Community Corner
My Memorial Day Hero
Amy Lockerbie Smith of Swampscott remembers her Uncle Harold, a Coast Guard lieutenant killed while trying to save a man overboard.
There is a wonderful family picture hanging in my hall of my Uncle Harold with his wife, Vivian holding their young son, also named Harold.
My uncle’s full name was Harold Albert Theodore Bernson. What were his parents thinking when they gave him that moniker? He was the first born so I guess they were covering all their bases. . . never mind. He was a hero. A BIG hero.
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Uncle Harold had made the family proud even before he became a hero. He graduated from the United States Coast Guard Academy in Groton, Connecticut and went on to command a ship that transported President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to the state of Maine.
If this Coast Guard graduate hadn't been best friends with my dad, my sisters and I might not be here. My mom was his younger sister.
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My memory of my very handsome uncle is quite distant because he died when I was only about four years old. His wife was expecting their second child.
Lt. Bernson was the executive officer of the ship Triton working in an area of the Mississippi River when one of his men fell overboard. My uncle dove into the water in an attempt to rescue this sailor. Unfortunately, at the time, the Triton was maneuvering around trying to re-float a grounded freighter. While doing so a hawser or cable line broke free and struck both men — stunning blows. This abruptly released cable critically injured both men. They were flown to a hospital in Biloxi, Mississippi for medical aid. The sailor who had fallen overboard, Jesse Moore, suffered a broken back and remained a paraplegic for the rest of his life. Medical care at sea in 1938 was not what it is today so my dear, heroic uncle bled to death.
This was a tremendous loss to our family, felt even today. Uncle Harold was given full military honors at his funeral. A rider-less horse followed his flag-draped casket and his fellow sailors to his final resting place in Arlington National Cemetery. There is a plaque commemorating his name in Groton, Connecticut.
