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On Feb. 18, 1952, a fierce storm off Cape Cod snapped the tanker SS Pendleton in two, leaving 32 men stranded on the stern amid freezing temperatures and 60-foot waves. Four Coast Guardsmen from the Chatham Lifeboat Station volunteered for what many considered an impossible mission.
Coxswain Bernard Webber, along with Ervin Maske, Andrew Fitzgerald, and Richard P. Livesey, launched the 36-foot CG-36500 into blinding snow and mountainous seas. Singing “Rock of Ages” to calm their nerves, they braved treacherous conditions as waves shattered their windshield and destroyed their only compass. Guided only by courage and a searchlight, they navigated to the Pendleton’s stern. Crew members tossed down a Jacob’s ladder, and, one by one, 32 men climbed to safety aboard a boat built for 16.
For their “extreme and heroic daring,” all four rescuers received the Gold Lifesaving Medal. The Coast Guard called this the greatest small-boat rescue in its history. As the Coast Guard celebrates its 235th year, we salute the courage and commitment of the Pendleton rescuers and the brave men and women who have followed in their wake to safeguard our coasts and waterways.
