Jacob Jones survivor’s grandson dives wreck

Cape Ma WaveStarBy CAIN CHAMBERLINCape May Star and Wave

CAPE MAY – It wasFebruary 28, 1942 when 11men were brought to CapeMay after spending hours inthe wintry seas, enduring atragedy, which most havenever heard of. These menwere the only survivors of theUSS Jacob Jones NavalDestroyer that had been sunkby torpedoes from a Germansubmarine just 32 milessoutheast of the city.

Before the attack byGerman U-boat U-578occurred, the USS JacobJones was circling the burn-ing wreckage of tanker R.P.Resor, which was torpedoedthe previous day east of

Barnegat Light. It circled theship for two hours searchingfor survivors before resum-ing its southward course.There were 145 men aboardthe 120-foot vessel when itwent under attack in the earlyhours of the morning. Thetorpedoes struck the ship’sside, completely destroyingthe bridge, the chart room,and the officers’ and pettyofficers’ quarters.

Most of the men aboardwere killed by the initialblasts, but those who sur-vived abandoned ship anddove into the fiercely coldwaters. It took around 45minutes for the vessel to gobelow the surface. As shesank, the depth chargesexploded, killing many of themen who had survived thetorpedo attack. Thoseremaining floated on the can-vas-bottomed life rafts pray-ing for help to appear on thehorizon, and hours later itfinally came. There were only12 men brought back on theUSS Eagle 56 ship; one ofwhom passed away enroute toCape May.

Among the 11 survivors wasJoseph “Paul” Tidwell ofTuskaloosa, Ala. Paul, 92,who retired from the Navy asa Master Chief still remem-bers that tragic day vividlyand recently came back toCape May to pay his respects.His son Jim, and grandson,Eric, have always had a deepinterest in the elder Tidwell’sstory ever since they firstheard it. Jim said he and hissiblings, Joe and Janet, didn’thear the story until they werein their late teens or older,because their father neverspoke of the experience.

“He never talked about it,”Jim said. “We asked himabout it a couple of times buthe didn’t say much.”

Eric, who has continued the

Tidwell family tradition ofmilitary service, is presentlya Naval commander fighterpilot and special weaponsoperator. He found out a fewyears ago there were peoplediving the wreckage of theJones and as a licensed scubadiver, he decided to celebratehis 40th birthday by seeingthe aftermath of what hisgrandfather endured nearly70 years ago.

He contacted GenePeterson of Atlantic Divers inEgg Harbor Township, wholocated the wreckage in the90s. Eric said prior this dive,he’d always gone scuba div-ing in warmer, tropicalwaters like Key West – butnever in the north Atlantic.This dive was also the deep-est he ever attempted – near-ly 120 feet.

“I’ve always wanted to diveto the wreckage and it couldbe my last chance to,” hesaid. “I feel it’s going to giveme an even greater apprecia-tion of what they wentthrough.”

Eric is being stationed inAtsugi, Japan for the next

three to four years and want-ed to see the Jacob Jonesbefore he missed his shot.Peterson said he was thrilledto be asked by Eric to takepart in this particular divegiven the circumstances.

“This is going to be a rareopportunity, diving downwith someone whose grandfa-ther is a survivor,” he saidbefore the expedition.

He wanted Eric to have theultimate experience and take

the dive to see the Jones forhimself, so Peterson contact-ed Brian Sullivan, RustyCassway, Bart Malone andSteve Gatto of the R.V.(Research Vessel) Explorerin Cape May. This boat crewhas been diving for years,searching and investigatingthe hundreds of shipwrecksalong the coasts of NewJersey, Delaware andMaryland – many of the themmilitary vessels from WWII.

“People don’t realize howclose that war was to home,”Gatto said. “We’re historybuffs, and this is history.”

This particular questmarked Malone’s 2,450thnorthern Atlantic dive.

The group set the dive datefor Friday, July 22. Leavingat 9 a.m., it took over an hourand a half to reach the divesite, with Eric and Jim anx

Please see Wreck, page A2

By CHRISTOPHER SOUTHCape May Star and Wave

CAPE MAY – Late last yearthere was an eleventh-hourattempt to save the Solariumand use it as a maritimemuseum.

