history.uscg.mil

Frequently Asked Questions

️Wed Aug 11 2066

Commandants & Chiefs of the Revenue Marine Division

Chiefs of the Revenue Marine Bureau (The Chiefs exercised centralized control over the Revenue Marine Bureau.)

1843-1848 Captain Alexander V. Fraser, USRM
1848-1849 Captain Richard Evans, USRM

In 1849 the Revenue Marine Bureau was dissolved, and the Revenue Marine fell under the control the Commissioner of Customs until the Revenue Marine Bureau was again established in 1869.

1869-1871 N. Broughton Devereux
1871-1878 Sumner I. Kimball
1878-1885 Ezra Clark
1885-1889 Peter Bonnett

Commandants

1889-1895 Captain Leonard G. Shepard, USRCS, Chief, Revenue Marine Division
1895-1905 Captain Charles F. Shoemaker, USRCS, Chief, Revenue Marine Division
1905-1911 Captain Worth G. Ross, USRCS
1911-1919 Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf
1919-1924 Rear Admiral William E. Reynolds
1924-1932 Rear Admiral Frederick C. Billard
1932-1936 Rear Admiral Harry G. Hamlet
1936-1946 Admiral Russell R. Waesche
1946-1949 Admiral Joseph F. Farley
1949-1954 Vice Admiral Merlin O’Neill
1954-1962 Admiral Alfred C. Richmond
1962-1966 Admiral Edwin J. Roland
1966-1970 Admiral Willard J. Smith
1970-1974 Admiral Chester R. Bender
1974-1978 Admiral Owen W. Siler
1978-1982 Admiral John B. Hayes
1982-1986 Admiral James S. Gracey
1986-1990 Admiral Paul A. Yost, Jr.
1990-1994 Admiral J. William Kime
1994-1998 Admiral Robert E. Kramek
1998-2002 Admiral James M. Loy
2002-2006 Admiral Thomas H. Collins
2006-2010 Admiral Thad W. Allen
2010-2014 Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr.
2014-Present Admiral Paul F. Zukunft

Heroes of the Coast Guard

Samuel W. Allison

Lieutenant Samuel W. Allison, USCGR, was awarded the Silver Star during World War II for: "conspicuous gallantry in action as Commanding Officer of USS LCI(L)-326 during amphibious landings on the French coast June 6, 1944. Displaying superb seamanship and dauntless courage, Lieutenant Allison successfully landed units of the Army, then stood off the beach for salvage duty. Realizing that the services of a control boat were urgently needed, he volunteered for this assignment and, in the face of concentrated shell fire and constant threat of exploding mines, effectively directed boat traffic throughout the remainder of the initial assault."

Henry M. Anthony

Anthony began his naval career in 1920 as an enlisted man in the U.S. Navy, and saw service aboard submarines. After transferring to the Coast Guard, he specialized in breaking rumrunner codes. Beginning in 1935, Anthony had formed a close association with Navy's Pacific Fleet intelligence officers in Hawaii and had devoted much time to breaking simple Japanese "tuna clipper" codes, meanwhile teaching himself Japanese -- the Coast Guard has always been on a shoe-string budget and would not pay for language classes -- so Anthony, on his own initiative, learned Japanese. He boarded all Japanese merchant vessels calling at Hawaii, on the pretext of searching for smuggled narcotics but in reality to check their routings and other sailing data. Over the years, Anthony became an authority on the Japanese merchant marine. During World War II, the Navy ordered Anthony to command a unit of the Pacific Fleet that concentrated on breaking the codes for the Japanese merchant fleet--which permitted U.S. submarines to decimate the Japanese merchant fleet during the war.

Richard A. Arrighi

Ensign Richard A. Arrighi, USCGR, an officer on board the cutter Escanaba, was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal on 18 August 1943, during rescue operations off Greenland on 3 February 1943. After the troopship Dorchester was torpedoed, Arrighi was the first to go over the side as a "retriever." During the early hours of the rescue operations, one lifeboat, was contacted which was in fair condition. This boat had picked up the other survivors and was fairly crowded. As the lifeboat was made fast to Escanaba's side, one of its helpless members fell in between the cutter and the lifeboat. This poor man was covered with oil and the men in the lifeboat simply could not extricate him from his perilous position. ENS Arrighi, who was working in the water at the time, swam in between the boat and the ship, pulled the man out so that he would not be crushed, held him up so that a line could be put around him and helped the men in the boat get him on aboard. Arrighi was in grave danger of being himself crushed between the boat and the ship's side, but due to his disregard of his own safety and to his quick action he was spared, only to lose his life in June when Escanaba blew up. Arrighi was in and out of the water rescuing survivors, working in the dark with a rough sea running and quitting only when his, rubber suit became worn and filled with water. After that he had to be hauled on board and treated for exposure.

