Drawing inspiration from the heroism of an earlier era

What does the struggle against the Coronavirus and the men who went down with the Titanic have in common?

About midnight on April 14, everything.

For more than 40 years, the Men’s Titanic Society – originally made up mostly of television producers and directors -- has met on the evening of April 14, the night the great ship sank after hitting an iceberg.  It was founded because the memorial to the men who gave up seats on lifeboats so that women and children was moved to an obscure place on the waterfront.

The monument had been paid for by the “women of America” to honor those men, and the founders of the Society wanted their sacrifice to be remembered as a lesson in moral courage. Each April 14 since 1979 about 20 members would dress in black tie, gathering at the National Press Club Fourth Estate dining room for the last decade, for a meal reminiscent of the First-Class menu on the night the ship sank.

After a reading of the account of  that night, the men would travel to the memorial on P Street on the Southwest waterfront.  They would place a wreath at the memorial and form a semicircle in front of it.  Each would offer a champagne toast that would end “To those brave men.”

Every year a small crowd would gather to hear the toasts.

But this year, the ceremony could not take place as usual. The National Press Club was closed, and members of the Society — some now in their 90s — could not venture out.

But they wanted the tradition to continue.

Two members arranged to place a wreath at the memorial. And at 11:30 p.m. they began an email chain as each member offered a toast, often comparing the sacrifice and courage to those who are on the frontlines fighting the current pandemic.

Jim Silman, 93, who had been a ground-breaking CBS television director beginning in 1954, led off the toasts.

“At a time when we, collectively, as a nation, face an unprecedented, tragic and deadly crisis, it remains for each of us, individually, to decide how to react to the many and continuing challenges that confront us.

“While it is not an apples to apples comparison, at such a moment of personal decision it would serve each of us to take a few moments to reflect on the example, courage, sacrifice, and, especially selflessness – that is putting others before self – offered 108 years ago tonight by the extraordinary men aboard the Titanic who willingly gave up their places on the ship’s lifeboats so that women and children might live.

“We hope those brave men somehow know that, though we are not at their monument in person this evening of April 14, 2020, we are there in spirit, that they are not forgotten and that we will return on this date next year to once again honor them.

“To those brave men.”