GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It's part of Michigan and midwest lore. Lost to the depths of the Great Lakes, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank on November 10, 49 years ago.
We took a look back through the lens of a man who has laid eyes on the site himself.
"Because of the notoriety, because of the song from Gordon Lightfoot, everybody wants to know about the Edmund Fitzgerald," said Ric Mixter.
There aren't many people better suited for answers on the wreckage than Ric Mixter.
He's published a 300-page book on the Fitzgerald, three documentaries, and a four-hour podcast.
The Fitzgerald was a freighter with 29 men on board when it sank in Lake Superior.
It's the largest ship sitting at the bottom of any of the Great Lakes. However, it's largely a mystery shrouded in darkness.
Mixter's work though, dating back 30 years, has helped shed light on what happened.
"We set sail that night, and it was a late July day," Mixter shared. "I remember going through the Soo Locks, just not believing that we were going to actually go down 500 feet into Lake Superior."
In 1994, Mixter was part of one of the few crews to dive down to the wreckage.
He said, "[it was] crystal clear water as we went down 200 feet, and then soon the light started to go away, where the sunlight cannot get down that deep,"
A pitch black bottom was soon illuminated, showcasing the depth's prized possession.
Mixter added, "Our submarine turned around, and on the port side was these massive letters that said Edmund Fitzgerald, but the plates were all crumpled from the impact of the bottom, and it was devastatingly destroyed, but I could still read through the little port holes Edmund Fitzgerald. And I couldn't believe it."
That was when he first set eyes on a tragedy embedded in midwest history.
It was a disorienting experience with pieces of the ship here and there, some upside down.
"It's pointing now that this ship did not go down in one piece. It crunched on the surface and broke into pieces there."
It helped paint a picture however, of what happened 500 feet above.
"It was just overwhelming what water could do and how this could have broken up on these big waves that we think were three stories tall. It snapped it, and the entire cargo area was like a massive cavern right in front of me."
A grim discovery by the crew that day though, added one more layer: a body on the lake bed.
"Sure enough, here's a guy on the bottom wearing what appears to be some kind of a jumpsuit. Clearly this guy had his life jacket on. So that brings in just a lot more clarity to what those final moments might have been."
It was one more chapter to the tragedy. But it's not the final chapter of the book.
That dive took place three decades ago. Technology has improved enough to potentially answer more questions.
There's one important element of the wreck though, that can't be looked over.
He said, "There's still that ethical question with so many people who lost loved ones who are still alive, is it fair to them that we go back and do that, and that's weighed upon my heart for sure.
"We found over 14 shipwrecks in two summers near where the Fitzgerald went down. So, the sonar is so much better. We have a near million dollar robot that can go down to that depth and do so much of a better job.
"And then really, you add in the knowledge that I have gained over the years, this is really the best opportunity, I think, to get some conclusive answers. The question is, you know, what is it going to prove for us to know? Mostly that Gordon Lightfoot song was mostly incorrect. Mostly it's going to hurt family members to go back, so that has to weigh on my excitement to try to get those conclusive answers, and I won't know until that opportunity presents itself to really say whether or not I would absolutely go, but I have to believe that our quest for knowledge would push me to go again."
November of next year is 50 years since the wreck; a big one. While Mixter acknowledges there will be a remembrance for the 29 guys who lost their lives, he says there's so many other chapters beyond this just being a grave site.
There's so much more to talk about. And because I have so many interviews on video, it's a very interesting way to share the Fitzgerald through the eyes of the people who built it, who sailed it. All of that stuff will be a fantastic opportunity to share what I think is, in part, a celebration for the largest ship that was ever built in Michigan at the time.
So it we celebrate the fact that we built this incredible ship. We celebrate the fact that the steel industries that you know are all around the Great Lakes that continue to provide steel around the world, you know, are fed by these ships. And we do want to remember the crew too, but I don't want it to just be, you know, ringing the bell for 29 guys that lost their lives. I think that there's so many other chapters beyond this just being a grave site, and that's what I hope is remembered."
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