Kansas siblings recount shipwreck

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Aug 17, 2008 by KATHY HANKS

By Kathy Hanks

THE HUTCHINSON NEWS

LINDSBORG -- Like any typical family, the six Danielson siblings gather for reunions and catch up on the latest news.

Over time, the topics of conversations have evolved. Now it is who is expecting the next grandchild? Who is planning to retire? But the topic inevitably turns atypical as their minds travel back to the spring of 1941.

That is the year the Danielsons were among survivors of the Zamzam, an Egyptian passenger ship sunk by the German navy.

Today, the six Danielson children will share their experiences at 1 p.m. at Lindsborg's Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church.

They were aboard the Zamzam to meet their father, who was serving as a missionary in Africa.

Memories of the event includes bobbing in the Atlantic Ocean and being rescued by a warship flying the Nazi flag, with sailors pointing machine guns at them.

Before leaving Lindsborg that spring, before the entire world was at war, their mother, Lillian Danielson, had been assured the Zamzam was a neutral ship.

The family would sail a cautious route, south across to Cape Town, South Africa, to avoid sea attacks that were occurring between Germany and Britain. Pearl Harbor was still nine months away.

The children were thrilled at the prospect of being reunited with their father, the Rev. Elmer Danielson. There were 201 civilians aboard the ship, including 150 missionaries from 19 denominations.

As they sailed closer to Africa, the captain of the ship ordered a total blackout -- painting all portholes black, and traveling in the dark of night.

According to Eleanor Danielson Anderson, who was 9 at the time, this upset many of the passengers, who claimed it would make them appear a warship.

Eleanor recalled the morning of April 17, when a German raider ship began shelling the Zamzam.

"Kiddies, remember Jesus loves you," Eleanor recalled her mother telling them over and over. "No matter what happens, be brave in Jesus."

"She stayed so calm, we didn't panic," she said. "It went on for about 10 minutes. We could hear people crying. One of the bullets hit right above our cabin."

The ship began sinking.

Escaping into one of the wooden lifeboats, which held about 30 people, they quickly learned it, too, was riddled with bullet holes.

"It was filling with water like a bathtub," Eleanor said. "It went down, and some of us were submerged. Mother was holding on to Lois, who was only 20 months old at the time, as she attempted to keep 3-year-old Wilfred's head from being pulled under water by his life jacket."

Meanwhile, 11-year-old Laurence, the oldest Danielson child, realized 4-year-old Luella hadn't surfaced on top of the water after the lifeboat went under. He quickly dived into the water and rescued her from under the legs of another passenger. Another sibling, Evelyn, was also among the passengers.

Miraculously, all the passengers and crew were rescued.

They were then transferred to the Dresden, a German freighter, and their fate once again was up in the air. In order to deliver them to France, which was then occupied by Germany, they had to sail through a British blockade.

"We were on the ship for 32 days," Elanor said. "There was lack of food."

But there was something else -- a wonderful spirit of prayer among all the missionaries and their families, she recalled. Even the children had their devotions together.

Of course, they worried for their father, who was growing very concerned about their failure to arrive in Kenya. No one had heard from the ship since it had sailed from Brazil.

Eventually he heard that the Zamzam had sunk, and all were presumed lost. Thankfully, the next day he heard a BBC report that the survivors had landed in France.

Once in France, they were transported to Spain, and then Portugal, where Lillian was able to send her husband a telegram.

By June, the Danielsons returned to Lindsborg, a bit like heroes. A reunion with their father would eventually take place back on U.S. soil.

Over the years, the Danielsons have realized the magnitude of what they survived.

It has left the family with an assurance: God is a very real presence in their lives, which has led to a strong belief -- they were "saved to serve."