Meteorologists and Minnesota residents often refer to April 30, 1967, as "Black Sunday," describing the
1967 Iowa–Minnesota tornado outbreak and heavy wind and rain in Duluth. During the storm, waves on
Lake Superior in Duluth were reportedly over 20 feet high with water temperature around 36 degrees. He is one of only two Coast Guardsmen to have died in the line of duty while serving in Minnesota on Lake Superior. EN3 Keith Brubaker fell overboard and perished on July 11, 1967, while serving the Coast Guard Station North Superior in
Grand Marais, Minnesota. A bronze plaque erected later in 1967 was removed in the early 1980s when the pier was widened and reinforced. Tom Mackay, then a captain for the Vista Fleet and president of the
International Shipmasters Association (ISMA) Twin Ports Lodge #12, realized after the pier improvements were finished that the plaque had not been reinstalled. He rallied the ISMA for assistance and the plaque was found and reinstalled on the new pier. Culbertson, Callahan and Prei were awarded the
Coast Guard Medal, the highest peacetime medal awarded in recognition of heroism. At the time, it had only been awarded to 44 people.
Coast Guard Medal citation ==Legacy==