Tribute to Gregg Bemis

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Gregg Bemis

regg Bemis was born in St. Louis in 1928. He was educated at Harvard and Stanford, graduating from Stanford in 1950 with a degree in economics, and then from Harvard in 1954 with an MBA. Following the completion of his studies at Standford, Gregg served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War, reaching the rank of Captain. He married the love of his life, Lisa Bemis, and by them six beloved children were born: David, Evalyn, Ted, Jennifer, Stephanie and Tamsin. Gregg was born into a Protestant family and ascribed his success in business to the Protestant ethics instilled in him in his youth.

Gregg was born to a family with an interest in maritime affairs which was well-connected in Massachusetts. Gregg’s father, F. Gregg Bemis, was one of the creators of the rules governing modern-day yacht racing and was inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame. Gregg’s father taught him to sail. In the ’60s, Gregg sailed a 40 foot yacht across the Atlantic Ocean from Portugal to the Caribbean. He eventually settled in Santa Fe. Gregg loved animals and donated money to animal shelters. He was thrice nominated as the Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives (and the New Mexico legislature), narrowly losing each time to his Democrat opponents in his liberal-leaning district.

Gregg worked as a venture capitalist for much of his career and funded over 40 startup businesses. He achieved great success in his business ventures. Gregg was incandescently intelligent. He was charitable towards others, and unwilling to back down in face of threats and attempted intimidation during his life. His final words to those outside his family were, “Semper Fi” — the motto of the U.S. Marines (i.e., “Always Faithful”). He attempted to surround himself with like-minded associates throughout his life. Gregg maintained an interest in naval affairs and public service while overseeing his business affairs. This interest eventually lead him to the Lusitania.

Ownership of the Lusitania

Gregg Bemis acquired a 33% ownership interest in the wreckage of the Lusitania from John Light in 1968 after being introduced to Light by American businessman George Macomber, who was also a 33% owner. Mr. Light, an American, bravely made 42 dives to the Lusitania using primitive gas-mixing equipment not widely known to the public until 1982. He had previously purchased title to the wreckage of the Lusitania from the Liverpool & London War Risks Insurance Association, 50 years after the sinking, in a silent auction. Two bidders competed for ownership at the silent auction. The first was Mr. Light, and the second was British Intelligence/MI6, sent with a large budget to try and acquire the entire interest in her. Mr. Bemis later acquired Mr. Light’s and Mr. Macomber’s interests, becoming the sole owner of the Lusitania in 1982. Prior to 1982, Mr. Bemis’s primary interest in the Lusitania had been to salvage the 55 million pounds of steel which went into her hull. Mr. Bemis grew to believe the Lusitania should be preserved and explored, and he ultimately abandoned any ambition to salvage her.

Although none of the authorities in Ireland, Britain or America challenged Mr. Bemis’s ownership of the wreckage, in 1985 Ireland attempted to prevent Mr. Bemis from exploring the wreckage after discovering exploration attempts were nearly underway, declaring the Lusitania to be a World Heritage Site and National Monument. This action resulted in litigation by Mr. Bemis in the United States, Ireland, and England to have his ownership formally recognized and the actions of Ireland declared unlawful. He commenced litigation against the United States in 1994, Ireland in 1995, and Britain in 1995. The ensuing litigation took over ten years, but Mr. Bemis ultimately won each of these heavily-litigated cases. His ownership claim of the wreckage, and his claim of the right to explore the wreckage, were both affirmed by the Supreme Court of Ireland on June 17, 2007 in this decision. These rights of Mr. Bemis were also recognized by The High Court of Admiralty on May 14, 1996 in Britain, as well as in the United States. Ultimately, the Lusitania Museum in Ireland is the beneficiary of Mr. Bemis’s zeal to quiet title and secure the rights of exploration.

Mr. Bemis made numerous dives to the Lusitania throughout his life in submersibles, and made a technical dive using mixed-gas SCUBA equipment at age 76. He dove the wreckage in a submersible with Robert Ballard, discoverer of the Titanic, who eventually authored a book on the Lusitania (of which Bemis disapproved). During these dives, Mr. Bemis recovered controversial artifacts from the Lusitania, including a telegraph machine from the bridge and an undetonated depth charge from her bow dropped by the Royal Navy in an attempt to implode the wreckage before Mr. Bemis could explore her. Mr. Bemis’s interest in the Lusitania, and the military mysteries involving her, became an obsession which consumed much of his life.

