Remembering LV-82

One Hundred years earlier, a US Ship on the Canadian Shoreline was not a good thing, but in 1913, the crew of the US Coast Guard Light Vessel 82 (LV-82) was the only thing keeping sailors on Lake Erie and their demise. In November of 1913, nature unleashed her fury. A storm known as the White Hurricane swept through the great lakes region, causing a level of destruction on the lakes not seen in recent memory, yet the crew of LV-82 stayed. Their station, Point Abino, was known for its shallow shoals and dangerous waters. Standing at their station facing 80 miles per hour winds and thirty-five-foot waves, the six men kept their post until their ship couldn’t take it, and they went down under the cold waters on November 10th, 1913. Captain Hugh M. Williams, Chief Engineer Charles Butler, Assistant Engineer Cornelius Leahy, Mate Andrew Leahy, Seaman Willian Jensen, and Cook Peter MacKay. In addition, these men who gave their lives in service of another country were among 240 others who died during the storm, along with 19 other ships.

The wreck of LV-82 was found on May 9th, 1914, but no bodies, only one was recovered in 1915. But it was the efforts of Paul Kassy Jr, Rick Doan U.E., and John Robbins of Crystal Beach, Ontario, that brought the story of LV-82 to my attention (through my friend Mel in the CCGA). On Saturday, 29 September 2012, Crystal Beach dedicated a memorial to the crew of LV-82. The second memorial to the crews in the USCG Light Vessel service in the world. The ceremony was moving (my eyes still tear up writing this post) with members of the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary. The three men who spearheaded the initiative, local dignitaries, the Navy League Cadet Corps, the Air Cadets, the US Coast Guard, Fire Department, and even a Light Vessel Sailors Association member made the trek all the way up from Missouri.

The names of those six men who gave their lives read aloud, each punctuated with a cannon shot, a bell chime, a horn blast, and a flare would fire.

USCG Light Vessels continued to serve Canadians and Americans on station at Point Abino until the end of 1918 when the Canadian government constructed a lighthouse. The lighthouse continued operations until 1995 and was declared a national historic site in 1998. The USCG ended the Light Vessel service in 1983. This story is posted at Crystal Beach’s Waterfront Park and inside the lighthouse at Point Abino.

Full photo coverage can be found on my Flickr.