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| Sunbird Photos by Don Boyd | profile | all galleries >> U. S. Coast Guard Stock and Non-Stock Photos Gallery >> 2012 - USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) Commissioning Ceremony and Reception Photo Gallery - click on image to view | tree view | thumbnails | slideshow |
The BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) was commissioned in a beautiful ceremony on April 14, 2012, at the Port of Miami. It was the first of 58 new Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters (FRC) that the Coast Guard will construct, with the first 12 being assigned to Sectors Miami and Key West. All of the new cutters will be named after Coast Guard enlisted heroes.
The WEBBER is named after BM1 Bernie Webber, assigned to CG Chatham Life Boat Station and coxswain of CG-36500, a 36-foot wooden motor life boat. He and his three young fearless Coastie crew members (EN2(P) Andrew J. Fitzgerald, SN Richard P. Livese and SN Ervin E. Mask) pulled off probably the greatest small boat rescue of all time at night on February 18, 1952. They did it in one a hell of a snow storm with winds at 70 mph and waves cresting at 60 feet off the coast of Chatham, Massachusetts. They rescued 32 of 33 crewmen from the stern of the sinking S. S. Pendleton, a cheaply built World War II surplus 503-foot tanker that snapped in half, with a wooden motor life boat with a maximum design capacity of 12.
Bernie Webber was awarded the Coast Guard's highest medal for bravery, the Gold Lifesaving Medal, and he refused to accept it unless his three crewmen also received the medal instead of lesser medals. The Coast Guard relented and awarded the Gold Lifesaving medal to all four of the crew.
Bernie Webber joined the Coast Guard in 1946, having served in the Merchant Marine in the Pacific on a tanker almost identical to the S. S. Pendleton in 1944 and 1945. He served a 20-year career in the Coast Guard, retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer (BOSN) after serving a tour of duty with Operation Market Time in Vietnam. He passed the bar on February 18, 2009, at his home in Melbourne, Florida. CWO4 Bernard C. Webber's obituary, and additional information about Bernie's activities after he retired from the Coast Guard, written by Captain W. Russell Webster, USCG (Retired), is located at the below link:
http://www.uscg.mil/history/people/WebberBernard/WebberBernardObitWebster.pdf
The movie "The Finest Hours", adapted from the book of the same name, is to be released to theatres nationwide by Disney on January 29, 2016. The below link is to a New York Times story about the movie:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/movies/the-finest-hours-relives-a-perilous-forgotten-rescue.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share&_r=0
The U. S. Coast Guard Gold Lifesaving Medal dates back to 1877 and a complete list of this medal's recipients is at the below link:
http://www.uscg.mil/history/awards/goldmedalindex.asp
 Invited guests waiting for the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) commissioning ceremony |
 LTJG Justin Fellers speaking as Master of Ceremonies at the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 CDR Cartus Thornton, Chaplain for the Seventh CG District, at the commissioning of the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 Rear Admiral William D. Baumgartner, Commander of the Seventh CG District, at the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER commissioning ceremony |
 Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Michael P. Leavitt at the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER commissioning ceremony |
 Carlos Gimenez, Mayor of Miami-Dade County, at the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER commissioning ceremony |
 Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr., Commandant of the Coast Guard, at the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) commissioning ceremony |
 Ms. Patricia Hamilton, daughter of Bernard C. Webber, escorted at the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) commissioning ceremony |
 LCDR Herb Eggert, prospective CO of the WEBBER, escorting U. S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen at the commissioning ceremony |
 The National Anthem being played at the commissioning ceremony for the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 The Coast Guard Color Guard at the commissioning ceremony for the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 The Coast Guard Color Guard departing the commissioning ceremony for the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 Mr. Donald T. Bollinger, Chairman, CEO and President of Bollinger Shipyards speaking at the commissioning ceremonies |
 Carlos Gimenez, Mayor of Miami-Dade County, speaking at the commissioning ceremonies for the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 Master Chief Petty Officer of the USCG Michael P. Leavitt speaking at commissioning ceremonies for the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER |
 Crew members (facing camera) from the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) during commissioning ceremonies |
 U. S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen speaking at the commissioning ceremonies for the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 U. S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen speaking at the commissioning ceremonies for the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr., Commandant of the USCG, speaking at commissioning ceremonies for USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr., Commandant of the USCG, speaking at commissioning ceremonies for USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr., Commandant of the USCG, speaking at commissioning ceremonies for USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr., Commandant of the USCG, speaking at commissioning ceremonies for USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 Admiral Papp honoring Mr. Andrew Fitzgerald, former Coastie and only surviving crew member during the famous CG-36500 rescue |
 Admiral Papp honoring Mr. Andrew Fitzgerald, former Coastie and only surviving member of the CG-36500 crew |
 Audience and distinguished guests honoring Mr. Andrew Fitzgerald, former Coastie and only surviving member of the CG-36500 crew |
 Audience and distinguished guests honoring Mr. Andrew Fitzgerald, former Coastie and only surviving member of the CG-36500 crew |
 Audience and distinguished guests honoring Mr. Andrew Fitzgerald, former Coastie and only surviving member of the CG-36500 crew |
 LCDR Herb Eggert, prospective CO of the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER and ADM Robert J. Papp Jr., Coast Guard Commandant |
 LCDR Herb Eggert, prospective CO of the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER, speaking at the commissioning ceremony |
 LCDR Herb Eggert, prospective CO of the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER, speaking at the commissioning ceremony |
 Audience at the commissioning ceremony of the U. S. Coast Guard Cutter BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 Mr. Andrew Fitzgerald, former Coastie and only surviving member of the CG-36500 crew |
 LCDR Herb Eggert and Patricia Hamilton, daughter of Bernard C. Webber and sponsor of the new USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 LCDR Herb Eggert and Patricia Hamilton, daughter of Bernard C. Webber and sponsor of the new USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 The entire crew lining the rails of the newly commissioned USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 LCDR Herb Eggert, Commanding Officer, making concluding comments after the commissioning of the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER |
 The sponsors of the reception following the commissioning of the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) at the Port of Miami |
 The reception in Terminal J at the Port of Miami following the commissioning of the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 The reception in Terminal J at the Port of Miami following the commissioning of the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 The reception in Terminal J at the Port of Miami following the commissioning of the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 The reception in Terminal J at the Port of Miami following the commissioning of the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 The reception at Terminal J at the Port of Miami following the commissioning of the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) |
 The newly commissioned U. S. Coast Guard Cutter BERNARD C. WEBBER at the Port of Miami |
 The newly commissioned U. S. Coast Guard Cutter BERNARD C. WEBBER at the Port of Miami |
 The newly commissioned USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) and a 25-Foot Defender Class Boat CG-25505 patrolling nearby |
 The newly commissioned USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) at the Port of Miami |
 Guests onboard the newly commissioned USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER (WPC 1101) at the Port of Miami |
 The Commandant of the U. S. Coast Guard, ADM Robert J. Papp Jr., at the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER commissioning reception |
 The Commandant of the U. S. Coast Guard, ADM Robert J. Papp Jr., at the USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER commissioning reception |
 Coast Guard 25-Foot Defender Class Boat CG-25505 patrolling near the newly commissioned USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER |
 Coast Guard 25-Foot Defender Class Boat CG-25505 patrolling near the newly commissioned USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER |
 Two Coast Guard 25-Foot Defender Class Boats patrolling near the newly commissioned USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER |
 Two Coast Guard 25-Foot Defender Class Boats patrolling near the newly commissioned USCGC BERNARD C. WEBBER |
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