The list of the 33 crew members aboard include 28 people from the United States from Florida, Georgia, Maine, New York, Delaware, Massachusetts, Virginia and Tennessee.
The whole list can be found here:
[ul]
[li]Louis Champa – Palm Coast, Florida[/li][li]Roosevelt Clark – Jacksonville, Florida[/li][li]Sylvester Crawford Jr. – Lawrenceville, Georgia[/li][li]Michael Davidson – Windham, Maine[/li][li]Brookie Davis – Jacksonville, Florida[/li][li]Keith Griffin – Fort Myers, Florida[/li][li]Frank Hamm – Jacksonville, Florida[/li][li]Joe Hargrove – Orange Park, Florida[/li][li]Carey Hatch – Jacksonville, Florida[/li][li]Michael Holland – North Wilton, Maine[/li][li]Jack Jackson – Jacksonville, Florida[/li][li]Jackie Jones, Jr. – Jacksonville, Florida[/li][li]Lonnie Jordan – Jacksonville, Florida[/li][li]Piotr Krause – Poland[/li][li]Mitchell Kuflik – Brooklyn, New York[/li][li]Roan Lightfoot – Jacksonville Beach, Florida[/li][li]Jeffrey Mathias – Kingston, Massachusetts[/li][li]Dylan Meklin – Rockland, Maine[/li][li]Marcin Nita – Poland[/li][li]Jan Podgorski – Poland[/li][li]James Porter – Jacksonville, Florida[/li][li]Richard Pusatere – Virginia Beach, Virginia[/li][li]Theodore Quammie – Jacksonville, Florida[/li][li]Danielle Randolph – Rockland, Massachusetts[/li][li]Jeremie Riehm – Camden, Delaware[/li][li]Lashawn Rivera – Jacksonville, Florida[/li][li]Howard Schoenly – Cape Coral, Florida[/li][li]Steven Shultz – Roan Mountain, Tennessee[/li][li]German Solar-Cortes – Orlando, Florida[/li][li]Anthony Thomas – Jacksonville, Florida[/li][li]Andrzej Truszkowski – Poland[/li][li]Mariette Wright – St. Augustine, Florida[/li][li]Rafal Zdobych – Poland[/li][/ul]
Been feeling quite low ever since they announced that the [I]S.S. El Faro[/I] was missing. Knowing what they had sailed into, I was pretty certain of their fate. Having gone to sea for thirty eight years and having sailed with a Jacksonville crew more than once I was dreading the inevitable abandonment of hope and the announcing of the crew list. I knew that there would be some old shipmate that would have taken that long last trip to Davy Jones locker. Roan Lightfoot, who was undoubtedly sailing as Bosun on the [I]El Faro[/I] swallowed the anchor. We were shipmates in 1987 aboard the San Clemente tanker the S.S. Golden Monarch. The ship crewed up in the shipyard in Jacksonville after a two year layup at the Hess Oil refinery in St. Croix USVI. He and Bob Grubb, both of Jacksonville, were the two Able Seaman on my watch and I was the 3rd Mate. Over four months we made a number of trips from St Lucia to St. Croix and from Point Noire the Congo to St. Croix carrying crude oil to the Hess refinery . Roan was sly, street wise,redneck, disrespectful,fun loving guy. We didn’t always see eye to eye but he knew what it meant to be a shipmate. Never saw him again when I got off the ship at the Hess refinery in St. Croix just before Christmas but I heard about him from time to time. When shooting the breeze with other seaman you always mention people you sailed with and inquire on what they have been up to. So I am feeling really low about my watch partner and shipmate Roan, who I haven’t seen in 28 years but there were thirty two other people on that ship who meant something to a number of people. Wives and children, Mothers and Fathers, day to day friends and neighbors and I can only imagine how they feel. So I wonder, how many people care about the men and women who risk their lives to bring you ninety percent of everything you consume in your life?
[QUOTE=Seago;170852]So I wonder, how many people care about the men and women who risk their lives to bring you ninety percent of everything you consume in your life?[/QUOTE]
I have been reading this forum since the disaster and I am proud to say that I DO care about the mariners who serve on these ships. I registered just so I could post this note and let you know that somewhere out there there are those that care.
I’m deeply disturbed by the loss of this vessel and its crew. My hope is that through the heartbreak that these families and friends will have to suffer, future disaster might be averted via lessons learned.
I salute the El Faro and all those who serve in the merchant marine.
Seago: Your description of Roan couldn’t have been anymore perfect.
This summer I had the pleasure of sailing with Roan as a Cadet. His cabin was next to mine and he always told me if there was anything that he could do to help me out with my sea project that his door was always open. I worked with him in one way or another nearly everyday this summer and was more than happy to show me “the tools and skills of the trade” and depending on the job we were doing he always made sure that I had PPE on whether it be safety glasses, ear protection ect; he genuinely cared about my safety and taking me under his wing. On days I wasn’t working with him I’d run into him at one point during the day and I honestly learned some excellent life advice about being a merchant seaman throughout my trip as a cadet.
Unfortunately the last time I saw him was when I helped carry his bags down the gangway. We exchanged contact information and I was going to send him an email to see how he was doing and then I heard about this tragedy.
Although I am upset about this entire tragedy I think it needs to be known to his family and friends that he spent his last months on this earth training “the next generation” and looking out for a fellow shipmate. That is something that I cherish and his spirit will live on.
Calm winds and fair seas to all. Hopefully I will never hear another broadcaster announce that the storm has moved “safely out to sea” as if that big blank spot on their wall chart is just a blue lifeless expanse.