Ernest R. Hampton

Thirty-three American sons would perish in the incident, including Hampton who was never seen again.

The WELD had been en route from Manchester to New York via Liverpool, bearing a load of 1,200 tons of concrete grade sand/gravel mix while traveling in station #21 of convoy ON-202 and was in a position triangulated by Greenland to the northwest, Iceland to the northeast, and Ireland to the southeast, coordinates (57°03’00.0″N 28°08’00.0″W), Grid AK 3939, with (70)-seventy souls aboard: the ship’s Master (captain), (7)-seven officers, (34)–thirty-four U.S. Merchant Marine crewmembers, and (28)–twenty-eight U.S. Navy Armed Guards.

At 09:32 hrs., the German U-boat launched a spread of (4)-four torpedoes at the convoy, scoring (2)-two hits against FREDERICK DOUGLASS in station #11, which was damaged but not sunk, and WELD, which was first struck in a settling tank opposite the #3 cargo hold, and a few seconds later taking a direct hit to the boilers which exploded, breaking the ship in half so quickly that there was no opportunity for survivors to launch lifeboats or deploy inflatable rafts.

The majority of the survivors were washed off of the stern section, or jumped overboard from the bow and clung to three donut life preservers afloat, until being picked up by British rescue ship RATHLIN. One Armed Guard who had been on first watch with Hampton, and was possibly the last man to see Hampton alive, was taken off the bow section by RATHLIN’s motor rescue boat.

Of the (37)–thirty-seven survivors, (2)-two officers, (21)–twenty-one seamen, and (15)-fifteen Armed Guards were rescued by rescue ship RATHLIN which landed in Halifax on September 28th. Sadly, one critically injured crew member died aboard RATHLIN and received a burial at sea ceremony before RATHLIN could reach Halifax.

Today, USN S1c Ernest R. Hampton is memorialized at the World War II East Coast Memorial located in Battery Park, New York City, where an 18-foot high bronze eagle stands guard over the (8)-eight gray granite pylons bearing the names of over 4,600 U.S. servicemen and women who were lost in the western waters of the Atlantic during World War II (video — https://youtu.be/82V-d1DpOYA ).

His name is also listed with honor on the Tablets of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Coton, South Cambridgeshire District, Cambridgeshire, England (video — https://youtu.be/HwACaLWQTc8 ). He also has a personal cenotaph located inside Etowah Cemetery in Etowah, McMinn County, Tennessee. HE IS NOT FORGOTTEN.

“Eternal Father, hear us when we cry to Thee; for those in peril on the sea!”

Above info provided by Don Knighten Member ID 49898444