Mifflinburg Boy Survives Ships Sinking
On Sept 13 1944, during WWII, William Reuben Ruhl of Mifflinburg was aboard the The CGC Jackson when it and sister ship CGC Bedloe ran smack into a category 4 hurricane during a recovery mission of an American Liberty Ship hit by a torpedo.
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USCGC Jackson
For 3 days and two nights, Ruhl and several others were adrift at sea. 48 men died in the storm, now referred to as the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944.
"We watched our boat sink about 100 yards away from us" Ruhl said. "The storm was fierce. They later said the waves were 125 to 150 feet high. It was so bad that one moment you would be in a gully and the next on top of a wave as if you were on a mountain looking down into a valley."
The crew of USCGC Jackson are rescued by an amphibious aircraft, after being adrift for 58 hours.
After two full days at sea, the men were locate by a Navy airplane, on the morning of Sept. 15 1944.
The Daily Item, 1944
"Mifflinburg Lutheran church was filled to capacity Sunday evening when William Ruhl, seaman 1-c, of the Coast Guard, gave a vivid and interesting description of the "Wreck of the which occurred during a hurricane September 14.
He was a member of the crew and one of nineteen survivors of the disaster. Seaman Ruhl told of what the Coast Guard stands for, the meaning of the flag and of his preliminary training of thirteen weeks at Cartis Bay, Md. He was later given sea duty, then assigned to further station training in Virginia and eventually became a member of the crew of the Jackson. Christmas at sea was described by the young seaman, who told of the difficulties of the cook, who, because of the choppy sea, was forced to clamp pots and pans to the stove to prepare dinner for the crew of forty-one.
His experience the morning of the wreck, which occurred at 10:30 o'clock, began with being alone in the gally and thrown to the floor but which at first did not surprise him because it was not unusual during a storm tp have that occur. However, he realized almost instantly that the ship had capsized when the refrigerator and other furnishings toppled and the lights went out. Someone finally opened a hatch and he managed to crawl out and assist with floating the rafts. It was while jumping into the rafts that most of the men lost their lives, he said, and when the crew was picked up 58 hours later only nineteen remained, a number having died throughout the days spent in the water and taking aboard the rafts.
His experience the morning of the wreck, which occurred at 10:30 o'clock, began with being alone in the gally and thrown to the floor but which at first did not surprise him because it was not unusual during a storm tp have that occur. However, he realized almost instantly that the ship had capsized when the refrigerator and other furnishings toppled and the lights went out. Someone finally opened a hatch and he managed to crawl out and assist with floating the rafts. It was while jumping into the rafts that most of the men lost their lives, he said, and when the crew was picked up 58 hours later only nineteen remained, a number having died throughout the days spent in the water and taking aboard the rafts.
Seaman Ruhl, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Lester Ruhl, Mifflinburg, is spending a 30-day leave with his parents. Sunday, October 29, he will report to Virginia for reassignment.."
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