1932 — Sep 27, OR Steamer Nevada strands on rocks, Aleutian Island Amatignak, AK–   34

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 1-27-2025 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–39  Wisconsin State Journal, Madison. “Shipwreck.” Oct 2, 1932, p. 12.[1]

–34  Alaska Bur. Ocean Energy Management. Alaska’s Worst All Time Shipping Losses.

–34  Alaskashipwreck.com. Alaska Shipwrecks. “Alaska Shipwrecks 1926-1950.”

–34  Alaskashipwreck.com. Alaska Shipwrecks. “Alaska Shipwrecks A–Z.” (N).

–34  Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 218.[2]

–34  Lima News, OH. “Survivors of Sea Disaster Reach Victoria.” Oct 26, 1932, p. 2.

–34  Nelson, Eric. Shipwrecks on Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Oct 28, 2007.

–34  Oakland Tribune, CA. “Flags Half-Masted.” Oct 4, 1932, p. 28.

–32  Gottehrer. The Associated Press Stylebook for Alaska (Revised 2nd edition). 2000, p. 93.

Narrative Information

 Alaskashipwreck.com: “1932…Nevada…SW [southwest area]…5645 Ton…Steel Steam Screw …34 [lives lost]…3 [lived].” Alaska Shipwrecks. “Alaska Shipwrecks A–Z.” (N).

 

Alaskashipwreck.com: “Nevada (1932). The 5,645 ton steel steam screw Nevada stranded at Amatignak Island at 8:03 p.m. September 27, 1932. 34 of her 37 crewmen were lost in the disaster. The Nevada had departed Longview, Washington September 15, 1932 bound for Yokohama, Japan. She was carrying a 6,648 ton cargo of lumber, flour and general merchandise. The following are excerpts from the wreck report filed by the executive assistant of the States Steamship Company who owned the Nevada:

 

“Amatignak Island, Aleutian Group…Stranding” “Probably due to low visibility and excessive current set.”  “SS Oregon Maru responded to radio distress signal; proceeded to scene of wreck but high seas prevented rescue of men who had washed ashore. SS President Madison arrived on scene Sept. 29 and rescued three surviving members of the crew from Amatignak Island. The SS Oregon, a States Line steamer, arrived at scene of the wreck on Oct. 2, 1932 and sent a party to search the wreck of the Nevada, but found no one on board; also explored Amatignak Island and found bodies of two Chinese, who were buried; continued exploration of that island, also Ulak Island, found no trace of life or remains; Coast Guard Cutter Haida arrived on scene Oct. 4th and continued search of vicinity, without results.”

 

“The three surviving members of the Nevada crew were LUCINA N. DECANCY, ordinary seaman, Manila, P.I.; FRITZ DEWALL, able seaman, Portland and JAMES THORSEN, cadet officer, Portland. The 34 crewmembers lost were:

 

  1. T.W. JOHANSEN, master, Portland
  2. E.T. WENDT, first officer, Portland
  3. THOMAS Z. FAIRCHILD, second officer, Raymond, Wash.
  4. C.A. JOHNSON, third officer, San Francisco
  5. WILLIAM R. ROBERTSON, radio operator, Redondo Beach, Cal.
  6. P.D. BERRY, utility man, Seattle
  7. E. SODERBERG, Carpenter, Portland
  8. ROBERT E. LONG, boatswain, Harrisburg, Pa.
  9. RALPH ELLIOTT, able seaman, Nasel, Wash.
  10. RUBIN A. MATTSON, able seaman, Portland
  11. INGNALD MARTINSON, able seaman, Portland
  12. CHARLES JACOBSON, able seaman, New York
  13. JOE HAWKINS, able seaman, Portland
  14. GORDON O. ANDERSON, ordinary seaman, Portland
  15. B.M. SETTEM, chief engineer, Astoria, Or.
  16. JAMES A. NEILAN, Kentfield, Cal.
  17. GEORGE WOLFE, second assistant, Portland
  18. ALFRED BENTHAM, third assistant, Hingham Center, Mass.
  19. LEONARD W. HOGAN, oiler, Portland
  20. BRADFORD CHALLENGER, oiler, National City, Cal.
  21. BUD MASTERSON, oiler, Hood River
  22. ANDREW CORNFOOT, oiler, Portland
  23. HENRY KOPSKE, fireman, Kansas City, Mo.
  24. WALTER RAYMOND, fireman, Kentfield, Cal.
  25. FRED WILKE, fireman, San Francisco
  26. ARTHUR WHITTAKER, wiper, Passay Rizal, P.I.
  27. CLYDE RAHLVES, cadet officer, Portland
  28. SING FAY LAI, steward, Shanghai
  29. ZEE AH YEE, chief cook, Shanghai
  30. WONG CHING YUAN, second cook, Shanghai
  31. WONG KOH SHING, mess boy, Shanghai
  32. TSZE CHAN, mess boy, Shanghai
  33. TSU AH CHING, mess boy Shanghai
  34. ZEE AH WU, mess boy, Shanghai.