Ross Bell

Lieutenant (j.g.) Ross Bell was the executive officer of the cutter, CGC Point Welcome during a tour of duty on Operation Market Time in the Republic of Vietnam. In a tragic "friendly fire" incident, several U.S. Air Force aircraft mistakenly attacked Point Welcome while she was on patrol during the night of 11 August 1966. With the death of the commanding officer, Lieutenant (j.g.) David Brostrom, LTJG Bell assumed command of the cutter despite being seriously wounded by the fire that killed Brostrom. He continued to exercise command until his wounds forced his relief by BMC Richard Patterson. For his actions, LTJG Bell was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V".

Ellsworth Price Bertholf

Captain Ellsworth Price Bertholf was the first commandant of the Coast Guard. He joined the Revenue Cutter Service in 1885, beginning a long and distinguished career. While serving on the revenue cutter Bear he participated in the Point Barrow-Overland Relief Expedition of 1897-1898. Congress awarded him a Gold Medal of Honor for his actions on that expedition. He was instrumental in implementing the merger of the U.S. Life-Saving Service and the Revenue Cutter Service to form the Coast Guard in 1915.

William H. Best

Water Tender William H. Best, a crewman of the CGC Seneca on convoy duty during the First World War, was posthumously awarded a Navy Cross "for services in attempting to save the British merchant steamer Wellington after she had been torpedoed by a German submarine, and who lost his life when the Wellington foundered on September 17, 1918."

Frederick C. Billard

Rear Admiral Frederick C. Billard served as the commandant of the Coast Guard from 1924 through his death in 1932. He was a veteran of the First World War and was awarded the Navy Cross for his service in that conflict. He oversaw the service’s expansion during the enforcement of Prohibition and reinforced the Coast Guard’s traditional tasks as well. He worked well with Congress and the Treasury Department and was loved throughout the service. Robert Johnson, in his history of the Coast Guard entitled Guardians of the Sea, wrote of Billard that "he must rank with the greatest commandants of the Coast Guard."

Benjamin Bottoms

ARM1c Benjamin Bottoms was a Coast Guard radio operator assigned to the cutter Northland's aircraft on the Greenland Patrol during World War II. He was killed when his aircraft, piloted by LT John Pritchard, crashed while attempting to rescue a downed Army Air Force B-17 crew in Greenland.

William L. Boyce

Acting Machinist William L. Boyce was a member of the crew of the cutter Seneca during the First World War. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal "for his actions while attempting to save the torpedoed British merchant steamer Wellington, which subsequently foundered." Boyce was killed during the attempt.

Joseph R. Bridge

Aviation Ordnanceman 1/c Joseph R. Bridge was posthumously awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal "for heroic daring during a sea rescue on 18 January 1953." Bridge was a crewman on board a Coast Guard PBM that crashed offshore of mainland China while conducting a rescue of the crew of a Navy reconnaissance aircraft that had been shot down. He was killed in the crash.

David Brostrom

Lieutenant (j.g.) David Brostrom was the commanding officer of the cutter Point Welcome during a tour of duty with Operation Market Time in the Republic of Vietnam. In a tragic "friendly fire" incident, several U.S. Air Force aircraft mistakenly attacked the Point Welcome while she was on patrol during the night of 11 August 1966. As soon as the Point Welcome was illuminated by flares dropped by the Air Force aircraft, he raced to the bridge, calling out orders to his crew. He was killed as he reached the bridge.

Fletcher W. Brown

First Lieutenant Fletcher W. Brown, an officer on board the cutter Seneca on convoy duty during the First World War, was awarded a Navy Cross "for heroic and distinguished service as the commander of a volunteer crew that attempted to save the British merchant steamer Wellington after she had been torpedoed by a German submarine. They persisted in that attempt until the Wellington foundered on 17 September 1918. "

Nathan Bruckenthal

On April 25, 2004, Damage Controlman Third Class Nathan Bruckenthal, USCG, from Smithtown, New York, and two U. S. Navy sailors were killed in the line of duty while conducting maritime intercept operations in the North Arabian Gulf. He and six other coalition sailors attempted to board a small boat near the Iraqi Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal. As they boarded the boat it exploded. Petty Officer Bruckenthal died later from injuries sustained in the explosion. Petty Officer Bruckenthal was the first Coast Guardsman killed in action since the Vietnam War. He was assigned to Tactical Law Enforcement South in Miami, Florida and deployed with Coast Guard Patrol Forces Southwest Asia aboard the USS Firebolt. This was his second deployment to the Arabian Gulf for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Richard L. Burke

Captain Richard L. Burke was a Coast Guard aviation pioneer who participated in numerous rescues and ensured that aviation would play a central role in Coast Guard operations. He earned his wings in 1931 and immediately became one of the best Coast Guard pilots of the time, specializing in open-ocean rescues while flying Coast Guard flying boats. In 1933 he made the first open-ocean rescue ever in a Douglas RD Dolphin, a feat for which President Franklin Roosevelt awarded him the first of two Distinguished Flying Crosses he earned during his career. He was also awarded a Silver Lifesaving Medal for another daring open-ocean rescue flight. He became the commanding officer of Air Station Cape May in 1933 and served there until 1940 where he currently served as the chief pilot for Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau. He later served as the commanding officer of Air Station Elizabeth City during the Second World War, where he was responsible for saving dozens of lives of seamen from torpedoed merchant ships. After the war he served as the Air-Sea Rescue Officer for the Eastern Sea Frontier Headquarters, coordinating the air-sea rescue activities of all of the armed services of the U.S. He then served as the Chief, Aviation Division of the Coast Guard.

