The DANIEL J. MORRELL-Lost, But No Longer Forgotten

Book excerpt: Discusses how a research team led by famed Great Lakes Marine Historian John DeBeck rewrote history about the wreck of the third largest shipwreck on the Great Lakes, the DANIEL J. MORRELL, a 603 foot long ore carrier that split in half in a violent storm on November 29, 1966. DeBeck was close friends for 33 years with the wreck's lone survivor, Dennis Hale, who survived 38 hours on a life raft with wearing only his Navy peacoat and a pair of JC Penney underwear! After Hale's passing in 2015, DeBeck and Hale's widow helped the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum to establish a new exhibit about the MORRELL and its 29 crewmembers. As the exhibit developed and families of the men were interviewed, clues came forth that told the true story of the wreck, not what had been falsely reported by the Coast Guard Board of Inquiry. A three year study led DeBeck and his team from coast-to-coast, and from Canada to Panama, as clues were uncovered and facts were found. For the first time ever, 55 years late, all 29 surviving families were united and given the facts, and finally, some closure about what actually happened on that frigid November night.