BUFFALO, N.Y. —
Nearly a century after they died when their floating lighthouse sank in Lake Erie during a violent storm, six American servicemen are being honored by a Canadian community.
A memorial plaque honoring the crew of Light Vessel 82 will be unveiled Saturday morning during a public ceremony at Waterfront Park in Fort Erie, Ontario, across the Niagara River from Buffalo.
The captain of LV-82 and his five-man crew of lighthouse tenders remained on station during a storm on Nov. 10, 1913 to warn other ships of the dangerous rocks and shoals off the Buffalo shore. LV-82 eventually sank in 35-foot waves and 80-mph winds.
The crew served with the U.S. Lighthouse Service, which merged with the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939.
Representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard plan to attend , along with members of the local community who worked on the memorial.
“The story of LV-82 is one of duty, courage and ultimate sacrifice,” said Rick Doan, a Fort Erie resident and member of the LV-82 historical group. “It’s an important piece of local history and it will finally be publicly memorialized so that these heroes will not be forgotten.”
LV-82’s crew included Capt. Hugh M. Williams of Manistee, Mich.; Chief Engineer Charles Butler of Buffalo; Assistant Engineer Cornelius Leahy of Elyria, Ohio; Mate Andrew Leahy from Elyria; Seaman William Jensen of Muskegon, Mich., and cook Peter Mackey of Buffalo.
The vessel was later raised from the lake bottom. An old black-and-white photograph shows LV-82’s battered hull, minus its superstructure, tied to a Buffalo pier around 1915.
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Canada to honor 6 American servicemen killed in 1913 storm
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