John Cahoone

Captain John Cahoone commanded the revenue cutter Vigilant during its engagement with the British privateer Dart during the War of 1812. The Dart had preyed upon Yankee shipping in Long Island Sound for some time, taking 20 to 30 vessels. She appeared off Newport on 4 October 1813 with two freshly caught prizes, and this braggadocio proved her undoing. Capt. Cahoone took 20 Navy volunteers on board to augment his regular crew and made sail to engage the brazen Britisher. Vigilant boldly sailed well within gun range of the more heavily armed sloop and loosed a broadside, which stunned the privateer. A boarding party from the revenue cutter quickly scrambled aboard the enemy vessel as she brushed alongside her quarry and quickly carried the Briton. Vigilant lost two men in the engagement, both of whom fell into the water and drowned while attempting to board.

Hugh George Campbell

Hugh George Campbell was born in South Carolina in 1760 and, in 1775 he volunteered to serve on board the Defense, the first man-of-war commissioned by the council of South Carolina in the Revolutionary War. He began his career in the Revenue Cutter Service in 1791, when he received an appointment as first mate on board the revenue cutter South Carolina. By 1798, he was promoted to master and served with great distinction in the Quasi-War with France. As captain of the cutter Eagle, Campbell captured more enemy vessels than any other cutter captain and most other navy captains. In the summer of 1799, the U.S. Navy appointed him “master commandant” and by the fall of 1800 he was commissioned a captain in the navy. He later enjoyed a distinguished naval career as a senior captain commanding the USS Constellation and USS Constitution. During the War of 1812, he commanded a fleet of gunboats out of St. Marys, Georgia, which captured some of the first enemy vessels of the war. He died in 1820, during an overland trip from Charleston, S.C., to Washington, D.C.

Francis Cartigan

Captain Francis Cartigan commanded the revenue cutter Alabama during the Revenue Marine Services attempt to rid the Gulf of Mexico of pirates. He and his crew, with the assistance of the revenue cutter Louisiana, destroyed a pirate rendezvous point on Breton Island in 1820.

William H. Cashman

On 9 March 1928 a pulling surfboat with nine men aboard, under the command of Boatswain's Mate First Class William Cashman, got underway from the Manomet Life-Saving to go to the rescue of the steamer Robert E. Lee. The Lee had grounded on Mary Ann Rocks in a heavy gale. While returning to the station the surfboat capsized due to extremely heavy seas, spilling all nine men into the water. Six were rescued but "Captain" Cashman, Surfman Frank W. Griswold, and Surfman Edward R. Stark perished in the line of duty in the freezing water. During the on-going search and rescue operations all 236 passengers and crew from the Robert E. Lee were saved.

William P. Chadwick

Keeper William P. Chadwick of the Green Island Lifeboat Station in New Jersey was awarded the Gold Lifesaving medal for the rescue of the crew of the schooner George Taulane on 3 February 1880. Even after suffering a debilitating injury from flying debris, Chadwick directed the repeated efforts to save the crew of the broken Taulane. Finally after 5 Â½ hours, Chadwick’s men were able to erect a breeches buoy. Within a half-hour all of the Taulane’s crew were safely ashore.

Garner J. Churchill

Chief Warrant Officer (Boatswain) Garner J. Churchill of Humboldt Bay Lifeboat Station, California, was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for the rescue of the sinking vessel Rena. His crew, however, were only awarded Silver Life-Saving medals, and he refused to accept his gold medal unless the crew also received the gold medal. The Department proved to be unwilling to change the award, and he therefore took the lesser Silver Lifesaving Medal along with his crew. His son noted that he took the Silver Life-Saving Medal because "he felt that he had done no more than his men." During the Second World War, while attempting to rescue the crew of a torpedoed freighter in a 36-foot motor life boat, he evaded and narrowly escaped attack from a Japanese submarine.

Paul L. Clark

F 1/c Paul Leaman Clark was awarded a Navy Cross, one of only six awarded to Coast Guardsmen during World War II, for his actions during the invasion of North Africa in November 1942. His citation reads: "For extraordinary heroism while serving as engineer of a landing boat attached to the USS JOSEPH T. DICKMAN during the assault on and occupation of French Morocco from November 8 to 11, 1942. When a hostile plane strafed his boat with machinegun fire, mortally wounding the bow man and severely injuring the coxswain, Clark with quick initiative immediately withdrew from the beach. Speeding toward the USS PALMER, he placed the wounded men aboard and, although his craft was riddled by enemy bullets, courageously returned to his station at the beach."

