A new fast response U.S. Coast Guard cutter has been named after a rescuer from Michigan who lost his life trying to save three teenage brothers who were swept off a pier during a fierce Lake Superior storm known as “Black Sunday.”
The Coast Guard took delivery of the new cutter this month in Key West, Florida. It will be the second of three fast response cutters stationed in Galveston, Texas, the military said.
The new cutter’s namesake, Petty Officer 1st class Edgar Culbertson of Ferndale, was 31 when he died during the rescue effort in Duluth, Minnesota on April 30, 1967. Culbertson and two other Coast Guard rescuers had tethered themselves with rope and spaced themselves 25 feet apart in an effort to rescue the brothers. Culbertson died, as did all three brothers.
The two other Coast Guard rescuers survived. For their bravery and heroism, all three service members were awarded the Coast Guard medal.
Here are some of the details of the “Black Sunday” rescue. For a full account, read the rescue anniversary story here.
Read the full story.
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