Capt. John B. Rynbergen, who commanded merchant ships in three wars and survived a U-boat attack, died Tuesday of Parkinson's disease at the Sailors' Snug Harbor retirement home in Sea Level, N.C., where he had lived for two years. The former Towson resident was 88.
During World War II, he made numerous voyages, delivering war materiel and supplies to Russia and England. In 1942, while sailing aboard the Weyerhaeuser Steam Ship Co. freighter SS Winona in a convoy from Norfolk, Va., to Rio de Janeiro with a cargo of coal, his ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the northern coast of Trinidad.
The torpedo struck the starboard side of the ship below the waterline of the second cargo hold. After going to his quarters to place the ship's papers in a weighted, watertight bag, he returned to find the helm unattended and his vessel heading toward the SS Austvangen, also in the convoy.
Taking the abandoned wheel, he stopped the engines as the bow of his ship grazed the stern of the other vessel, damaging both ships slightly. After restarting the engines and with the pumps working to control the incoming water, he decided to try to save his vessel.
"He steamed at 7 knots in order to minimize the in-rush of water into the ship," said his wife of 23 years, the former Georgianna Good. "He eventually brought it into Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, with 8 feet of water in the hold and only one injured crewman."
Several crew members fashioned a pencil holder from the shrapnel and shell casings that littered the Winona's deck after the attack and gave it to Captain Rynbergen as a souvenir. "He always took that pencil holder to sea with him and he felt an attachment to the men who made it for him," his wife said.
After the war, Captain Rynbergen moved to Towson and shipped out of the Port of Baltimore aboard Weyerhaeuser vessels. During the Korean and Vietnam wars, he captained supply ships.
Captain Rynbergen, who attained the rank of Navy commander during World War II, retired in 1975.
Born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, he immigrated to Manchester, N.H., in 1910 and graduated from high school there in 1924.
OC "He always had a yen to go to sea and said there wasn't much to
do in Manchester, so he sneaked off one night and ran way to the sea . . .," Mrs. Rynbergen said.
Captain Rynbergen earned his third mate's license in 1929, became a chief mate in 1934 and gained his master's license in 1937. He was a member of the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots Local No. 90 and was active in Masonic affairs.
His first wife, the former Margaret Gillette, died many years ago.
Services were planned for 10 a.m. today at the Mitchell-Wiedefeld Home, 6500 York Road, with burial in Woodland Memorial Gardens in Easton.
Other survivors include a stepson, George L. Good of Towson; three step-grandchildren; and a step-great-grandchild.