Bernie Webber - Hero Of The Sea
DescriptionAn essay quickly exploring The Finest Hours, a book about the real event where two T2 oil tanks split in half on the same night near the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, leading to a valiant rescue mission by two teams. Bernie Webber led one of them, saving 33 lives.
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ImageJerry Johnson
The Finest Hours, a book written by Micheal J. Tougias and Casey Sherman, is about two T2 oil tankers that both split on the night of February 18, 1952, off the coast of Chatham. Bernie Webber and his crew were sent out in a Nor’easter, risking their lives, but they managed to do the impossible and save the Pendleton stern. Bernie Webber is a hero because he is brave, skillful, and trustworthy.Bernie Webber going out on that rescue is a true sign of bravery. Bernie was an experienced coast guardsman who was used to going on missions, but this time it would be different. Webber’s lifeboat had a missing compass and almost no radio signal. The text reads, “He pushed the throttle down and headed deeper into the teeth of the storm. He had no compass, and the radio was so tied up with traffic that it was utterly useless to him now” (Tougias & Sherman 70). Webber hesitated and almost turned back but persevered through the storm. Bernie was brave enough to even think about going out into the nor’easter but actually going out there and saving the Pendleton stern was heroic.When Bernie went out on that mission it required a lot of skill and quick thinking. Bernie had to race the boat in the correct areas so the crewmen aboard the Pendleton stern would land in the CG36500. According to the text, “The responsibility hit Webber like a tidal wave…Bernie drove the lifeboat in toward the hull, trying to time the maneuver just right so each survivor would land on the boat and no tin the icy water” (Tougias & Sherman 74). This proves that Webber needed many years of coast guard training and a quick-thinking brain to come up with this idea to ensure safety for the Pendleton stern. The pure amount of skill that Bernie had to make sure the Pendleton stern crew would land in the CG36500 to prevent them from getting swept away in the icy water was something only a hero would do.To be able to pull off the best rescue in coast guard history must require a lot of trust from you and your crewmen. Bernie’s crew had to put all their trust into Bernie hoping he would guide them through the nor’easter. The text states, “Webber decided that no man would be left behind. ‘We would all live or we would all die’ he said later” (Tougias & Sherman 75). This shows the huge amount of trust the crew of the CG36500 had as Bernie led them through the store not even knowing if they would all live. Having this much trust in someone and not even knowing if you would live is crazy. Nevertheless, Bernie was a great captain and a really trustworthy man, for his crew not even knowing if they would even make it out alive, but they still trusted Bernie to be a hero and guide them home. During the rescue, Bernie had to navigate the CG36500 through a nor’easter. When he finally got to the Pendleton stern he was met with a challenge. He had to fit the entire Pendleton crew containing 33 men on a CG36500 lifeboat. It's important to realize that the lifeboat was only meant to hold 12 people, but despite that, he and his crew managed to fit almost triple the capacity. All of the men, including Bernie’s crew, made it home alive even with the boat slowly sinking as they made it to shore. This shows that Bernie would not stop fighting until everyone was safe.
