Comments on: More Fishing Tugs 2

By: Loary Milanese Gunn

Loary Milanese Gunn — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 16:28:20 +0000

My name is Loary Milanese Gunn, you can see my posts on this Tugster blog re: the Gwendoline Steers. Steve Knox and I have since created the Facebook Page in Memory of the GS. We are having a memorial wreathe-laying ceremony to honor the 50th year of the sinking. I want to invite all of the crewmen’s family members. Would you please forward your email to me so I may extend to you and your family a proper invite? Loary.

By: steve knox

steve knox — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:28:24 +0000

http://www.facebook.com/?sk=2361831622#!/posted.php?id=152881484728297&share_id=145818378790208&comments=1#s145818378790208-Here's a link to the Gwendoline Steers facebook site. Please share your photos , and memories of the crewmen.

By: Patricia Reid Florenco

Patricia Reid Florenco — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:29:39 +0000

Thank you Ca Green. My father was that person. It must have have been hard on you as well to do what you had to do. I understood that it was a police officer who chipped my dad out of the life boat. After all these years I come to find out it was a Coast Guard member. There is a lot of miss information. I just called my brother and he said there is a picture of a man with a tire iron in his hand. Was that you? Thank you. Patricia & brother Charles

By: Ca Green

Ca Green — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:06:27 +0000

I was the first to arrive at the life boat. I was in the coast guard stationed at Eaton’s Neck. I found a seaman frozen in a block of ice . I chipped him out and turned him over to the police that had arrived. I was later informed that the person was the chief engineer and his name was Mr Reed. That is about all I know about the incident. I am very sorry for your loss

By: Charles Reid

Charles Reid — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 06:33:29 +0000

PS. unless something comes up, This is my last word on this.

By: Charles Reid

Charles Reid — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 06:31:34 +0000

I just had a thought,I know my father when he was Chief on the J.Ramound kept a log which he filled out at the end of his watch, The same as the captian did, Has any one heard anything about such a log. There would have been two of them, One the captains one the engineers.
I am thinking being there were two people in the pilot house, One could have put something down in the log.As far as I know logs were never brought up at any time.Even if ruined by water, As far as I know there was no mention of logs in any Coast Guard report ever, Readable or not.

By: Patricia Reid Florenco

Patricia Reid Florenco — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:19:33 +0000

My mother heard the news on the radio, a news flash. The picture was in Life magazine and we never were told about the picture or how our Dad died. We knew that men were lost and the tug went down but that was it. The picture was all the information we had about his death. We knew that the tug went down but had no idea our Dad was the only one in the life boat. Sounds confusing to say the least but it’s hard to explain. News flash, notification, Life magazine was the only real source of our Dad’s death.

By: Charles Reid

Charles Reid — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 15:39:27 +0000

anonymous. That is another thing,NOT all the Familes got reports, A copy of Capt Artz’s report was never sent to my mother. Nor any other report,I know this because I lived in the same house,And this was something we shared very close with each other. I have a copy of LIFE magazine With a picture of my dad frozen in the lifeboat, Newspaper clipings. But NO Coast Guard reports. That pic in life mag was how we found out about my father.
NICE huh. I had to go down and ID my father on jan 3rd ,The day of my brothers birthday,Who was killed in Korea. Does anybody have any idea what that did to my mother. All this and no answers.

By: Patricia Reid Florenco

Patricia Reid Florenco — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 07:00:45 +0000

Anonymous, Your post brings all those questions to the surface. There were too many and’s, what if’s to this tragedy. My brother Charles Reid said no one would be out watching the tug go down in such bad weather so these witnesses would have to be in their homes looking out their windows. No Captain would put his men at risk nor his boat. A Captain would send out a mayday. So there really was something wrong here. Others stated that the tug was overcome by a wave and went down. If that was true like my brother said why did was the life boat put in the water? You are correct with all your statements! I’m glad you brought to light some more facts, thank you!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 01:20:42 +0000

Steve Knox shared his mother’s copy of Capt. Artz’ report that was given to the families, plus I read several newspaper articles about his inquiry recently. The bottom line was that no eye witness would attest to actually seeing the GS go down. They all said they were watching for a long time, turned away for a few moments, and when they looked back, she was gone. The newpapers and report also stated that the Coast Guard commander at Eaton’s Neck, Bannon, claimed that Capt. Dickman did NOT issue a mayday. He claimed that in Capt. Dickman’s last transmissions he had stated they were ‘taking on water’ but that they were ok. There was no statement as to how they were taking on water. No mayday at 4:32 p.m., and the ship’s clock stopped around 5:00 p.m.? Taking on water but no mayday? If that doesn’t seem amiss, I don’t know what does!