Malachi Corbell, Keeper

Keeper Malachi Corbell saved two African-American fishermen whose boat capsized near Caffey's Inlet, North Carolina. In June, 1877 he was awarded a Silver Lifesaving Medal, becoming the first member of the U.S. Life-Saving Service to earn one of the newly instituted Treasury Department life-saving medals.

T. James Crotty

Lieutenant T. James Crotty was an expert on mine recovery and served with United States forces in the Philippines at the start of the Second World War. There he carried out special demolition work during the retreat of American and Filipino forces from Bataan to Corregidor. He then served as the executive officer of the USS Quail, which swept clear channels to the island and also bombarded Japanese forces on Bataan. Crotty was captured by the Imperial Japanese Army after the surrender of Corregidor in May 1942. He died later that fall of diphtheria. He was one of only three Coast Guardsmen held as prisoners of war during the 20th century.

Joseph L. Crowe, Jr.

Captain Joseph L. Crowe, Jr., was a noted Coast Guard aviator responsible for numerous rescues during peacetime and war and for his abilities as a leader, planner, and pilot. From 1971 to 1972, Crowe served as an exchange pilot with the Air Force's 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron in Vietnam, flying numerous combat search and rescue missions. In June, 1971, he flew a combat rescue mission behind enemy lines to rescue successfully two downed airmen. Another combat rescue mission took place in April, 1972, when Crowe attempted to rescue Lieutenant Colonel Iceal Hambleton, USAF, who was made famous in the book Bat 21 (by William C. Anderson). Due to heavy enemy fire that riddled his HH-53C "Super Jolly," however, Crowe was forced to abort the rescue and barely made it back to base. He planned the operation that led to the successful rescue of American and South Vietnamese personnel trapped in Quang Tri during May, 1972. Crowe earned the Frederick L. Feinberg Award of the American Helicopter Society for his daring rescue in 1976 of seven men who were trapped on the bow section of sinking tanker Spartan Lady 145 miles south of Martha's Vineyard during an intense storm. He later commanded Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod for two tours of duty. Crowe was awarded three Distinguished Flying Crosses and nine Air Medals during his Coast Guard career.

Edgar A. Culbertson

BM1 Edgar A. Culbertson perished in the line of duty while trying to save three brothers who had been swept off the jetty of the Duluth Entry North Breakwater Light on the night of 30 April 1967. He was posthumously awarded the Coast Guard Medal. Two other Coast Guardsmen who participated in the rescue attempt, FN Ron Prei and BM2 Richard Callahan, survived and were also awarded the Coast Guard Medal.

John A. Cullen

John A. Cullen was awarded the Legion of Merit for discovering and reporting the first landing of German saboteurs on the United States coast, 13 June 1942. His timely report alerted authorities to the presence of Nazi saboteurs on U.S. soil and was instrumental in leading to their capture of the entire 8-man sabotage team within two weeks. Ultimately Cullen’s actions resulted in the foiling of OPERATION PASTORIOUS, the code-name for the German operation, before the German operatives could carry out their mission.

Benjamin B. Dailey

Keeper Benjamin B. Dailey was the keeper of the Cape Hatteras Lifeboat Station in North Carolina who was awarded the Gold Lifesaving medal after rescuing 9 men from the foundering ship Ephraim Williams on 22 December 1884. In one of the most daring rescues by the Life-Saving Service since its organization, Dailey’s 7-man crew pulled for two hours through a heavy sea to reach the vessel five miles offshore. Only by relying on his expert boat-handling skills was Dailey able to bring all the survivors and his crew back to safety.

Charles Walter David, Jr.

Stewards-Mate First Class Charles Walter David, Jr., was an African American Coast Guardsman who served on board the cutter Comanche during World War II. When the Comanche came to the aid of the survivors of the torpedoed transport Dorchester in the frigid waters off Greenland, David volunteered to dive overboard to help rescue those in need--practicing the newly devised "rescue retriever" technique. David repeatedly dived overboard in the water to save several men. He even saved the life of the Comanche's executive officer, LT Robert W. Anderson, when Anderson became unable to pull himself out of the water due to exposure. David died a few days later from hypothermia contracted during his heroic efforts. He was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his bravery.

