American Rhetoric: Movie Speech

"The Perfect Storm" (2000)

Linda Greenlaw Eulogizes the Crew of the Andrea Gail

Audio mp3 delivered by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

I knew Billy Tyne. I did not know his crew very well, but any man who sailed with him must have been the better for it.

Robert Shatford, Dale Murphy, Michael Moran, David Sullivan, Alfred Pierre: May you rest easy long-liners, in fair winds, and calm seas.

For those of us left behind, the vast unmarked grave which is home for those lost at sea is of no consolation. It can't be visited. There is no headstone on which to rest a bunch of flowers. The only place we can revisit them, is in our hearts, or in our dreams.

They say swordboatmen suffer from a lack of dreams -- that's what begets their courage. Well we'll dream for you: Billy and Bobby and Murph, Bugsy, Sully, and Alfred Pierre. Sleep well. Good Night.