Name
Lifeboat from Titanic
Lifeboat to Carpathia
Confidence Level
Hämäläinen, Mrs Anna
4
4
5.00
Hämäläinen, Master Viljo Unto Johanne
4
4
5.00

 


From the Detroit New Tribune, April 21st 1912"
    "Mrs Hamalainen said, 'Here’s a woman with a baby,' shouted one of the ship’s officer as I came into view. “Hurry and get into the boat,” he said to me. I turned and handed Martta my handbag, expecting that the girl would follow me into the boat., The last I ever saw of her was when she stood near a group of men and women when our boat was lowered over the side.
I found myself in a boat loaded with 40 or 50 women of all classes, first, second and third class passengers, some of them were dressed only in their nightgowns, one or two had furs and heavy wraps. The sailors who were at the oars were loath to leave the side of the ship when we struck the water, declaring that they should stay near at hand and pick up whoever might be in the water.
    But the women knew the awful danger of the suction, should the ship sink and begged and prayed the men to row out of danger.
    And she goes on to say that, 'There must have been scores of people in the water, near our boat floating about among the small icebergs, clinging to whatever they could seize when the crisis came. Our boat picked up eight poor fellows, steerage passengers, within a few minutes. Two of them died soon after being hauled in.  Seeing several women with nothing but their night dresses I asked a Mrs Brown, a first class passenger to whom I had been talking, how many skirts she had on.'"

Mrs Hamalainen was in a boat which rescued men from the water. This describes what happened at lifeboats 4, 12 and 14, and also collapsible D. However, her mention of eight men is specific, and it is known that passengers in lifeboat 4 described pulling eight men from the water, two of whom died.

Some historians have speculated on the identity of Mrs Brown. Mrs Caroline Brown has been suggested. But it is possible that Mrs Hamalainen misheard the women, and was actually sitting next to Miss Grace Scott Bowen, who it is known was in lifeboat 4.