Heroes of the storm

No doubt, countless heroes and their stories will come forth from the devastating winter storms that have descended upon the East Coast states. My wife, Gena, and I have been praying for all who have been ravaged by this nor'easter as well as all the emergency and rescue personnel, from law enforcement to the National Guard.

In the midst of the storms, I recalled the heroic story of how a few of America's bravest saved the lives of more than 30 stranded sailors nearly 70 years ago in another giant nor'easter. It is an epic adventure that has also been detailed in a recent book and forthcoming movie.

President George H.W. Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush, who are Gena's and my personal friends as well as instrumental leaders who helped us start our own nonprofit kids' foundation, KickStartKids.org, recently hosted a special advanced screening of Disney's heroic action thriller, "The Finest Hours," starring Chris Pine, Casey Affleck and Eric Bana. The film is based on the 2009 book of the same title, co-authored by Michael J. Tougias and Casey Sherman.

The event, which was held at the Houston Museum of Natural Science and had 400 Coast Guardsmen and women in attendance, raised roughly $4 million in pledges for the construction of America's first National Coast Guard Museum to be built in New London, Connecticut.

"The Finest Hours" is a retelling of the real-life rescue mission about how four young Coast Guardsmen saved 32 stranded sailors off Cape Cod during a deadly nor'easter in 1952.

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Chuck Norris provides real solutions to our county's problems and a way to reawaken the American dream in his best-seller, "Black Belt Patriotism."

Paul C. Scotti, historian and co-founder of the awesome nonprofit, Coast Guards Combat Veterans Association, reviewed and wholeheartedly endorsed the book when he detailed the following about that historic heroic mission:

You are in a tanker in a storm where the seas are taller than city buildings and winds are hurricane strength. Snow is falling. Temperatures are freezing. You hear an ear-painful crack – and then your ship breaks in two.

This happened not once, but twice on a day in February 1952. Two tankers, the Pendleton and the Fort Mercer, forty miles apart off the coast of Massachusetts, became four sections of broken ship and put eighty-four men's lives in peril. To them rescue was impossible in those days before helicopter-hoist recovery was well developed. If help was to come, it would have to be by sea. Coast Guard cutters and lifeboats struggle to reach them.

The authors pull together the threads of this astounding Coast Guard rescue into a seaworthy narrative. One of the rescuers is Bernie Webber. With his crew in their 36-foot lifeboat they push through waves twice their length. I had met Bernie, a Coast Guard Vietnam War veteran, when I was doing research for my book on the Coast Guard in Vietnam. That is when I first learned of his miraculous rescue of thirty-two merchant seamen. Bernie is gone now, but he would be pleased with the class that the authors unveil the entire rescue.

The unofficial motto of the Coast Guard is: "You have to go out, but you don't have to come back." The lifeboat crews struggling in the merciless storm did not believe that they were coming back. But they knew that if they did not try to get to the ships, those merchant seamen would surely die.

If there are two books to read and two movies to watch soon, let them be those who esteem our best and bravest: "The Finest Hours" and "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi."

In a day and age when the current commander in chief seems to be haphazardly moving our military personnel like pawns on a blank chessboard of this world, "The Finest Hours" is a hope-filled true story that once again demonstrates how our brave U.S. servicemen and women go above and beyond the call of duty despite what upper-echelon chooses to do.

"The Finest Hours" is also one more proof that when the going gets tough and the storms of life hit their hardest, Americans are more resilient than most and will fight to the bitter end.

As our Coast Guardsmen and women testify: "You have to go out, but you don't have to come back."

(Speaking of heroes, I lastly note that my wife, Gena, and I are excited to announce the date and location of our annual "Heroes Among Us" gala. The event will be held on Friday, May 13, 2016, at the Hilton Americas in Houston, Texas. For more information about the event and table sponsorships, contact Andre' Dowd at [email protected])

Chuck Norris provides real solutions to our county's problems and a way to reawaken the American dream in his best-seller, "Black Belt Patriotism."