Some of my fondest memories are of Paul Harvey as he would tels stories in his own inimitable fashion. The best part was hearing … “and now you know the rest of the story.” He always added small details never heard before of bigger events. I ran across one recently.
We have known the RMS Titanic sank on April 15, 1912. Dubbed “the unsinkable” Titanic, it hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage and sank in frigid waters in the North Atlantic. What I didn’t know was the heroic measures made by an unknown wireless operator on the Carpathia. Let me share that with you.
Harold Cottam was the wireless operator aboard the RMS Carpathia, a British ocean liner which rescued 705 survivors of the Titanic sinking. On the evening of April 14, 1912, Cottam was receiving routine news transmissions from the Cape Cod long-distance wireless station. As the transmission neared its end, he noticed Cape Cod repeatedly sending messages to the Titanic, yet receiving no response. Though he was ready to retire for the night—his coat already removed—he was still waiting on a reply from the Parisien regarding an earlier communication. Seeing the unanswered messages, Cottam decided to contact Titanic, informing them about the pending transmissions from Cape Cod. Titanic’s chilling reply was immediate: “Come at once. It is a distress message. C.Q.D.”
Cottam rushed to inform Captain Rostron, who then provided him with Carpathia’s position to relay back to the Titanic. What followed is well-documented—Carpathia arrived at the disaster site roughly four hours later, rescuing the Titanic’s remaining survivors. However, what most don’t know is Cottam’s incredible endurance in the hours and days that followed. He was definitely a hero.
Once the survivors were aboard, Captain Rostron instructed Cottam to send two official messages—one to the White Star Line and another to Cunard—both conveying identical reports of the tragedy. He also dictated a statement for the Associated Press, which Cottam transmitted immediately. Without rest, he then began compiling and relaying the names of survivors, transmitting first and second-class passenger lists to the RMS Olympic and the surviving crew members’ names to the Minnewaska.
Cottam had already endured 24 hours since the Titanic’s distress call, yet he continued working tirelessly through Monday, Monday night, and all of Tuesday. By Tuesday night, exhaustion finally hit him, collapsing, still dressed, with the receiver set over his head, asleep at his broadcast speaker. With only three hours of rest, he woke up and resumed his transmissions, sending third-class survivor names to the Chester. Not until later Wednesday afternoon did Titanic’s injured junior wireless operator, Harold Bride, was able to assist Cottam, allowing him his first real chance to rest.
Whether we know the names of these unsung heroes or not, they each play a role in the bigger rescue effort. We have countless stories from the September 11, 2001 attacks, Pearl Harbor, and other events throughout history. Each one of us plays a small part when either tragedy strikes or everyday storms of life occur.
Yes, Paul Harvey was famous for saying, “And now, the rest of the story.” So often we hear just part of an event, historical story, or news flash. But Harvey was famous for digging into what existed that didn’t get reported. The same is true about scriptures. God never leaves us without hope. There is always, “the rest of the story,” and for believers it’s sharing what we have learned.
Debby Efurd is co-founder of Cary John Efurd Ministries of Pittsburg, TX. She has been a contributor to Bound for Life and written numerous articles published in LifeNews, Christian Post and the Baptist Standard, and is the author of Go Tell It! Debby can be contacted at caryjohnefurdinistries@gmail.com. Visit her at the Second Mile blog at https://debbyefurd.com.
Tagged: heroes, perseverance
