Jaime Nunes, José and Manuel Mascarenhas were fishermen. The night of November 30, 1943 would be like so many others when fishing for croaker. But what happened off the island of Faro, near the boat where they were following, did not leave them indifferent. Suddenly, they heard a loud bang, followed by sparks. A US Navy bomber had just crashed. Hearing the cries for help, the Algarvians rushed to help the crew. They managed to save six and now, 78 years later, they will have a memorial in their honor, in Faro.
The idea of this sculpture, which will be born in the Doca de Faro, is old and has a face: Michael Pease, a 90-year-old Brit who has lived in the Algarve for decades.
“My interest in this magnificent story? It's funny and we have to go a long way," he begins by telling the Sul Informação.
It was through the book “Aterrem em Portugal”, by the Algarve journalist Carlos Guerreiro, where the story is told, that Michael fell in love with the courageous act of Jaime Nunes, José Mascarenhas and their son Manuel.
“I can say that I was very impressed with the story of these fishermen. The role of Portugal in World War II is something that interests me a lot and that led me to do a lot of research. Despite the neutral position, many things happened here and the country played an important role», he says.
An example of this is this story. Because the PB4Y-1, an American version of the B-24 bomber, crashed 12 miles from the island of Faro, after a day of patrolling German submarines and boats, in the midst of World War II.
The plane had departed from the Port Lyautey base in Morocco, but was lost, ran out of fuel and ended up crashing. On board were 11 people: five died and the bodies were never found. The plane's wreckage had to be found, at the bottom of the water, at a depth of 20 meters, by José Vieira, many years later.
And the other six people? What happened to them? This is where Algarve fishermen come in.
Despite the initial scare, due to the smoke and sparks, they decided they had to help these Americans.
In the small rowboat they were on, they managed to get six of the crew. They waited for the tide until they docked at the pier in Faro, in the early hours of December 1st.
The Americans ended up receiving hospital care, they saved themselves, but the story of the three fishermen was drowned out by the Estado Novo – Portugal was, on paper, a neutral country in these matters of war and wanted to give the idea that the conflicts were there. away.
But such an act of courage, even so many years later, “had to be celebrated,” says Michael Pease.
The Brit always thought that "history needed a memorial", a physical object and, he says, he was "lucky enough to find a great sculptor, Toin Adams, who lives near Boliqueime".
The artist, born in Zimbabwe, but residing in the Algarve, guarantees that the sculpture is “almost ready”.
"We used two and a half tons of iron, it was a long job, but I expect that, in a week, everything will be finished", he tells the Sul Informação.
The plates, which make up the sculpture, which will be about 5 meters high, represent the boat, fishermen and crew to be rescued.
The design was by Toin Adams who had the help of «about 15 people», among them Marco Cristóvam and Crestin Razvan, both blacksmiths.
“But we had a lot more people coming to us to help just because they felt the project was interesting! The youngest person working on the site is 15 years old and even my mother helped», says Toin Adams, between laughs.
So that Michael Pease's wish could take shape, there was support from the Chamber of Faro. The monument costs 40 thousand euros and more than half was supported by the municipality.
The only outstanding question is the exact location where the sculpture will be installed, but it is certain that it will be in downtown Faro. Rogério Bacalhau, president of the Chamber, says that, "from a historical point of view, this is a work that makes perfect sense."
“We found the idea very interesting. I didn't know the story, but it makes perfect sense to do that there [downtown]», he considers.
Despite not committing to dates, the mayor points out the inauguration, "if possible", for September. "Let's see if we can, we're not in a hurry," he explains.
Whatever the day, it will be “a great joy” for Carlos Guerreiro, the journalist who made known the story that so impressed Michael Peise.
“I gave him as much help as I could since he got in touch with me, but it's all Michael's credit. This memorial will honor this specific case, but I must say that, according to my research, there were around 1800 people saved, by the Portuguese, during World War II, between submarines or plane crashes», he says.
Many of them were anonymous heroes, such as the case of Jaime Nunes, José and Manuel Mascarenhas who, one night, risked a night of fishing to save six people.
At Carlos Guerreiro's insistence, Jaime even reencountered Lyle Van Hook (one of the survivors), albeit by videoconference, in the distant year of 1999. He also received, already weakened by age, a thank you from the US Navy for the act that night in 1943 .
So many years later, none of these men are alive to see the sculpture that honors and remembers them. But their story – of those who saved and those who were saved – will never again be forgotten.
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