Longstanding controversy exists over the contents of Lusitania‘s cargo holds. For 70 years, England maintained she was merely a civilian ocean liner sunk without cause by Germany in the throes of WWI. Germany maintained, however, that the Lusitania was secretly running munitions to England during WWI in violation of the Cruiser Rules and international treaties; and, as such, was a legitimate military target. Controversy exists over whether, and to what extent, the Lusitania may have been carrying munitions. Her third-class cabin had been requisitioned and refit by the British government for wartime use. England endeavored to interfere with attempts to explore the cargo holds, including depth-charging and mining the wreckage inside Irish waters. Additional controversy exists as to whether Britain intentionally hazarded the Lusitania in the kill zone, possibly intending her sinking to bring about entry of the U.S. into WWI (which was officially neutral) on the side of the Allies. Controversy also exists over the question of missing art on the Lusitania lost during her sinking, including missing Rembrandts, Monets, and Reubens. What caused the Lusitania to sink in less than 18 minutes after a single torpedo strike; what cargo she was carrying; which governments intended her sinking; and what caused the second explosion in her cargo holds, are all questions which put the Lusitania at the forefront of the great unsolved military mysteries of the world.

Exploration License and Conveyance of the Lusitania to Ireland

In the summer of 2019, the Minister of Culture and Heritage signed a memorandum of understanding (“MoU”) with Gregg Bemis allowing him to explore the wreckage of the Lusitania, which rests at a depth of 350 feet barely inside Irish waters. Minister Josepha Madigan executed the MoU on behalf of the Irish government granting Mr. Bemis the licenses necessary to explore the wreckage after years of legal wrangling. This MoU was signed by Ireland after consultation by the Minister of Culture and Heritage with the Director of National Monuments, the National Museum of Ireland, and the Irish Directorate of Military Intelligence. The signing ceremony was attended by Gregg Bemis, Minister Madigan, Ted Bemis, Con Hayes, Eoin McGarry, Peter McCamley and Steven Rinehart. On this trip, Mr. Bemis traveled to Cork for a second signing ceremony in which he executed the documents necessary to deed title to the Lusitania back to Ireland upon his death, and where he attended several events held in his honor commemorating his vestiture of title to the Lusitania with the Lusitania Museum to be built at Old Head. The Lusitania Museum is the successor-in-interest of Mr. Bemis’s rights under the MoU. Through decades of legal confrontation with the Irish and British authorities to secure his title as an American, including millions of dollars spent from his personal coffers in litigation which reached the Supreme Court of Ireland, Mr. Bemis ultimately made Ireland the beneficiary in toto of his efforts.

Obituary of the Bemis Family

GREGG BEMIS (MAY 25, 1928 – MAY 20, 2020).

How do you say goodbye to a father? There are the private words: we love you; yes, we’ll take good care of mom; you regularly pissed us off; you were so proud of your children and grandkids, even if you didn’t know how to say so being a true blue New Englander. There are the public thoughts: you knew him as a dedicated board member; as a tenacious soccer player who always called for the ball to be passed; an outspoken life-long Republican who did his best to convert you to his way of seeing things; a lover of animals who hoped for a kinder world. Gregg Bemis moved with his wife Lisa to Santa Fe in 1980 and made it home. Children lived nearby, as did cousins, great aunts and uncles, a brother-in-law, and friends who became like family.

He was ostensibly retired from business but never could resist helping new ventures get off the ground, whether through advice or capital. His greatest endeavor was as the owner of the historic shipwreck Lusitania. He became increasingly obsessed with solving the mystery of the luxury liner’s rapid sinking from a single torpedo. He annually battled with the Irish government to obtain permits for exploratory dives on his property, much to their mutual aggravation. Any further discoveries will now have to come about from the efforts of the Lusitania Museum Old Head in Kinsale, Ireland, to whom Gregg deeded the ship in 2019. When cancer finally got the upper hand and he signed on for hospice care, he was asked if he had been in the service. He answered, “Semper Fi!” A day and a half later, he left for his next adventure, never one to dawdle. He wore his Marine uniform on the way out the door. No public commemoration is planned at this time. Gifts and Flowers are not expected but if desired, should be directed to the Santa Fe Animal Shelter, or to the Friends of the SF Public Library, in Gregg’s honor.

Letter of Con Hayes to the Bemis Family

Following Gregg’s death, Con Hayes wrote to the Bemis family about the gratitude of those at the Lusitania Museum for Gregg’s contributions. Read the letter of Con Hayes to the Bemis family here.