SS Edmund Fitzgerald

Date: 7 Jun 1958 to 10 Nov 1975
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank in a Lake Superior storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29. When launched on June 7, 1958, she was the largest ship on North America's Great Lakes, and remains the largest to have sunk there. ^[1]

Crew Aboard Final Voyage

• Captain: Ernest M. McSorley, 63; Toledo, Ohio
• First Mate: John H. McCarthy, 62; Bay Village, Ohio
• Second Mate: James A. Pratt, 44; Lakewood, Ohio
• Third Mate: Michael E. Armagost, 37; Iron River, Wisconsin
• Maintenance man: Thomas D. Borgeson, 40; Duluth, Minnesota
• Senior wheelman: John D. Simmons, 62; Ashland, Wisconsin
• Wheelman: Eugene W. O’Brien, 50; Toledo, Ohio
• Wheelman: John J. Poviach, 59; Bradenton, Florida
• Watchman: Ransom E. Cundy, 53; Superior, Wisconsin
• Watchman: Karl A. Peckol, 20; Ashtabula, Ohio
• Watchman: William J. Spengler, 59; Toledo, Ohio
• Deckhand: Bruce L. Hudson, 22; North Olmsted, Ohio
• Deckhand: Paul M. Riippa, 22; Ashtabula, Ohio
• Deckhand: Mark A. Thomas, 21; Richmond Heights, Ohio
• Cadet: David E. Weiss, 21; Agoura, California
• Steward/Cook: Robert C. Rafferty, 62; Toledo, Ohio
• Second cook: Allen G. Kalmon, 43; Washburn, Wisconsin
• Porter: Frederick J. Beetcher, 56; Superior, Wisconsin
• Porter: Nolan F. Church, 55; Silver Bay, Minnesota
• Chief engineer: George J. Holl, 60; Cabot, Pennsylvania
• First assistant engineer: Edward Bindon, 47; Fairport Harbor, Ohio
• Second assistant engineer: Thomas E. Edwards, 50; Oregon, Ohio
• Second assistant engineer: Russell G. Haskell, 40; Millbury, Ohio
• Third assistant engineer: Oliver Champeau, 41; Wisconsin
• Oiler: Thomas Bentsen, 23; St. Joseph, Michigan
• Oiler: Ralph G. Walton, 58; Fremont, Ohio
• Oiler: Blaine H. Wilhelm, 52; Moquah, Wisconsin
• Special maintenance man: Joseph Mazes, 59; Ashland, Wisconsin
• Wiper: Gordon F. MacLellan, 30; Clearwater, Florida

^[2], ^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia: SS Edmund Fitzgerald
2. ↑ S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald Online, "The Crew"
3. ↑ Newspapers.com, clipped from "Wisconsin State Journal"; Madison, Wisconsin; Thursday, November 13, 1975

• Wikipedia: SS Edmund Fitzgerald
• S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald Online
• Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum: Edmund Fitzgerald, "The Fateful Journey"
• Newspapers.com, clipped from "Wisconsin State Journal"; Madison, Wisconsin; Thursday, November 13, 1975
• University of Minnesota Duluth: Nate Grussing's Personal Home Page, "The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald", archived in part at Internet Archive's Wayback Machine