The submersible that has been all over the news this week after it went missing on a voyage to explore the wreckage of the Titanic is actually deeply connected to a famous couple who died when the ship sank in April of 1912. Folks, this one is very eerie. Be prepared to get goosebumps.
A report from The Daily Wire has revealed, “Wendy Rush, the wife of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush — the man piloting the missing submersible — is the great-great-granddaughter of Titanic passengers Isidor and Ida Straus, according to archival records reviewed by The New York Times. The Strauses were some of the wealthiest passengers aboard the Titanic when it sank in the icy waters of the North Atlantic in 1912, and their love story was even featured for a brief moment in James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster film.”
“Wendy Rush, born Wendy Weil, is descended from one of Isidor and Ida’s seven children, Minnie. Minnie’s grandson, Dr. Richard Weil III, is Rush’s father, according to Joan Adler, the executive director of the Straus Historical Society, the Times reported,” the report continued.
Isidor Straus was an American Jewish business man who helped co-found the very popular Macy’s department store along with his brother. During his life he also served as a congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives. It seems Straus also had a noble heart, refusing to get into a lifeboat and ensuring women and children were given priority over him. Heroic to the very end. Our world needs heroes of that caliber today. Badly.
His wife Ida is said to have refused to leave him, choosing to die by his side as the ship sank. It is said the couple was last seen, arms linked, as the Titanic sank beneath the surface of the ocean.
“In the ‘Titanic’ film, a fictionalized version of Isidor and Ida’s story shows an older couple holding each other in bed as water pours into the ship and the orchestra plays ‘Nearer My God To Thee.’ While the Strauses are not named in the film, the couple is mentioned in the credits, according to Insider,” the DW report said.
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“A Canadian airplane picked up the “underwater noises” on Tuesday, resulting in the search team focusing their operation on the area where the sounds came from, according to U.S. Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick. There are five “surface assets” and two remotely operated vehicles searching for the submersible, the Titan. Five more assets are expected to join the search, Frederick said, according to the Times. Authorities are also using airplanes and sonar buoys to look for the missing sub,” the report concluded.
This is truly a tragic event that we’ve all witnessed unfolding in real time. Still keep the individuals who are in the vehicle and their families in your prayers. What happens from this point forward is going to bring with it an unprecedented amount of heartache.
I cannot fathom how terrifying the whole experience must have been for those involved. Being underwater in an emergency situation like this is a nightmare scenario for most people.