CUTTER ESCANABA

Cutter Escanaba rescuing SS Dorchester survivors

It was U.S. Coast Guard swimmers to the rescue when a German U-boat attacked an Atlantic convoy on Feb. 3, 1943, sinking the packed American troop ship SS Dorchester.

Crew from the Coast Guard cutter Escanaba WPG-77 clad in wet suits secured lines to men struggling in the frigid waves, saving 133.

It was reported to be the first such rescue using wet suits. Life jackets provide little relief against deadly hypothermia.  Along the efforts of other ships in the convoy, which was bound for Greenland, a total of 230 lives were saved. More than 600 were lost.

In an October 1989 interview with the Daily Press on Newport News Virginia, Dorchester survivor James W. "Mac" McAtammey recalled: "The Coast Guardsmen jumped over the side in rubber suits to help survivors get on board. They gave us the clothes off their backs to keep us warm. There was no distinction between officers and enlisted men; we all worked together to get home safely."

The Dorchester sinking is also remembered for the sacrifice of four chaplains who died because they gave up their life jackets to save others. Congress established Four Chaplains Day to honor the men each Feb. 3, anniversary of their loss.

Sadly, on June 13, 1943, Escanaba itself was lost in action. The cutter struck a mine or was hit by a torpedo and sank with the loss of 102 souls, no doubt some of whom participated in the Dorchester rescue.

Launched in 1932, Escanaba patrolled the Great Lakes before going to war. Dorchester was a coastal passenger steamer launched in 1936. Dorchester was torpedoed by German submarine U-233, according to Wikipedia. British warships destroyed U-233 in 1944. In the end, everyone lost something. Such is war.