Titanic Hero To Be Honored Decades Later In Jersey City Ceremony
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A special ceremony will honor a seaman whose quick actions helped prevent the additional loss of life in the sinking of the ocean liner Titanic.
Titanic enthusiasts from around the world will join members of the family of Robert Hopkins at Holy Name Cemetery in Jersey City on Saturday as a black granite headstone bearing his name is blessed and unveiled.
More: Titanic Remembered On 100th Anniversary Of Ship Sinking
The able-bodied seaman was aboard Lifeboat 13 when it was drawn under another descending lifeboat. He hollered for them to stop lowering and he and another crewman used knives to cut the ropes so they could row to safety.
The supposedly 'Unsinkable' Titanic set sail down Southampton Water en-route to New York on 10 April 1912 and met disaster on 14 April 1912 after hitting an iceberg off Newfoundland shortly before midnight and sinking two hours later, killing about 1,500 passengers and ship personnel.
The Titanic International Society pointed out his grave was unmarked and Catholic Cemeteries offered to provide the headstone.
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