9 comments

• • 

  • New Book Release Soon! ROGUE WAVE is the second book released by Biddeford Pool's own historian and author, Margo Alley, covering the rescue of Tammy Burnham in 1960. Alley commented, "Never before has the rescuer told his riveting account of the rescue publicly; in this book he authors his own chapter." "After decades of harboring haunting memories and troubling revelations, I now feel compelled to speak out. This decision has not been made lightly. It is not my intent to denigrate or disparage anyone in this process, especially not the United States Coast Guard, which I honor and respect. I have no intended agenda beyond sharing the truth of my experience. In the interest of truth, every effort has been made to limit and define the context of what I actually witnessed while simultaneously providing insights never before shared with the public." Rescuer Edward Syvinski.

  • said woodislandlighthou...

  • 3 months 20 days ago

• • 

  • The USCG has responded to demands to reopen the 1992 investigation of Tammy Burnham’s rescue from the waters of Wood Island Harbor on November 29, 1960. After thorough considerations the USCG has determined that the investigation Lt. Kristopher Furtney conducted in 1992 was sufficient and reinvestigating the rescue would serve no benefit to the public. http://www.flickr.com/photos/biddefordpoolhistorian/4473920294/

  • said woodislandlighthou...

  • 2010.04.12 at 05:55:07 PDT

• • 

  • John F. Kennedy OIC USCG Fletcher's Neck Life Saving station, never gave up anyone for dead. Chief Kennedy did relay a message from the 30 ft lifeboat through Fletcher's Neck, to Laurier Burnham on Wood Island. The message did not state, "We will look for the bodies in the morning", Kennedy had already located Tammy and Syvinski with the searchlight on the 30 ft lifeboat. Lily Burnham could not have been a first hand, eyewitness to the events of the rescue, she was recovering from back surgery and could not stand or walk, and most likely was heavily medicated. Kennedy had relayed to Laurier Burnham his order for Burnham to launch the peapod and pick up Tammy and Syvinski on Negro Island. Laurier Burnham launched the peapod, met the 30 ft lifeboat, Kennedy showed him with the searchlight where Tammy and Syvinski were on Negro Island, saying, "There's your girl, now go and get her." Lifejackets were provided to the Seamen as standard procedure on board the lifeboat #30414. The Kennedy family is committed to making the facts available to the public. A fabrication has been marketed to the public, by individuals, and the organizations they are, or have been affiliated with. They hold up Lt. Kristopher Furtney's 1992 investigation, (begun decades after the actual rescue on November 29, 1960, at the behest of the Burnham's, seeking recognition and medals for family and friends, after reading about the restoration plans for Wood Island Light), as proof of their claims. Furtney's report, by his own admission, was flawed. We are not seeking medals for the veterans who rescued Tammy, we are not selling books or asking for grants to save a lighthouse. We seek a reflection of the facts in the USCG record of the rescue, including the first hand, expert eyewitness testimony of John F. Kennedy BMC USCG Retired and Kenneth Realue EN3 USCG Retired, the men who, with USCG Seamen Raymond Bill and Edward Syvinski, saved that little girl's life. http://web.mac.com/maurenekennedy/iweb/ http://www.gopetition.com/online/34403.html

  • said MonasMoe6

  • 2010.03.23 at 15:48:57 PDT

• • 

  • A PUBLIC STATEMENT By Lily Burnham March 22, 2010 On November 29, 1960, our two and a half year old daughter Tammy Burnham and Seaman Edward Syvinski were given up for “lost at sea” by USCG Chief John F. Kennedy of the U.S. Coast Guard Station at Biddeford Pool, Maine. While attempting to transport our very ill daughter to the mainland, the skiff Kennedy commandeered capsized in the fog, rain and heavy seas. When Kennedy’s relayed message to the island was “We will look for the bodies in the morning,” my husband Laurier determined to find our daughter notified Chief John F. Kennedy that he would use his peapod boat in an effort to find them and Kennedy threatened to court martial him if he left his post. My husband did eventually find our daughter and Seaman Edward Syvinski with no thanks to Kennedy who had sent his own seaman out without so much as a life jacket. Today, forty-nine years later Maurene Kennedy, daughter of former chief John Kennedy, has sought to disprove the true facts backed up by a thorough USCG investigation surrounding the rescue of our daughter Tammy and the cover-up of events that evening, with her own fabricated version of it. Please disregard her efforts to obtain recognition for her father based on false testimony. For anyone who is interested in the true story of my daughters’ rescue that is nothing short of a miracle the book Wood Island Lighthouse: The Rescue of Tammy Burnham, by Margo Alley is available from www.biddefordpoolmaine.co m The book is the true and accurate accounting of exactly what happened from first hand eyewitness’s that were present on that dreadful evening, including myself. Signed, Lily Burnham

  • said woodislandlighthou...

