Titanic Survivor Letter Generates Attention After Reddit User Asks For Help

A Reddit user who owns a Titanic survivor’s letter, generated thousands of responses after he asked for help translating the words, written in French.

Since the Titanic went down in the frigid waters of the Atlantic Ocean more than 100-years ago, there have been several first-hand accounts of the tragic events through survivor letters and other means.

However, this doesn’t mean people have lost interest in what those on board the so-called unsinkable ship went through on that fateful day in April of 1912.

One such person is Mike Delgado, and 29-year-old US Marine, who became fascinated with the story of the Titanic as a young teen and was seeking help translating French passenger, survivor Rose Amélie Icard’s letter:

“I’ve always been fascinated by the Titanic, ever since my dad took me to an exhibit on it when I was 13 years old. It really struck a chord with me. I would love to have it translated so I could have them framed.”

The Titanic survivor’s letter contains eyewitness account of the sinking of the ship, which broke in half taking 1,500 people with it, while 710 passengers survived and were rescued by the RMS Carpathia.

Delgado also owns Icard’s passport and purchased the letters at a 2012 Titanic online auction for $6,300. The sale was confirmed for Yahoo Shine on Wednesday by RR Auction house spokesperson Bobby Livingston, who says the letters were sold fully translated.

The Reddit user says he recently took the Titanic survivor’s letter out of their packaging to get them framed relized that the auction house did not include the English version.

“I could have easily called the auction house, but I was on Reddit and decided to just try it that way. I thought other people would appreciate it and enjoy it.”

He never imagined though, that the letter would get almost 45,000 views and garner national media attention. Many of those who have read the translated contents of the historic document started discussions on several topics such as life and death, and were deeply touched by the new revelations.

Icard traveled on the ill-fated ship as the personal maid of a wealthy widow, Martha Evelyn Stone. Both women survived in one of the few boats available to passengers.

The Titanic survivor penned a letter from memory nine-years before her death in 1964 which reads in part:

“While we were moving away on the nearly calm sea, only slightly lit by the lantern that the officer was holding, I did not keep my eyes off the (Titanic’s) blazing lights. Suddenly complete and impenetrable obscurity, horrible screams, shouting broke in the midst of creaks from the ship, then it was all. I sometimes still dream about it.”

The very personal feelings written in the letter from the Titanic survivor more than six-decades after the ship went down, have made waves (no pun intended) all around the internet proving that this is one of the most indelible incidents in history to this day.

[Image via NOAA]