Major Frank Prentice was 18 years old when he dropped over a hundred feet off the stern of the Titanic into a sea full of ice.
He survived. This is what he saw.
Prentice worked in the Purser's office.
He was in his cabin at midships when the collision happened. He describes no chaos, no impact, nothing dramatic:
"It was just like jamming your brakes on my car. There was no great impact you couldn't feel. Just a bit of a shudder and she stopped."
That quiet did not last.
As the ship began to sink, Prentice moved through it.
He helped stewardesses into lifeboats who did not know where to go. He helped a woman named Mrs. Clark with her lifejacket. She did not want to leave her husband. He told her the husband would follow on later.
He would not.
On his way back from the lifeboats, Prentice heard the band. They were playing "Nearer My God to Thee" and singing.
He kept walking.
When the end came, he made his way to the stern. He describes it as quiet up there.
By the time he let go, the ship was nearly vertical. He had been hanging onto a board that read "Keep Clear of Propeller Blades."
At the very last moment, he let go and fell.
"I just missed the propellers on the way down."
The drop was over a hundred feet. The water was packed with ice and chunks of berg.
His watch stopped at 2:20 am.
He was not alone in the water at first. Then he was.
"I gave it a long thought when I was on my own and everybody else seemed to be dead round me."
He had two life jackets and a cushion.
He paddled toward a light he could still see from the rockets the bridge had fired. He reached a lifeboat and climbed in.
Mrs. Clark was already there. She wrapped a blanket around him and tried to keep him warm.
Her husband had drowned.
When asked who was responsible for the disaster, Prentice did not hesitate.
He blamed the bridge. He blamed Bruce Ismay, chairman of the shipping line, for pushing Captain Smith to maintain speed through waters they had been warned were full of ice.
"We had warnings that there was ice. We had it from ships and shore, and we went straight ahead as if there was nothing there in our way."
His verdict was simple:
That ship was thrown away.
Prentice was interviewed decades later.
Asked if the memory still haunted him, he said:
"When I'm alone tonight, I still think a lot about it. Can't help it, can you?"
—
Source: @BBCArchive – The Great Liners (1979)
Heat index (what it feels like) up to 46.1°C (115°F) in New York, NY today.
Looking forward to watching the power grid survive on thoughts, prayers, and millions of AC units running at once.
But I'm sure it's fine. The solution to extreme climate collapse is just "buying AC." Right?
A Florida university is threatening to withhold students' diplomas unless they record a 2-minute video apologizing for a silent protest they staged against ICE actions on campus.
Such is life in the "Free State of Florida" ....
https://t.co/lXGQO7PqOc
The year is 1997.
Tim Hardaway has finished 4th in MVP voting in his first full season with the Heat.
His son is 5.
Jeff Conine has won the World Series with the Marlins.
His son is 3 months.
The year is 2026.
Both of those sons now play for their dads’ respective teams.
After Miami Dade College gave away prime real estate for the Trump library, FIU hires a former Trump lawyer eager to brand the law school as a conservative thought center. Via @_AustinHorn https://t.co/w4gBtyzXqw
Birthright Citizenship is poised to become the next Roe v. Wade: A rallying cry for the GOP bent on revoking human rights. People claiming victory today should know that the Supreme Court gave Trump a roadmap to destroy it.
My latest in @thenation
https://t.co/pUfm7gBHyS
🥵 450 record hot temperatures in jeopardy through Sunday!
150 record highs up to 107°!
300 record warm mornings with some lows staying above 80° in the big cities of the East. Going to be a brutal stretch!! #heatwave#4thofJuly#heat