Bernard C. “Bernie” Webber, coxswain of motor lifeboat CG-36500, from Station Chatham, Massachusetts. He and his crew of three rescued the crew of the stricken T-2 tanker Pendleton, which had broken in half during a horrific storm on 18 February 1952 off the coast of Massachusetts.
In 60-foot seas.
In a 36-foot boat.
It looks like there is one heck of a movie coming out detailing that event.
The USCGC Bernard C. Webber (WPC-1101), first of the United States Coast Guard’s Sentinel-class cutters is named after this hero.
MIAMI — The Coast Guard Cutter Webber, the Coast Guard’s first Sentinel Class patrol boat, arrives at Coast Guard Sector Miami Feb. 9, 2012. The 154-foot Webber is a Fast Response Cutter capable of independently deploying to conduct missions such as ports, waterways, and coastal security, fishery patrols, drug and illegal migrant law enforcement, search and rescue, and national defense along the Gulf of Mexico and throughout the Caribbean. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Sabrina Elgammal.
If there is ever a story that “reads like a Hollywood movie” this is it. They were ordinary Americans, nothing special, on duty to save lives. And when the chips were down, they didn’t waiver.
I spoke to Bernie Webber a few times, he was as unassuming a person as you could meet. I asked him about that fateful night and he told me he kept hoping the station would recall the 36500 back to Chatham. When no recall was received via radio he told his crew, “this is it boys, we got a job to do” and off they went into the night. I had the good fortune to take a trip on the 36500 in 1983 to a boat show and it was a nice summer’s day. It’s a noble, sturdy craft but very primative and certainly no yacht. I’m very happy that Bernie and his crew will be recognized after all these years. The word “hero” is bandied about today by the media but after considering the rescue they achieved, with the odds against them, these Coasties were the real deal.