On March 5, 1996, Richard Etheridge and his crew of six from the Pea Island Lifesaving Station, the only African American U.S. Life-Saving Service crew in the nation's history, were honored posthumously with a Gold Lifesaving Medal of Honor. Virtually ignored for almost a century, it took the tenacity of a 15 year-old middle school student from Washington, N.C. to help shed light on their brave efforts. Kate Burkhart not only wrote an award-winning essay addressing the slighted crewmen, but she also lobbied members of Congress and President Bill Clinton to honor the members of the Pea Island station.The collection consists of correspondence, invitations, speeches, magazines, newspaper clippi ... (more below)
Pea Island Lifesavers Commemoration Papers
33MSS-65
1995 - 1999
English
On March 5, 1996, Richard Etheridge and his crew of six from the Pea Island Lifesaving Station, the only African American U.S. Life-Saving Service crew in the nation's history, were honored posthumously with a Gold Lifesaving Medal of Honor. Virtually ignored for almost a century, it took the tenacity of a 15 year-old middle school student from Washington, N.C. to help shed light on their brave efforts. Kate Burkhart not only wrote an award-winning essay addressing the slighted crewmen, but she also lobbied members of Congress and President Bill Clinton to honor the members of the Pea Island station.
The collection consists of correspondence, invitations, speeches, magazines, newspaper clippings, programs, photographs and a video.For current information on the location ofthese materials, please consult the Outer Banks History Center.
Outer Banks History Center
Outer Banks History Center
The Pea Island Commemoration Papers are arranged by series and document type.
Available for research.
Copyright is retained by the authors of these materials, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law (Title 17 US Code). Individual researchers are responsible for using these materials in conformance with copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying the materials.
Processed by Christine A. Dumoulin, 2006
Encoded by Stuart Parks II, November 2008
The Pea Island Lifesaving Station Gold Lifesaving Medal Ceremonies video has been moved to the A/V Cabinet, third drawer, third tie
In 1878, the Pea Island Lifesaving Station was established near Cape Hatteras, N.C. along one of the most treacherous shorelines on the East Coast, known as "The Graveyard of the Atlantic." For the first ten years, the Pea Island station had an all-white crew or a crew of black men with white surf men, whose jobs ranged from patrolling the sands to assisting ships in distress. In 1880, Richard Etheridge, who served in the Thirty-sixth Infantry Regiment, United States Colored Troops division during the Civil War, took over as keeper and commanded the first all-African American lifesaving station in the country.
The lifesavers at Pea Island quickly gained the reputation of being among the best. Their most heroic effort was rescuing nine people, including the captain's wife and daughter, from the sinking E. S. Newman on October 11, 1896. The three-masted schooner had run aground during a hurricane, and Etheridge and his crew, which consisted of Benjamin Bowser, Lewis Wescott, Dorman Pugh, Theodore Meekins, Stanley Wise and William Irving, braved the darkness and rough water to bring the passengers to shore. Etheridge ordered two of his men to tie themselves together with thick line. Carrying another line, which was payed out by their comrades on shore, the men would struggle two by two and swim through brutal wind, waves and currents. Upon reaching the ship, they secured the line and began carrying the passengers one by one to shore.
Kate Burkart was an 8th grade student from Washington, N.C. when she became interested in the Pea Island Station and its crew for a history club project. In her research, she was astonished to learn that the men had never been honored for their heroic rescue. At the insistence of her parents, Burkart wrote letters and sent her paper to President Bill Clinton and U.S. Senator Jesse Helms asking for their help to honor the men involved in the rescue of the E. S. Newman. She also discovered that Stephen Rochon, an African American Coast Guard Commander, was working towards the same goal. On March 5, 1996, almost 100 years later, the men of Pea Island were remembered with honor and distinction. Richard Etheridge and his crew of six from the Pea Island Lifesaving Station were awarded, posthumously, with a Gold Lifesaving Medal of Honor.
[Identification of item], 33MSS-65, Pea Island Lifesavers Commemoration Papers, Outer Banks History Center, Manteo, N.C., U.S.A.
Various donors: various patrons brought articles or papers pertaining to the event to the Outer Banks History Center over a period of months or years. OBHC staff gathered those materials into this artificial collection.
Additional information on topics found in this collection may be found in the Manuscript and Archives Reference System (MARS) http://www.ncarchives.dcr.state.nc.us.
This collection of material consists of correspondence, invitiations, speeches, magazines, newspaper clippings, programs, photographs and a video.
The Pea Island Commemoration Papers are arranged by series and document type.
This collection of material consists of correspondence, invitiations, speeches, magazines, newspaper clippings, programs, photographs and a video.