  • 2010.03.22 at 10:14:46 PDT

• • 

  • Wood Island Lighthouse The Rescue of Tammy Burnham By Margo Alley Journey back in time to the cold and stormy late afternoon of November 29, 1960. The wind is blowing hard, it's raining, the seas are raging with large swells and the Wood Island Lighthouse keeper's two year old child is ill and needs to be transported to the mainland. The Coast Guard is called, but can they get her off the island and back to the mainland in the raging storm? The story of Tammy Burnham will make you laugh, cry and gasp in disbelief! Feel the sheer terror of three men one whom was Tammy's own father and a Biddeford Pool lobsterman who were fearless of a raging ocean and the tiny seaside community that came together to help. Learn the true and shocking accounting of the deliberate cover up that transpired on that stormy evening that took thirty-three years and a United States Coast Guard Congressional Affairs Investigation to finally uncover and reveal the hard facts! Available from: www.biddefordpoolmaine.co m

  • said woodislandlighthou...

  • 2010.01.07 at 14:09:44 PST

• • 

  • Margo Alley posted an inappropriate and unfounded "Public Statement" about me to your site. I would appreciate it if you would remove the offensive comment as soon as possible. I have forwarded the web page to my attorney. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

  • said MonasMoe6

  • 2009.12.24 at 01:05:04 PST

• • 

  • A Public Statement issued 11/20/09 by Margo Alley, author of Wood Island Lighthouse – The Rescue of Tammy Burnham: It has been brought to my attention that Maurene Kennedy of Waterford, CT has made numerous public allegations questioning the veracity of my book. I am neither compelled nor inclined to respond point by point to her statements, which I find factually baseless, disparaging and libelous. I stand 100% behind the facts, accounts and details depicted in the book. These same facts and accounts were verified and upheld by an investigation of the U.S. Coast Guard which was concluded August 1992. As to my motivation for authoring and publishing the book: my intention was to research and reveal the truth of a controversial set of events which culminated in the brave rescue of a little girl at sea. The facts of that evening clearly support a cover-up which remained unchallenged for over thirty years. I am proud of both the results of my investigation and the public acknowledgement by the U.S. Coast Guard recognizing the heroic actions of Seaman Apprentice Edward Syvinski, EN First Class Laurier Burnham and Biddeford Pool lobsterman Preston Alley, all of whom received commendations

  • said woodislandlighthou...

  • 2009.12.08 at 22:15:41 PST

• • 

  • On November 29, 1960, Chief John F. Kennedy, U.S.C.G. of Fletchers Neck Life Saving Station, along with his engine man Kenneth Rouleau, and the rest of his Coast Guard crew, rescued Tammy Burnham, a 2-1/2 year old light keeper's daughter at Wood Island Lighthouse, Maine. The men aboard the 30 foot lifeboat saved that little girl's life that night. Much has been marketed about the rescue in regards to "preserving the history of Wood Island Lighthouse". John F. Kennedy and Kenneth Rouleau have much to share about the history of the rescue. Both of these Coast Guard veterans are interested in sharing the interesting facts surrounding the true story. It would be great if Senator Collins of Maine, who was instrumental in helping American Lighthouse Foundation and Friends Of Wood Island Lighthouse obtain a share of a $380,000.00 grant to preserve Wood Island Lighthouse history, would meet with these veterans and listen to their heroic tale. I too was there that night and I remember it well!

  • said MonasMoe6

  • 2009.11.16 at 00:09:30 PST

• • 

  • Hi, just love the photos. Living here in Philadelphia and only visiting the Ogunquit Maine area once a year, makes me wish I could spend more time there. Really enjoy the shots and can't wait to be back up in the summer.

  • said farthur652_

  • 2003.12.28 at 13:19:50 PST

To be able to leave a comment please Log in or Sign up.