6/10/2023 0 Comments Larson lusitania![]() ![]() ![]() Today, in Cobh, there's a monument along the route the funeral procession took to the town cemetery where the Lusitania dead were buried in mass graves. Among the dead: Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt. "The bodies as they came in in the boats, would've been in whatever clothes they had on them," Courtney said, "and then they were covered in shrouds or in sheets." The sight of lines of bodies laid out along the footpath was an indelible memory for him. "He had to organize, to commandeer rooms in the hotels where the people, the survivors could be put up."Ĭcourtney Murphy's father, then a small boy, watched as the rescue boats returned. ![]() "My grandfather raced down to the office, was immediately involved in the rescue operation, getting anybody who had a boat to go out," said Courtney Murphy.Ĭourtney's grandfather, Jerome Murphy, was the Cunard Line manager in Queenstown. Some rescuers had to row the entire distance. Naval vessels in the area were ordered not to go near the site for fear they would be torpedoed, too, so small boats made their way from Queenstown (now called Cobh), 31 miles away. The ship tilted so far, so fast, only six lifeboats successfully made it into the water. The torpedo hit just behind the bridge on the starboard side. "When I look up at the surface, I can see bodies raining down," he said. "There was just a moan, a constant moan, and it gradually got less and less."Įoin McGarry has dived the wreck nearly 50 times. "It was like half a circle of people moaning in the water," another survivor said. ![]()
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