Kevin Maloney, a foundingmember of the Cape MayMaritime Museum andEducation Center (CMM-MEC), led an attempt to savethe Solarium and have itmoved to Delaware Avenue.The idea was to put it on acity-owned lot between theNature Center of Cape Mayand the Rutgers Marine andCoastal Science lab. City offi-cials lauded the idea, but thegoverning body was not will-ing to fund moving theSolarium, or delay its demoli-tion to make way for a newConvention Hall. Eventhough the Solarium went theway of the wrecking ball, thatdid not dash the hopes ofthose interested in creating amaritime museum in Cape

May.“Looking back, nothing has

changed,” Maloney said.“People really embrace andlove the idea of a maritimemuseum. More and more it

seems like it’s the right thingto do.”

Maloney said he believes amaritime museum would onlyresult in positive exposurefor the community. He saidthe CMMMEC is seeking tocreate alliances with otherorganizations and is lookingat various programs to pro-

vide quality experiences forpeople who visit the proposedmuseum.

Although it lacks a building,the CMMMEC exists as a fed-eral 501-c-3 non-profit. Thegroup has a board of direc-tors, and Maloney and hiswife, Sandy, have attendedGeraldine R. DodgeFoundation classes pickingup information on grants andfunctioning as a non-profit.He said for now the board hasestablished a vision and mis-sion statement, and is stillcoming up with a strategy forcreating the museum/educa-tion center. He said they havebeen looking at other muse-ums in the area as models forwhat they are trying toaccomplish.

Maloney said this area hasan extensive maritime histo-ry. Initially, it was whalingthat attracted sailors to theCape May area. Gradually,boat builders followed.

Please see Museum, page A2

Maritime Museum idea still alive

By CHRISTOPHER SOUTHCape May Star and Wave

CAPE MAY – The hotterthan normal temperaturesaffecting 37 of our 50 stateshaves been felt in the CapeMay area.

On Sunday, the Cape MayBeach Patrol had more 911calls for heat exhaustionthan it did for water res-cues or assists.

There were five 911 callsfor medical emergencies,July 24, between 11 a.m.and 2 p.m. One was a C-Spine injury at the FirstAvenue Beach, whichaccording to Fire/RescueDivision Chief JerryInderwies Jr. said resulted in a victimbeing medevaced. The other four were allapparent heat exhaustion.

Inderwies said it’s typical for his depart-ment to be busy in the summer, but it’s

unusual to get five calls off the beach in ashort amount of time.

“In three hours we took five people offthe beach,” he said.

Inderwies said most ofthe victims sufferingheat exhaustion symp-toms were middle-aged.Typically, the most vul-nerable age groups areinfants and the elderly.

“Elderly people knewit was too hot and stayedhome. Some of theseyounger people, maybe,were dehydrated or hada late night before andoverdid it,” he said.

Inderwies said people,especially if they havebeen consuming alcohol,

need to drink plenty of water before goingout for a day in the sun.

“You really have to hydrate before –

Please see Water, page A3

SERVING AMERICA’S NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK CITY157TH YEAR NO. 30 WEDNESDAY, July 27, 2011CAPE MAY, N.J. 50¢

SPORTSCharter Boat is a familyaffair on Fetchin , B1

USLA events highlighted, B1

Lou Rodia on fishing, B3

CAPE MAYCommunity Events, A4

INSIDE

High LowA.M. P.M. A.M. P.M.

27 5:53 6:17 11:25 28 6:44 7:04 12:37 12:1629 7:32 7:49 1:22 1:0630 8:18 8:33 2:05 1:5631 9:03 9:17 2:48 2:451 9:49 10:02 3:31 3:352 10:37 10:49 4:14 4:273 11:26 11:38 5:00 5:22

Moon PhasesNew Moon, Aug. 1,30First Quarter, Aug. 8Full Moon, Aug. 15

Last Quarter, Aug. 23Perigee, Aug. 7Apogee, Aug. 21

TIDESJuly/August 2011

Eastern Standard TimeCain Chamberlin/Cape May Star and Wave

Top, Eric Tidwell and his father Jim Tidwell speak with Rusty Cassway on the way out to dive the site,about 32 miles from Cape May, where the USS Jacob Jones was sunk during World War II. Above, diverGene Peterson goes over the side of the Research Vessel Explorer to dive the wreck site. Inset at left,an underwater photo provided by the dive team shows Peterson, left, and Eric Tidwell.

Avoid heat stroke: drinkwater before you are thirsty