Readers’ reward is visit from ‘Shadow Divers’
High school students hear author tell story of discovery of U-boat
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY DAVE BENJAMIN The divers who found a German U-boat in waters off New Jersey spoke with Freehold Regional High School District students recently. They are (l-r) Kevin Brenner, John Chatterton, Richie Kohler and Doug Roberts.

One spot in the Atlantic Ocean has become the focal point for more than 200 enthusiastic readers from the Freehold Regional High School District. The students gathered recently at the Breakers on the Ocean, Spring Lake, and enjoyed an experience that will leave a lasting memory.

“Sixty miles out from the shore where we sit, a German U-boat (submarine) was sunk during World War II,” said Cindy Baumgartner, FRHSD supervisor of English. “This year, Robert Kurson, the author of ‘Shadow Divers,’ has brought [to this luncheon] the divers about whom he wrote.”

Robert Kurson, author of “Shadow Divers,” discusses the discovery of a German U-boat that was found off the New Jersey coast.

With that, Kurson began to explain the story of the “Shadow Divers.”

“In 1991, two guys were scuba diving off the coast of Brielle and they discovered, sunken in 230 feet of water, 60 miles off the coast, a World War II German U-boat,” Kurson told the students. “Inside the U-boat were the remains of 56 dead German sailors. No government, navy or historian in the world had any idea of which U-boat this was, who the men inside were, what it was doing [off the coast of] New Jersey, or how it met its end.”

The author said experts insisted that there simply could not be a U-boat within 100 miles of that location.

Kurson called divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler and asked to hear their story.

“They said that people who are in their sport, deep sea wreck-diving, if they were in it for any length of time, they’re going to see people die,” said Kurson. “They’re going to [either] come close to dying or they might die. It’s probably the most dangerous sport in the world.”

The author said he listened to their story of impossible discovery, which every expert in the world insisted could not happen.

“Yet, they had videotapes and photographs, and they were able to return to the site again and again,” said the author. “It was no accident.”

Kurson said it became very important to the divers to identify the submarine.

“Had they been willing to search through the pockets or even the shoes of the fallen crew inside the wreck, they might have solved the mystery in a day, and not in the six years that it had taken them,” said the author.

Although the German sailors were now reduced to skeletons, many of them were dressed with shirts and shoes.

“All they had to do was reach into a pocket and pull out a cigarette lighter or pocket watch engraved with the U-boat’s number or even [take] a letter from home,” he said.

Instead, the divers said it was a moment in time that a person gets just once in life, to truly know who you are and what you are made of. They did not want to spoil that moment.

“That’s what the book is about,” said Kurson. “The book is not about U-boats; not about scuba diving; not about the great historical mystery. The book is really about these extraordinary guys at that one moment in life.

“I met John Chatterton about three years ago,” said Kurson. “He was a hard hat, commercial diver. He did underwater jobs for a living and did scuba diving on the weekends.”

Chatterton has been featured as a co-host on “Deep Sea Detectives” on the History Channel and will be a consultant on the motion picture version of “Shadow Divers” when it comes out.

“We worked hard at what we were doing and people recognized that fact,” said Chatterton. “Everything else just came our way.”

Richie Kohler worked in a family business and went scuba diving for fun on the weekends, Kurson said.

“He also co-hosted ‘Deep Sea Detec-tives’ on the History Channel,” said Kurson.

He has an appetite for exploration, the author said.

“I love to read,” said Kohler. “I don’t know [when or] where it started. I also love history. Growing up near the water, I was able to combine my love of history with my interest in shipwrecks.”

Kohler went diving with his father. Diving for him was combining what he loved best.

“As a young man it was about putting trophies on the mantel,” said Kohler, “but when confronted with the remains of 56 dead sailors in the steel tube, I had to make decisions.”

After a series of trips back and forth to the U-boat, Kohler had to decide whether he was going to be a grave robber or if there was something more. His focus was no longer on the artifacts, but to know who the sailors were.

“In 1945 they were Nazis,” said the diver, “but now they were these blank skulls looking back at me through history. They were telling me something about myself and why I was there. [But] most important, we’ve learned as men to know exactly who we are.”

Kevin Brenner is another one of the divers.

“The U-boat was a test for a lot of things in my life,” said Brenner, who along with Kohler was a member of the Atlantic Wreck Divers. “We were faced with death. It was a technical challenge.”

Brenner was not involved to the extent that Chatterton and Kohler were, but he was involved in the initial exploration of the U-boat.

“Although the dives were dangerous, I used a sense of caution,” said Brenner. “I discovered a lot about myself as a person as a result of the U-boat experience.”

“ ‘Shadow Divers’ isn’t just about diving,” said diver Doug Roberts. “It’s about dreams, becoming an astronaut, or an explorer, or finding out what life was all about.”

Roberts said he learned from the other divers who, as a group, wanted to pursue something.

“We have these desires” to explore, said Roberts. “If you have the dream, pursue that dream. If you have the dream to be a part of history, go out there and do something. Don’t let anybody stop you.”

Commenting on the FRHSD program for the enthusiastic readers, Kohler said, “It’s absolutely fantastic if you can get kids reading nowadays. Today, kids are on the Internet. They don’t want to pick up a book. I’ve been an avid reader throughout my life and anything you can do to get kids to read [is great].”

Chatterton said he thinks the enthusiastic readers program is exactly what “Shadow Divers” is all about.

“It’s about inspiring and motivating people,” said Chatterton. “Making people think what they’re capable of [doing].”

Roberts said he thought the enrich-ment reading program was great because it allowed students to recapture the spirit of adventure they could find in history.

“They can actually live history and see a piece of it as opposed to just reading about it,” said Roberts. “It makes it alive for them. It gives that connection between what they read in the book and what happens in real life.”

FRHSD Superintendent of Schools James Wasser said he believes that the authors who have attended the programs for the district’s enthusiastic readers have enlightened the students.

“I think today the students are going to feel real good, not only about reading, but [also about] living the reading,” Wasser said. “I am just elated that the students from the entire region are here.”

The program is organized through a partnership between the FRHSD and Barnes & Noble, said Carol Curren, community relations manager for Barnes & Noble, Freehold Township. Curren said she and her son, who is a student in the district, read “Shadow Divers” and thought is was fabulous.

“My son read it and thought it was one of the best books he had ever read,” Curren said.