He published a book "Sole Survivor: Dennis Hale's Own Story" in 1996, and was the subject in a documentary film, in which he described himself as a fighter. Hale spoke again at the event last year, to a smaller audience in a breakout session. "I've found that it's very therapeutic for me to talk about what happened," Hale told the News Tribune in 2002, on the eve of his keynote speech at the annual Gales of November - a conference for Great Lakes shipping enthusiasts.
He gained confidence with each retelling until he began to speak prolifically about the adventure - always remembering to honor the dead as he visited and spoke in places throughout the Great Lakes region, including the Northland several times. Only after Hale began to tell his story of survival did he begin to experience deliverance from the grip of his guilt. Davis Helberg, the retired longtime Duluth Seaway Port Authority director, described Hale recently as being "a lost soul" during those years. "I was actually ashamed of what happened," he told the News Tribune in 2012. He boarded the raft shoeless and wearing nothing but his life vest, boxer shorts and a peacoat as the storm howled about him and three others aboard the raft.įor many years after his rescue, Hale was racked by survivor's guilt and used alcohol to ease his suffering. I was so fortunate and happy to have that opportunity to bring him up this way."Ī watchman, Hale was roused from his cabin when the ship's duress began around 2 a.m. "He remembered my dad distinctly being taken off on a stretcher," said Connell, who continued to stay in touch with Hale until his passing. Hale recalled then working with Connell's father, who was taken off the Morrell with debilitating pneumonia a week before it went down. Connell arranged a standing-room-only speaking engagement featuring Hale in 2012 in Ashland.
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