Heroism in the abyss: the valiant story of Jack Dipert

DATE: May 27, 2009 1:33:04 PM EDT

Story by SN Sarah Cashwell

Heroism in the abyss: the valiant story of Jack Dipert
By Seaman Sarah Cashwell

The depths of Lake Michigan hold many secrets within its deep, cerulean waters, amongst them lay the story of a young coast guardsman who selflessly gave his life upholding the values that the United States Coast Guard strives to attain today.

In Muskegon, Mich., storms can be violent, unmercifully destroying any person or vessel in its path. Today, the sun is shining down brilliantly, painting a picturesque scene across the infamous Michigan coast. To see the diamond like, glistening waters of Lake Michigan, it is hard for anyone to fathom the disaster that occurred on November 30, 1934. The storm that night was one of the worst ever recorded in Muskegon’s history and would amount to a legacy of epic proportions.

A frigid breeze lightly blew John Jack Dipert’s chestnut brown hair as he walked into the U.S. Coast Guard Life Saving Station Friday, November 30, 1934 to report for evening watch. After enjoying an entire day on liberty and looking forward to a championship football game the next day, the drafty watch tower did not seem to be too much of an inconvenience. John, better known as Jack, had enjoyed the Coast Guard since he had joined that preceding June. His father, William Dipert, a 27-year veteran, and was also deeply affiliated in the Coast Guard and was the officer-in-charge of Station Frankfort. Both men would soon make the ultimate sacrifice for their professions. One would lose his only son, the other, was destined to give his life for his fellow man, following the well-known purpose of a Coast Guardsman; “So others may live.”

That night, Jack looked out into the seemingly black abyss of churning, tumultuous waves. The cold from the windy November day seemed to lurk in the watchtower with an eerie, foreboding presence. Just after 10 p.m. the irritating clang of the emergency alarm bell jarred Jack from his tedious watch. In that instance there was no time for thought, no patience for fear, just methodical action, which came from many hours of strenuous training for an event such as this. Jack Dipert seemed to fly down the stairs and was also met at the storage shed by four other members of the crew: Chief Boatswain John Basch, Edward Beckman, Roger Stearman and Charles Bontekoe. In the early hours of the night it seemed Poseidon had risen from Lake Michigan to challenge the crew in the most dangerous fight of their lives.

The defiant, deafening roar of Muskegon’s raging storm could be heard for miles. The five men paid no attention to the imminent danger at hand as they pulled their 36-foot boat with a 40-hp gasoline engine quickly down the iron tracks and into the channel. The 315-foot freighter had crashed into the North Break wall, endangering the lives of a 25 person crew. The Henry Cort was a familiar sight in Muskegon and frequently transported loads of ore and pig iron to a factory located in the Muskegon harbor. The Captain of this vessel, Charles V. Cox, blamed a light load and wind complications for the fatal crash while attempting to transit into Muskegon’s Harbor. Regardless of reason or circumstance the five daring men set out to save the crew of the freighter that was partially in shambles.

Chief Basch, who was also an officer-in-charge with 25 years of experience in the Great Lakes, determinedly took the steering wheel while the four other crewmembers secured themselves to the boat and braced their bodies in anticipation of what was soon to follow. The heroic men somehow expertly maneuvered their way through an arctic-like 60 mile gale out into the harbor, in which, their mission of rescue quickly transformed into one of survival. The indefinite darkness was pierced with a cry of, “Man overboard!”

Three of the five crewmembers were hurled overboard. Chief Basch maintained his meticulous, highly stressful job of navigating and driving the small vessel while Edward Beckman assisted Bontekoe and Stearman back onto the weathered deck, out of the murderously hostile seas. In a particularly violent wave, Jack Dipert, the handsome, 6-foot-3, popular native of Pentwater, Mich., silently disappeared as the water claimed the life of this bright, young surfman.

In terror, his crew frantically searched for him before being overtaken with the present elements and capsized very close to the stern of the vessel in which was stubbornly still entangled in the break wall.

The four remaining nearly frozen surfmen clung to their overturned boat as Lake Michigan roared with disappointment as they were washed onto the north shore beach of Muskegon’s harbor, still clinging to their overturned vessel. The distressed crew was immediately assisted by a large crowd of spectators that had begun to accumulate hours before. Wind blurred the scene into a collage of swirling sand and water as ambulances quickly assessed the defeated crew for hypothermic complications from exposure to cold water. No thought was given to the treacherous experience by the crew; the only concern was for their lost shipmate, who was overtaken by the churning storm and the freighter’s crew, still in danger.

The Coast Guard Station located in Grand Haven and the Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba maintained the responsibility of standing by throughout the rest of the night. Later that morning, a hazardous rescue of every crewmember aboard the Henry W. Cort was accomplished; no soul was lost of the freighter’s crew.

The U.S. Coast Guard Ensign of Grand Haven’s large 90-hp surfboat waved with victory as a line was cast over and the crew of the Cort followed the line, one by one, across the jagged rocks, a quarter-mile to safety.

That fateful night many people from Muskegon, along with the Grand Haven-based Coast Guard, helped patrol shoreline, to look for the hero lost at sea. Despite numerous searches for a number of weeks, John Jack Dipert’s body was never recovered from the deep, infinite water.

Nearly 75 years later, divers can see the scrap yard of wreckage from the Henry Cort, an eerie reminder of the power and wrath Lake Michigan has the potential to unleash. U.S. Coast Guard Station Muskegon still remains active and assists in both search-and-rescue and maritime law enforcement cases today.

Although Jack Dipert’s body was never found, a plaque was created, in his honor, which is now located in the Pentwater cemetery.

This young man’s story will never be forgotten within the U.S Coast Guard and the personnel of Station Muskegon. Through his exemplary example, we strive to follow with that same cause of heroic principle and the Guardian Ethos, so others may live.

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