Warren T. Deyampert

Steward's Mate Third Class Warren T. Deyampert was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. Deyampert, a crewman aboard the cutter Escanaba, took part in that cutter's rescue of the survivors of the torpedoed transport Dorchester off Greenland on 3 February 1943. He worked between three and four hours in the water during darkness, pulling rafts in close to the ship, securing them with lines from the ship, securing bowlines about the survivors so that they could be hauled aboard Escanaba, and at times keeping helpless survivors afloat until they could put lines about them. They were often in danger of being crushed by the life rafts as they brought them close to the ship's side. Deyampert stuck with a single floating survivor as he drifted astern under the counter, in order to keep him clear of the propeller, just in case it turned. He disregarded this danger to himself, in order that the survivor might be kept clear of it. Deyampert perished later that year when Escanaba exploded and sank.

Charles L. Duke

Ensign Charles L. Duke carried out one of the more remarkable arrests ever conducted by the Coast Guard during the enforcement of Prohibition. While on patrol in New York harbor, he single-handedly captured the freighter Greypoint and its crew of 22 in a daring and heroic act. The freighter carried over a half-million dollars worth of illegal liquor on board.

Dwight H. Dexter

Dwight Dexter served as the commander of the small boat pool at Lunga Point on Guadalcanal from the first days of the invasion until November, 1942 after being assigned to the staff of the Commander of the Transport Group, South Pacific. He also served as Douglas Munro's commanding officer. Dexter was awarded the Silver Star for his actions at Guadalcanal.

Lance A. Eagan

Lance Eagan earned his wings in 1965 first flew HH-52A helicopters along with HU-16E amphibians out of Coast Guard Air Station Brooklyn before being among the first group of Coast Guard aviators to volunteer to serve in Vietnam with the US Air Force Force's 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron flying rescue missions. He made numerous combat rescues during his tour and by the end of his Coast Guard aviation career he was awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal (with 10 oak leaf clusters), a Combat Action Ribbon, two Letters of Commendation, Presidential Unit Citation, National Defense Medal (with 4 bronze stars) and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross (with palm).

Walter B. Eberle

First Assistant Keeper Walter B. Eberle, assigned to the Whale Rock Light Station in Rhode Island, remained at his post on the night of 21 September 1938 when a hurricane hit the northeast coast. Eberle was killed when the lighthouse was swept out to sea. He was a US Navy veteran, a master diver, and the father of six children. His body was never recovered.

Russell Elam

Cook Elam Russell, of the cutter Seneca on convoy duty during the First World War, was posthumously awarded a Navy Cross "for services in attempting to save the British merchant steamer Wellington after she had been torpedoed by a German submarine, and who lost his life when the Wellington foundered on September 17, 1918."

Frank A. Erickson

Frank A. Erickson was an aviation pioneer who led the Coast Guard's acquisition and development of rotary-wing aircraft. He was instrumental in convincing the armed services of both the U.S. and Great Britain of the helicopter's potential, particularly for search and rescue and combat operations, risking his career in openly supporting what was then an untried and unproven technology. Erickson first earned his wings in 1935 and made his first open-ocean rescue the following year while assigned to Air Station Miami. He piloted amphibian aircraft attached to three of the newly commissioned 327-foot cutters in an experiment that tested combined aircraft-cutter operations. He was then ordered to the Sikorsky Aircraft Company's plant at Bridgeport, CT, for training in the new helicopters being manufactured there, forming the first Coast Guard Helicopter Detachment. He was designated as Coast Guard Helicopter Pilot No. 1 and became an instructor. He organized and trained pilots who participated in the joint U.S. and British evaluation trials held on board the SS Daghestan in November 1943 to ascertain the feasibility of helicopter flight operations aboard ships at sea. He also trained 102 helicopter pilots and 225 mechanics, including personnel from the Army Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and the British Army, Royal Air Force and Navy. On 3 January 1944 he flew the first ever rescue flight by helicopter when he piloted a Sikorsky HNS-1, carrying two cases of blood plasma, from New York City to Sandy Hook, NJ, during a violent storm, for the treatment of Navy crewmen from the destroyer USS Turner, which had exploded and burned off New York Harbor. He developed equipment such as the power hoist, rescue slings and baskets, floats that permitted helicopters to land on water and techniques like landing and taking off from vessels at sea and hovering in all weather and wind conditions. These advances furthered the utility of the helicopter, leading to its acceptance and use around the globe. Erickson's impact on the development of the helicopter in all its uses is beyond estimation.

Louis C. Etheridge, Jr.

A well-known example of African American military expertise was the crew of stewards that manned a battle station on the cutter Campbell, which rammed and sank a German submarine on February 22, 1943. SD 1/c Louis C. Etheridge, Jr., captain of the Campbell's African American gun crew, was presented the Bronze Star medal (with a combat citation) on February 25, 1952, and a personal letter of congratulations from the Commandant. The gun crew earned medals for "heroic achievement."

