Matthew Maske will be in Hollywood for the premiere of a movie based on the true story of his father’s heroism.
“The Finest Hours” – is the daring rescue of a small boat in Coast Guard history.
One day, Maske searched for batteries in his dad’s dresser when he came across a little newspaper clipping with his dad’s picture.
He recalls: “And I found a little newspaper clipping with his picture on it that said Erv Maske receives Gold Medal award for a rescue off the shores of Cape Cod. From there I asked him about it. He says, ‘Well, it was just something I did, no big deal.’”
“When me and my sister traveled with him to the 50 year reunion, when we traveled to the 50 year reunion and the Coast Guard told the story at the Coast Guard station in Boston, it was unbelievable. We just looked at him, and it was like wow.”
- In February 1952, his father and three other men braved 60-foot waves and hurricane force winds to rescue 32 men trapped on a tanker ship that had split in half and was sinking.
- The daring crew received the Coast Guard’s Gold Life Saving Medal but would spend their lives haunted by the one man, the last one on the ship they couldn’t save.
First depicted in the book The Finest Hours, Maske’s story headed for big screen production in 2014. Maske has only seen the movie trailers and is grateful Disney invited him to the Hollywood premiere on January 25.
“I think it’s going to be very emotional. I think it’ll bring back a lot of memories of my dad, you know the movie, it’s like seeing him all over again,” says Maske.
Source: Wbay
