gCaptain is reporting the delivery of the seventh Webber Class FRC, Charles Davis, Jr., WPC-1107.

“On the night of February 3, 1943, the U.S. Army transport USS DORCHESTER was torpedoed by a U-Boat off the coast of Greenland in the North Atlantic.    The CGC COMANCHE was on the scene and its crew desperately searched for survivors in the frigid waters.  David fearlessly volunteered to leave the safe haven of the COMANCHE to dive overboard to help rescue the DORCHESTER’s crew.  As other crewmen also volunteered to dive in, 93 survivors were rescued out of the freezing waters.

“After the last of the survivors were safely aboard, David began to climb the cargo net to the ship’s deck.  One of David’s shipmates, Richard Swanson, was having trouble climbing the net due to his freezing limbs.  David descended the net with the help of another crewman and pulled Swanson to the deck out of harm’s way.  Tragically, David died a few days later from pneumonia.”