Richard Etheridge

Captain Richard Etheridge became the first African-American to command a Life-Saving station when the service appointed him as the keeper of the Pea Island Life-Saving Station in North Carolina in 1880. The Revenue Cutter Service officer who recommended his appointment, First Lieutenant Charles F. Shoemaker, noted that Etheridge was "one of the best surfmen on this part of the coast of North Carolina." Soon after Etheridge's appointment, the station burned down. Determined to execute his duties with expert commitment, Etheridge supervised the construction of a new station on the original site. He also developed rigorous lifesaving drills that enabled his crew to tackle all lifesaving tasks. His station earned the reputation of "one of the tautest on the Carolina Coast," with its keeper well-known as one of the most courageous and ingenious lifesavers in the Service. On October 11, 1896, Etheridge's rigorous training drills proved to be invaluable. The three-masted schooner, the E.S. Newman, was caught in a terrifying storm. The vessel came ashore on the beach two miles south of the Pea Island station. The storm was so severe that Etheridge had suspended normal beach patrols that day. But the alert eyes of surfman Theodore Meekins saw the first distress flare and he immediately notified Etheridge. Etheridge gathered his crew and launched the surfboat. Battling the strong tide and sweeping currents, the dedicated lifesavers struggled to make their way to a point opposite the schooner, only to find there was no dry land. The daring, quick-witted Etheridge tied two of his strongest surfmen together and connected them to shore by a long line. They fought their way through the roaring breakers and finally reached the schooner. The seemingly inexhaustible Pea Island crewmembers journeyed through the perilous waters ten times and rescued the entire crew of the E.S. Newman. For this rescue the crew, including Etheridge, were recently awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal by the Coast Guard.

Ray Evans

Petty Officer (later Commander) Raymond J. Evans was awarded a Navy Cross for his actions at the Matanikau River, Guadalcanal on 27 September 1942. Along with his friend and shipmate Douglas Munro, Evans participated in the rescue and evacuation of elements of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, who were under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, from behind enemy lines while under fire.

Manuel Ferreira

Manuel Ferreria served as a lighthouse keeper for seven different lighthouses during his career, which spanned from 1908 through 1946. He was known as "one of the grand old men of Hawaiian lighthouse lore." In 1919 he rescued the crew of a Japanese fishing trawler when that vessel ran aground off Barber's Point, Hawaii, where he served as a keeper. He was instrumental in saving the schooner Bianca and its crew in 1923 when the ship lost its sails and was in danger of smashing on a reef. Ferreira was unable to launch the lighthouse skiff due to the high surf conditions. Instead, he ran three miles to the nearest telephone and called for assistance. The USS Sunadin was dispatched and reached the wallowing schooner just in time to tow it to safety.

Florence Ebersole Smith Finch

Florence Finch enlisted in the Coast Guard Women's Reserve (SPARs) during World War II after first escaping imprisonment by the Japanese. She was captured in the Philippines in October, 1944 after serving with the Filipino resistance and assisting U.S. and Filipino prisoners of war. She was liberated by Allied forces during the invasion of the Philippines and after returning to the U.S., she joined the SPARs. She was the first woman to receive the Pacific Theatre Campaign ribbon. She was also presented with the U.S. Medal of Freedom.

Joel Hilton Fisher

LCDR Joel Fisher was attached to the G-5 Intelligence Division of the U.S. Army during World War II. He joined the Coast Guard after being turned down from enlisting in the Army due to poor eyesight. He was commissioned ensign in 1942. After carrying out assignments in Alaska he was assigned to Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF). There he was assigned as Chief, Foreign Exchange and Property Control Section, Financial Branch of G-5 SHAEF. He commanded a 75-man task force assigned to locate and recover stolen valuables taken by German forces during the war, including millions of dollars worth of art, gold, silver and gemstones. They travelled with front-line combat units as Allied armies advanced on Germany.

William Ray Flores

SA William Ray "Billy" Flores died in the line of duty while saving the lives of many of his shipmates when his cutter, the Blackthorn, collided with the tanker Capricorn, on January 28, 1980. The Blackthorn and the tanker Capricorn collided near the entrance to Tampa Bay, Florida. The Blackthorn capsized before all the cutter’s crew could abandon ship. Twenty-seven of Flores’ shipmates did escape the sinking ship. After the ships collided Flores and another crewmember threw lifejackets to their shipmates who had jumped into the water. Later, when his companion abandoned ship as the Blackthorn began to submerge, Flores -- who was less than a year out of boot camp--remained behind and used his own belt to strap open the lifejacket locker door, allowing additional lifejackets to float to the surface. Even after most crewmembers abandoned ship, the 19-year-old Flores remained aboard to assist trapped shipmates and to comfort those who were injured and disoriented. He was posthumously awarded the Coast Guard Medal.

Gene R. Gislason

Lieutenant Gene R. Gislason was awarded the Silver Star: "For outstanding heroism as Commanding Officer of the USS LCI(L)-94, while landing assault troops in Normandy June 6, 1944. He successfully directed his ship through numerous beach obstacles to the proper beach, discharged his troops and retracted while his ship was seriously damaged from heavy enemy fire. Ship's communications, engine telegraph and electric steering were disabled by direct hits on the pilothouse which killed three crewmen, and one screw and shaft were rendered inoperative by beach obstacles. By his coolness under fire and excellent seamanship, Lieutenant Gislason overcame these difficulties and brought his ship off the beach on hand steering and one screw. He later supervised repairs and in four hours enabled the LCI(L) to remain operative in the assault area for three weeks."

