GRAHAM McNAMEE - NORMANDIE CAPSIZES IN NEW YORK HARBOR

Early in the morning of February 9, 1942, McNamee was called out to report on a fire aboard the French luxury liner Normandie in New York Harbor. The ship was being converted into a troop carrier when a welding torch ignited a fire that swept the ship, which ultimately capsized. McNamee spoke live for four hours in the cold, catching a sore throat that he was unable to shake for weeks. By April, it had turned into strep throat. He was hospitalized and was discovered to be suffering from a heart ailment. He died in the hospital from a brain embolism on May 9, 1942, at the age of 53. Eulogizing the famous announcer, the New York Times estimated he had 'uttered ten times the number of words in an unabridged dictionary during his radio career.'