“The Nevada and her cargo were total losses. Conditions at the time of the disaster were reported to be ESE 8, High seas and dark. The value of the cargo was unknown, but the Nevada was valued at $255,000.

 

“Mapping and Location: Southwest Alaska   51 16 N 179 06 W   Chart 16460.

 

“Comment: 1938 Coast Pilot mentions this wreck on the southern shore of Amitignak. WG [Capt. Warren Good].

 

“Additional Information: Tonnage 5645 Gross 3517 Net, Age 12 years, Registered Portland OR, ON 219522, Master T W Johanson of Portland, Owner States Steamship Co of Portland, Vessel Insurance $255,000.

 

“Sources: 1. U S C G Report of Casualty October 18, 1932 at Portland, Oregon, 2. U S Coast Pilot Alaska Part II (1938) “Amatignak Island” Pg 373, 3. The Seattle Daily Times (September 30, 1932) “3 Tell How 34 Died at Sea” Pgs 1 & 16.” (Alaska Shipwrecks. “Alaska Shipwrecks A–Z.” (N).”)

 

Gottehrer: “Sept. 28, 1932. The freighter Nevada was wrecked on Amatignak Island of the Andreanof group of the Aleutians. Only three of the 35 crew member survived.” (Gottehrer. The Associated Press Stylebook for Alaska (Revised 2nd edition). 2000, p. 93.)

 

Nelson: “Amatignak Is., 1932, Sept. 27th, American freighter Nevada wrecked, three out of a crew of 37 survived.”  (Nelson.  Shipwrecks on Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Oct 28, 2007.)

 

Newspapers

 

Oct 2: “The North Pacific ocean claimed 39 lives last week after its wind-whipped raging seas had sent the steamer Nevada on the rocks of bleak, uninhabited Anatigmak Island. Only three passengers survived to relate the tale of heroism and horror.” (Wisconsin State Journal, Madison. “Shipwreck.” Oct 2, 1932, p. 12.)

 

Oct 4: “All ships of the States Steamship Company and its allied organization, the Pacific-Atlantic Steamship Company, were ordered today to carry their ensigns at half-mast until October 27 out of respect for the thirty-four officers and crew members lost when the States Line steamer Nevada grounded on a rock off Amatignak Island last Tuesday.” (Oakland Tribune, CA. “Flags Half-Masted.” Oct 4, 1932, p. 28.)

 

Oct 6: “Victoria, B.C., Oct. 6 – (INS) – A tale of a heroic rescue and stark tragedy was told here today in another saga of the sea as the American mail line steamer, President Madison, arrived with the survivors from the wrecked steamer Nevada….Thorson, making his first trip to sea, related in graphic detail the horror of the wreck, the 44-hours on the wind-swept island boulders and the thrill of their escape.” (Lima News. “Survivors of Sea Disaster Reach Victoria.” 10-26-1932, p. 2.)

 

Dec 30: “Three survivors, a cadet and two seamen, arrived at Vancouver recently from the wreck of the American cargo steamer Nevada, which struck a reef on the Western Aleutians at full speed

at midnight and founded three hours afterward. The captain, mate, second mate, and 20 of the  crew perished. The captain and wireless officer refused to leave the vessel, and went down with her. The second mate perished in an attempt to swim ashore with a line.

 

“James Thorsen, a 17-year-old youth, of Portland, Oregon, thus describes the scene at the time of the wreck and afterward:

 

I was a cadet on the Nevada so I was in the pilot house that night. We were 13 days out of Portland, my first voyage. It was eight o’clock at night, dark and foggy. We were going ahead full speed. Suddenly I heard a grating noise, and only a slight shock. Then there was a second grating noise and a third. We could not see anything. But we knew what had happened.

 

The second mate–Wendt was his name–ordered the engines to be stopped and called the captain, He ordered the whistles to be blown and the alarm bells rung. He rushed on deck, and over the side we could see the combers breaking. The mate exclaimed, ‘We’re lost.’ The captain came up on the bridge then and he ordered all the boats to be slung out. By this time the ship was pounding on the rocks, and we knew she would break up. It was rough, dark and foggy when we jumped into the boats and lowered them.