Willis J. Goff

Gunner's Mate First Class Willis Jerry Goff, a crewman on board the cutter Point Banks on patrol in Vietnam, was awarded the Silver Star for "his heroic courage and gallantry in action while engaged in armed conflict against North Vietnamese and Viet Cong aggressors in the Republic of Vietnam on Jan. 22, 1969." He and fellow Point Banks crewman EN2 Larry D. Villarreal volunteered to man the cutter's launch to rescue a group of nine South Vietnamese soldiers who were trapped along a beach by two Viet Cong platoons. Under continuous enemy fire, they made two landings on the beach to rescue successfully all of the South Vietnamese soldiers. His citation read, in part: ". . .with courageous disregard for their own safety, Petty Officer Goff and his fellow crewmember were able to rescue nine South Vietnamese Army personnel who would have met almost certain death or capture without the assistance of the two Coast Guardsmen. Petty Officer Goff's outstanding heroism, professionalism, and devotion to duty and to his fellow man were in the highest traditions of the United States Naval Services."

Charles C. Goodwin

Keeper Charles C. Goodwin of the Cleveland, Ohio Lifeboat station was awarded the Gold Lifesaving medal after he rescued 29 people from 3 ships on the nights of 31 October, 1 November, and 11 November 1884, each time during a horrific gale.

Stewart Ross Graham

Commander Stewart Graham, USCG, was an aviation pioneer and trailblazer. He, along with Captain Frank Erickson, were instrumental in developing the helicopter as a search and rescue platform. Additionally, Graham carries the distinction of having made a number of helicopter "firsts": he became the first helicopter pilot to take off and land on a ship at sea; the first to perform a nighttime medevac by helicopter; the first to make a transcontinental helicopter flight; and the first to use a helicopter hoist to rescue survivors from a foundering ship. He was also instrumental in developing equipment such as the power hoist, and rescue slings and baskets that permitted helicopters to conduct rescues. He developed techniques utilizing that equipment in all weather and wind conditions, thereby making the helicopter the premiere SAR aircraft that it is today. Graham's impact on the development of the helicopter in all its uses is beyond estimation.

Frank W. Griswold

William Ham

William Ham was a very aggressive cutter captain during the War of 1812. As commander of the Norfolk-based cutter Jefferson, he took by force the British schooner Patriot on June 25, 1812. This event took place just a week after the proclamation of war and was the first American maritime capture of the conflict. On April 12, 1813, four Royal Navy barges captured the American schooner Flight. With volunteer militia on board Jefferson, Ham ran down three of the barges, capturing over sixty British officers and enlisted men and freeing the captain and crew of the American merchantman. Together with the cutter Gallatin, the Jefferson also participated in the wartime seizure of the British merchant vessels General Blake, Active and Georgiana.

Alexander Hamilton

Secretary of the Treasury and Continental Army veteran Alexander Hamilton's first task when he joined President George Washington's cabinet was to put the finances of the young American republic in order. Hamilton realized that tariffs on imported goods were the primary means of generating revenue and that smugglers were inhibiting the collection of these funds. As such, he proposed the construction of 10 cutters to safeguard revenue by combating smuggling. On 4 August 1790 Congress authorized the construction of these vessels and for his foresight Hamilton is regarded as the "Father of the Coast Guard."

Winfield J. Hammond

Chief Aviation Electronicsman Winfield J. Hammond was posthumously awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for heroic daring during a sea rescue on 18 January 1953. Hammond was a crewman on board a Coast Guard PBM that crashed offshore of mainland China while conducting a rescue of the crew of a Navy reconnaissance aircraft that had been shot down. He was killed in the crash.

Marcus A. Hanna

Marcus A. Hanna was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions while serving in the Union Army during the Civil War. On 4 July 1863 at Port Hudson, Louisiana, Hanna "voluntarily exposed himself to heavy enemy fire" to get water for his comrades. After the war Hanna served as the principal keeper of the Cape Elizabeth Light Station, located near Portland, Maine. On 28 January 1885 he rescued two men from the wrecked schooner Australia and for this action was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal. As such, Hanna is the only individual to have been awarded both the Medal of Honor and the Gold Lifesaving Medal.

