The Bower-Chambers Memorial
Posted by: 
howarthe
N 44° 48.733 W 124° 03.758
10T E 415974 N 4962640
In Memoriam: from this harbor - in storm - departed Roy Bower and Jack Chambers, fisherman of the trolling fleet, October 4, A.D. 1936 on a mission of rescue.
Waymark Code: WM8FEX
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 03/26/2010
Views: 15
"... on October 4, 1936, ... the troller,
Norwester [was at sea], skippered by Ernest McQueen (AKA McWilliams), and with two teenage boys aboard; his son Walter, and Walter's friend, Gene McLaughlin. A storm began to increase its intensity, accompanied by dense fog and approaching darkness.
Meanwhile, Roy Bower and Jack Chambers had only minutes before returned from fishing. They were watching from the bridge when they caught a brief glimpse of the Norwester through the fog and heavy seas. They immediately set out on Bower's Cara Lou, hoping to help the struggling boat to safety.
"The storm raged all night, thwarting efforts by other fishermen to put to sea. By the morning, however, McQueen had brought the Norwester into port; battered, but still afloat, with all hands safe. They had ridden out the worst of the storm tied to an offshore buoy. The Cara Lou was found awash later that day, with Bower and Chambers both dead from exposure.
"A few days later, relatives and friends scattered their ashes, along with flowers, on the ocean that had taken their lives. Bower and Chambers were posthumously awarded the Carnegie Medal for heroism."
Ten years later, a group of volunteers organized the first Fleet of Flowers ceremony. Every Memorial Day, boats are loaded up with flowers. They parade under the bridge at Depoe Bay and form a circle before all the flowers are cast into the sea and a helicopter descends to plant a wreath. It's attended by hundreds of people mourning their loved ones, especially those lost at sea.
Source: The Fleet of Flowers Story at Newport Net.com.