TRAVERSE CITY — The Great Lakes Maritime Academy hosted its 50th annual Mariners Memorial Service on Monday afternoon. The annual ceremony took place at the Great Lakes Campus of Northwestern Michigan College and honored mariners who have lost their lives on the Great Lakes.
Organized by the Student Propeller Club, Port 150, the service brings together cadets, alumni, and members of the maritime community for a moment of remembrance.
This year’s ceremony also falls on the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, the Great Lakes freighter that went down in a storm on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. The tragedy claimed the lives of all 29 crew members, including multiple graduates of the Great Lakes Maritime Academy.
While the Mariners Memorial Service honors all who have perished at sea, the timing and tradition carry a special connection to the Edmund Fitzgerald, which remains one of the most remembered shipwrecks in Great Lakes history.
The memorial took place in the academy’s courtyard, where participants gathered for a moment of silence and the ringing of a ship’s bell to honor each individual life lost.
The Academy encourages the public to attend each year and continue supporting maritime traditions that have shaped Great Lakes culture for generations.