Memorial for US Merchant Navy crew lost off north Mayo
A SPECIAL commemoration of US Merchant Navy crew members of the SS Rochester, who lost their lives during World War I, will see a memorial stone unveiled at Cill Ghallagáin Graveyard this weekend.
Local fishermen from Portacloy rescued a number of crew after the SS Rochester was sunk by a German u-boat.
Four crew who lost their lives and were buried in unmarked graves, will now be remembered with a new memorial.
On February 1, 1917, during World War I, the German government placed a blockade around Ireland, Britain and France, which was manned by their u-boats, in order to stop merchant shipping from reaching their ports. The United States, which was neutral at this point of the war, was opposed to any blockade that would hinder their merchant goods from reaching European markets.
Two US merchant companies decided to oppose the German blockade by each sending one of their vessels from New York to Bordeaux. They were the SS Rochester, owned by Kerr Steamship Line of New York, and the SS Orleans, owned by the Oriental Navigation Company.
The Rochester's captain, Erik Kokeritz, born in Gavle, Sweden, was a naturalised American while the Orleans was captained by US-born Captain Allen D. Tucker. Both were very experienced seamen.
On February 10, 1917, the ships departed New York harbour and after three weeks at sea both had broken through the u-boat blockade, the first US Merchant Marine captains to do so, and had landed their supplies successfully at the port of Bordeaux.
Receiving a rapturous welcome from its 30,000 citizens, the captains and crews were paraded around the city and treated like national heroes.
The captains were awarded silver medals by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce in recognition of their courage and bravery and were then taken to Paris to meet the French government. Many of the major newspapers around the world featured the captains’ heroic efforts on their front pages.
The German Emperor, the Kaiser, however, was not happy with this turn of events. He put a price on both captains’ heads and wanted them dead as soon as possible.
On July 3, 1917, the SS Orleans was sunk by a u-boat off the French coast. Captain Tucker managed to escape from the u-boat’s crew, whose search for him proved unsuccessful.
Some months later, on November 2, the SS Rochester was attacked and sunk by a u-boat 400 miles north-west of Ireland.
Captain Kokeritz succeeded in getting his crew into three lifeboats and directed them to sail towards the Irish coast. After five days at sea, sailing through challenging winter storms, Captain Kokeritz and 22 of his crew were rescued off Tory Island, north Donegal. All had survived. (The captain himself died in Derry of pneumonia three months after his rescue).
The second lifeboat with 12 souls on board was never seen again.
After spending five days at sea, the third lifeboat managed to sail close to the small fishing port of Portacloy in north Mayo. Only five out of the 12 crew on board the small craft had survived.
The survivors, rescued by local fishermen from the village, were taken to the Doherty family’s home to recover from their injuries. All were suffering from severe exhaustion and frostbite.
Five of the crew who had died within sight of the Irish coast were carried ashore and buried at the local graveyard in Cill Ghallagáin (Kilgalligan).
One of those buried was US Navy Gunner Ernest Gragg, the first Texan to be killed while on duty during World War I. In 1931 his remains were exhumed and taken to Arlington Military Cemetery in Virginia for reburial.
The graves of the other four crew members at Cill Ghallagáin were never marked with a headstone. Their names are Victor Pederson (aged 21, from Sweden), Rex Wheeler (aged 22, from Ohio, USA), Verner Helms (aged 27, from Virginia, USA) and William Hinman (aged 22, from Massachusetts, USA).
COMMEMORATION
On Saturday, August 12, starting at 2.30 p.m. a programme of activity is being organised in the Seanscoil Community Centre in Ceathrú Thaidhg (F26 Y8P7) to commemorate the tragic events of November 1917.
Derry man David Jenkins will be officially launching the second edition of his comprehensive book Captain Kokeritz, An American Hero.
This will be followed by a screening of his film of the same name which includes original footage taken of the SS Rochester and SS Orleans leaving New York and their arrival at Bordeaux, as well as a play commissioned by David, Captain Kokeritz, Captain of the Seas, which was written and directed by author and actor Anne McMaster.
The unveiling of a specially commissioned memorial stone by descendents of the Doherty family at the graves of the four Rochester heroes will then take place at Cill Ghallagáin Graveyard in the presence of officers of the Irish United Nations Veterans Association, John Wade and James McEvoy.
This commemoration event is organised by David Jenkins in conjunction with Comhar Dún Chaocháin Teo.
You can obtain a copy of the day’s programme by contacting David at deejenkins@hotmail.co.uk or Treasa at dunchaochain1@gmail.com.