Meritorious Service Medal. Aftermath The survivors were rescued by crew members from three British destroyers, , and HMS Zelast. By this time the men in the water were so cold they were unable to help themselves, so the British sailors had to jump into the freezing sea with ropes tied around their waists to help them. When it was over, all of the Norwegian civilians had survived, nine Naval Armed Guard gunners, and two Navy signalmen were lost at sea. Captain Carini and fifteen fellow Merchant Marine crewmen were also lost. In 1946, Captain Carini was posthumously awarded the Krigskorset med Sverd or Norwegian War Cross with Sword. This is Norway's highest military award for gallantry and he is one of only two Americans, and 126 foreigners to have received this award. Some of the surviving crew members from the Henry Bacon were taken first to Iceland and then to Scapa Flow. There, King Haakon VII of Norway presented them with the Norwegian War Medal, but not before they were interrogated as suspected German spies who had been planted in the water later, since no one believed that anybody could have survived two hours in the freezing waters. After being found innocent, the survivors returned to the United States on the , where they arrived at Newport News, Virginia, on 20 March 1945. References External links The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington, DC now sponsors the annual "SS Henry Bacon Memorial Lecture" on 23 February 2003, the anniversary of the ship's sinking. Liberty ships Shipwrecks in the Barents Sea World War II shipwrecks in the Arctic Ocean 1942 ships Maritime incidents in February 1945 Ships sunk by German aircraft