On December 6, 1917 a massive explosion occurred
in the harbour of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
At precisely 9:04 a.m. the French cargo ship
SS Mont-Blanc, loaded with 2,400 tons of highly
explosive wartime cargo, collided with the
Norwegian ship SS Imo.
What followed was the largest man-made explosion
prior to the development of the nuclear bomb,
as well as a story of selfless courage.
Within twenty minutes of the collision, the
resulting fire ignited the explosives on the
Mont-Blanc, resulting in a disaster causing
horrific damage, injury and loss of life.
Approximately 2,000 people were killed instantly
due to collapsed structures, falling debris
and fires.
Another 9,000 or so were injured and within
a half-mile radius, nearly every structure
in the path of the explosion was destroyed.
A tsunami wave resulting from the blast came
ashore and wiped out a settlement of the Mi'kmaq,
an indigenous tribe.
Many people at the time mistakenly thought
the explosion was the result of a German U-boat
attack.
As is often the case in disaster scenarios,
individuals stand out who display heroic acts
of courage and selflessness, and who don't
shrink back from the challenges set before
them.
Such was the case that December morning in
Halifax, when Vince Coleman, a railway dispatcher
working less than a mile from the explosion,
learned what the Mont-Blanc was carrying.
Observing the burning ship just prior to the
explosion, both he and his co-worker decided
to run from what they knew would be a life-threatening
situation.
However, remembering that an incoming passenger
train carrying upwards of 300 people was only
minutes from the rail yard, Coleman turned
back and sent an urgent Morse code message,
causing the train to stop saving the lives
of the passengers.
The Maritime Atlantic Museum reported this
chilling version of his message:
"Hold up the train.
Ammunition ship afire in harbour making for
Pier 6 and will explode.
Guess this will be my last message.
Good-bye boys."
Minutes later Coleman perished in the catastrophic
blast.
WHAT IS COURAGE?
It has been said, "Courage is not the absence
of fear (as Coleman no doubt had) but rather
the judgment that something else is more important
than fear."
Now the average individual will not likely
end up in dramatic circumstances requiring
such a courageous response as Mr. Coleman's,
but this does not mean that courage is not
a requirement at times in daily life.
Charles Swindoll once stated - "Courage is
not limited to the battlefield or the Indianapolis
500 or bravely catching a thief in your house.
The real tests of courage are much quieter.
They are the inner tests, like remaining faithful
when nobody's looking, like enduring pain
when the room is empty, like standing alone
when you're misunderstood."
It also involves making character building
decisions ---where to do the right thing does
indeed take courage.
Circumstances in life do often arise which
require difficult and courageous choices and
decisions to be made on which character is
built.
As Winston Churchill said - "Courage is rightly
esteemed the first of human qualities . . . because
it is the quality which guarantees all others."
Oftentimes we cannot change the cards we are
dealt, just how we play the hand.
So, how do you play the bad cards that maybe
have been dealt to you?
How do you find ways to be courageous in the
face of great adversity and calamity?
With some, life challenges lift them up instead
of knocking them down.
They become unshaken, courageous and determined
to do what is right and not always what is
convenient.
Sometimes in fact having courage requires
hard labour!
In the year 1648, poet Robert Herrick wrote,
"If little labour, little our gains".
In other words "no pain, no gain."
The people who have learned to look at challenges
as valuable teaching moments tend to be the
wisest and strongest.
They don't shrink from challenge but rise
to the occasion with courage.
Coleman was killed in the massive explosion
that fateful day, but the heroism, courage
and selflessness he displayed in the face
of imminent danger may well have been responsible
for the safety of many lives as all incoming
trains to Halifax came to a screeching halt.
Coleman didn't live on to experience life
and to view the positive results stemming
from his sacrifice, but his example of courage
is something that will live on and from which
we can all learn.
The next time you are faced with a particularly
difficult and trying challenge which requires
great courage, ask yourself what can I do
and what can I learn from the hand dealt to me.
I'm Winston Gosse for Tomorrow's World Viewpoint.
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