35 years ago 29 men lost thier lives in the most haunting accident on the Great Lakes. I was 7 at the time of the event and I am still haunted by it to this day. I grew up in Toledo, which had the luck of having something like 5 of the crewmen calling it home. One also called home the same block that my aunt and uncle lived on in North Olmstead. I think there were like 5 houses between them.
Now I don't remember much of the storm that day because I had spent most of the day in bed sick with something. I remember waking up about the time that the city got the news, in the form of a crawl across the tv, but at that time they could not positively identify the ship. That came around the 11pm news and I don't remember too much of the reaction save that I started screaming and fell to the floor.
I had just been placed with the family that would adopt me in 1976 so this was probably a mystrery to them. Throught the years they would cut out newspaper articles and on one trip up to the UP, they brought me back 2 postcards that were of the Vessal.
I love the Big Fitz and her crew and miss them all a lot. They are forever in my memory and heart.
I will write one I am done watching the memorial service that is being shown via web cam,
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