 

There were 17 in our boat as we pushed off. We could see another boat full of men behind us. At first we got on all right, but suddenly, as we were about half-a-mile from the ship, a big wave swamped us and the boat capsized. I managed to hold on to the boat as it went over. Oh, but the water was cold! There were a lot of other fellows hanging to the boat, too, but I do not remember who they were. Then one by one they just dropped off and disappeared. After a while I was the only one hanging to the boat. Then another big wave washed me off and I had to swim for it. Ahead I could see land, maybe half-a-mile away. I kept on swimming.

 

I do not remember much about the swim, except that the water was cold and there was oil all over the top of it. I had to keep my head well out or I would have swallowed enough oil to choke me. Then I got into the breakers. They threw me up on the rocks and pulled me off again. Then my head hit something. It was the lifeboat, empty. The next thing I knew I was rolled up on a beach.

 

I could hardly stand up, but after a while I managed to walk a little way and I found Gonzalo. We just lay there all night wondering what had happened to the others. In the morning we looked along the shore and found Fritz Dowall, an able seaman. He is sick in

bed still from the effects of the oil on the water. So the three of us were there alone.

 

When it got clearer we could see the central part of the Nevada still on the reef about a mile and a half or two miles from shore. The bow and stern had broken off, leaving the bridge and the superstructure still sticking out of the water. We could see two men moving on the bridge. We will never know for sure who they were. One must have been Captain Johansen, and the other was either the wireless operator. Bill Robertson, or the third mate, Johnson. Then the bridge started to go under and the men jumped into the sea. We never saw them again. There was no boat left on the Nevada because we found the wreckage of the last one later.

 

Well, we felt pretty sure at first that the Oregon would come along. We knew she was not far off. ‘Sparks’ — that’s the radio operator — had locked himself up in his room and sent out an S.O.S. before we left the ship. We just sat and waited for the Oregon to come along. About one o’clock in the afternoon wo saw her.

 

Some rolls of red Manila paper had washed up on the beach from the Nevada‘s cargo. We tore some of the outside paper off and found some dry pieces inside. So I took some big squares of it and stood up on a high rock and waved it to let the Oregon know some of us were alive They put off a lifeboat and it started in to shore. We thought sure then we were going to be rescued but the boat could not get through the breakers. We sat there and watched it, thinking that if it could not come in we were done in for.

 

After about three hours the boat went back to the ship, and the Oregon started to steam away. That was the worst moment. Wo felt sure then that it was all up with us. We did not think any other boats would come along, so we just sat there and expected to die. We were so all in by this time that it did not seem to matter much.

 

We sat there all day and all the next night. There was some flour washed ashore and we tried to eat it, but it made us sick. We found a little stream and drank some water, and just sat around. Then about 10 o’clock the next morning we saw another ship – the President Madison — coming through the fog. Weren’t we glad, though! We waved the red paper again, and they put off a lifeboat We wondered whether they would have to turn back too, but our luck was in this time.”

 

(The Mercury, Hobart, Australia. “Rescued From Wreck.” 12-30-1932, p. 2.)

 

Sources

 

Alaska Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. Alaska’s Worst All Time Shipping Losses. Accessed 11-23-2021 at: https://www.boem.gov/about-boem/alaskas-worst-all-time-shipping-losses

 

Alaskashipwreck.com. Alaska Shipwrecks. “Alaska Shipwrecks 1926-1950.” Accessed 11-23-2021 at: https://alaskashipwreck.com/alaska-shipwrecks-1729-2012/alaska-shipwrecks-1926-1950-2/

 

Alaskashipwreck.com. Alaska Shipwrecks. “Alaska Shipwrecks A–Z.” (N). Accessed 11-23-2021 at: https://alaskashipwreck.com/shipwrecks-a-z/alaska-shipwrecks-n/

 

Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. Boston: Mariners Press Inc., 1972.

 

Gottehrer, Dean M. The Associated Press Stylebook for Alaska (Revised and 2nd edition). Fairbanks, Alaska: Epicenter Press, 2000. Partially digitized by Google at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=O53zwdFYTGEC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Lima News, OH. “Survivors of Sea Disaster Reach Victoria.” Oct 26, 1932, p. 2. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=10818011

 

Nelson, Eric. Shipwrecks on Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. 10-28-2007. Accessed at: http://www.amnwr.com/ShipwreckList.htm

 

Oakland Tribune, CA. “Flags Half-Masted.” Oct 4, 1932, p. 28.  Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=31166484

 

The Mercury, Hobart, Australia. “Rescued From Wreck.” 12-30-1932, p. 2. Accessed 11-23-2021 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/24714552/1817706

 

Wisconsin State Journal, Madison. “Shipwreck” [Nevada]. Oct 2, 1932, p. 12. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=99857438

[1] Not using as the fatality figure. Great majority of sources cited note thirty-four fatalities.

[2] Berman mistakenly has the date as Oct. 3.