A Veteran’s Bravery
The fire was out of control. Soon came the order to sink the ship. In a race against time, was towed into deep waters in Upper New York Bay, where fireboats pumped water into the cargo compartment."Some of the rockets and grenades exploded," New York World-Telegram reported in the article, which appeared up to two years later, a delay that reflected the wartime secrets."That was the question that came to the first boat - fire set off the rest of the explosives or water to sink it."
Water won. Nearly four hours after it caught fire, cargo ship sank in the bay. Not a single death resulted from service.
Time elapsed, and the memory of Esther disappeared. But always stuck in man Mr. Wittek, in New York has never officially recognized the heroism of seafarers. Some received the medal in 1940 from the town of Bayonne, but not from New York, or for that matter, the Coast Guard.
\ "It was the second world war," said Mr. McGranachan explains the loss of official confirmation."A lot of the things that could slide just because the enormity of the situation."
On this Veterans Day, will finally be corrected oversight. America, as we have said, not presidents of those who serve in uniform, but it tries to forget them.
Mr. Wittek, long retired from the fur industry, and now living in Ossining, NY, received the Coast Guard Commendation Medal for"outstanding success" that day 65 years ago. On Tuesday, Vice Adm. Robert J. Papp Jr., commander of Coast Guard Atlantic Area, is scheduled to present hexagonal medal at a ceremony at Pier 86 in Manhattan, where he anchored a freshly repaired aircraft carrier Intrepid.
Coast Guard looked for others to honor, but"could not find anyone other than me," Mr. Wittek said by telephone."This is a tragedy."
His friends there in spirit, though."This is not really for me," he said with a catch in her voice."I'm going to say that I accept on behalf of all my friends. It's for the other guys."