USCG Blackthorn remembered 44 years later

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - 44 years after 23 Coast Guardsmen lost their lives in a collision near the Sunshine Skyway, they are being honored in St. Pete.

"My brother was the first body they found," said Delvynn Tanner, whose brother, Jerome Ressler, was killed when he was just 28-years-old.

The Blackthorn came face-to-face with a shipping vessel called the Capricorn. A miscommunication between navigators of the two ships led to a collision, with the Capricorn's anchor tearing the side of the Blackthorn's hull, then pulling it.

Pictured: Jerome Ressler

Blackthorn capsized, leading 23 people to be trapped underwater or fatally injured.

Every January 28th, the surviving members of their families gather.

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"It never goes away," said Tanner. "You just remember. When this time comes, I get excited because I can come here and honor him and grieve him."

Survivors themselves also gather. Jim Sepel was the commander, but not at the controls at the fatal moment.

He was trapped under the wreckage, but managed to swim to safety.

"44 years later, what does it mean to you that all these people still come out?" he was asked.

"Everything," he responded.

The Coast Guard itself says doing this service every year puts a crucial part of our nation on display and demonstrates a willingness to honor those who have sacrificed for freedom.

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"They went out like they do every day to serve the public," said Commander Michael Khale. "That resonates with me every day when the men and women that serve today on my base and around the world step out."

James Rovolis' big brother, George, was only 17 when he was killed aboard the Blackthorn.

This service is for his parents.

Pictured: George Rovolis

"It's something they never really got over," shared Rovolis.

And it's for his country.

"Our nation is more divided than anything right now," said Rovolis. "But events like this remind you of what America is about. Everybody comes together for a common good."

After the investigation, the Blackthorn wreckage was towed twenty miles offshore and is used as an artificial reef eighty feet underwater.