Glen Livingston Harris

Surfman Glen Livingston Harris was awarded a Silver Star by Admiral Chester Nimitz for his combat actions during the invasion of Guadalcanal. He participated in the first wave landings at Tulagi Island. His citation reads: "For distinguishing himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity in action during the landings on Tulagi Island, whose boat with seven others, constituted the first assault wave. He landed his embarked troops and then made repeated trips during that day and the following two days, in spite of heavy enemy fire, to effect the landing of equipment, ammunition and supplies, and on September 8 he made a landing against a Japanese force at Taivu Point, Guadalcanal Island; thereby materially contributing to the successful operations in which the enemy were defeated. His conduct throughout was in keeping with the finest traditions of the United States Coast Guard." Vice Admiral Russell R. Waesche, Commandant of the Coast Guard, also promoted him to Machinist's Mate, Second Class.

Frederick T. Hatch

Surfman Frederick Hatch was a two-time winner of the Gold Lifesaving Medal. He earned his first award while serving in the Life-Saving Service and the second while serving as a keeper in the Lighthouse Service.

Mike Healy

Michael A. "Hell-Roaring Mike" Healy, the son of a slave, served a distinguished career as the Captain of the United States’ most famous cutter, USRC Bear he saved hundreds of men. In 1890 he initiated the successful program which transferred herds of reindeer from Siberia to Alaska in order to help feed the native Alaskan population. In addition to this humanitarian effort, Healy was the service’s foremost Arctic navigator and he maintained American laws in Alaska in the absence of established courts.

Henry G. Hemingway

Captain Henry Hemingway had a distinguished career, primarily at sea. He saw service as a line officer aboard the famous cutter Rush on the Bering Sea Patrol and McCulloch as well as the Morrill during the Mont Blanc disaster in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He served as the gunnery officer aboard the USS San Diego during World War I and survived the torpedoing of that warship by the U-156. He commanded the cutter Snohomish in 1923 during a search-and-rescue case off Port Angeles that defied belief and earned him the Gold Lifesaving Medal for his actions in saving the entire crew of the SS Nika during a gale.

Coit T. Hendley

Lieutenant, junior grade Coit Hendley was awarded the Silver Star: "For heroism as Commanding Officer of the USS LCI(L)-85 while landing assault troops in Normandy, France, June 6, 1944. Lieutenant Hendley successfully landed his troops despite the mining of his vessel, fire in three compartments and a concentration of enemy fire while unloading. His courage and seamanship in directing repairs and retracting from the beach resulted in saving the lives of many wounded aboard."

Heriberto Hernandez

Fireman Heriberto Hernandez was killed in action while carrying out a reconnaissance mission on the Rach Nang River in South Vietnam while in a small boat from his cutter, CGC Point Cypress. Two other Coast Guardsmen with him were wounded but survived. For his bravery as he faced the enemy, Hernandez was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal and the Bronze Star Medal with the Combat “V” device. "'Skill, courage under enemy fire, and devotion to duty:' Bronze Star Medal Recipient Heriberto "Eddie" Hernandez and Coast Guard Smallboat Operations in Vietnam” by Dr. William Thiesen, The Quarterdeck Log, Vol. 28, No. 2 (Summer 2013).

Master Benjamin Hiller

As master of the cutter Pickering, Benjamin Hiller established quite a reputation as a combat captain in the Quasi-War with France. Pickering’s battle with the French privateer l’Egypte Conquise serves as a testament to Hiller’s bravery in the face of tremendous odds. In early October 1799, the French sent the most powerful privateer in the West Indies on a mission to capture Pickering. With between fourteen and eighteen nine-and six-pound cannon, and double-manned with between 175 and 250 men, the privateer out-gunned and out-manned Pickering’s defenses of fourteen four-pounders and a crew of less than one hundred. Termed by witnesses as “severe,” the nine-hour duel occurred around October 8^th, 1799. It continued for five hours, ceased for an hour and re-commenced for three additional hours after which the privateer struck its colors and surrendered.

Hiller compiled an impressive record as master of the Pickering. Between early 1799 and the summer of 1800, his cutter captured over fifteen vessels. These included a French merchant vessel valued at $100,000 (in 1799 dollars) and at least ten prize vessels the French had captured. This figure also included five French privateers, a number of which rivaled Pickering’s fighting strength. Pickering disappeared with all hands in a violent storm in September 1800, in which the frigate USS Insurgente was also lost with all hands.

James A. Hirshfield

Vice-Admiral James Hirshfield had a remarkable career in the Coast Guard. He is perhaps best remembered for his actions during a convoy battle on the North Atlantic during the Second World War while he commanded the cutter Campbell. The Campbell engaged six U-boats and sank a seventh all in the period of two days. Hirshfield earned the Navy Cross for his actions, one of only six such awards given to Coast Guardsmen during that conflict.

Calvin Hooper

Calvin Hooper was a long-time captain in the Bering Sea and was the first commanding officer of the Bering Sea Patrol. He served as the commanding officer of the revenue cutter Corwin when that cutter became the first to cruise systematically in the Arctic Ocean in 1880.

Terrell Horne III

On 2 December 2012 Chief Boatswain's Mate Terrell Horne, III, the Executive Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Halibut, was killed in the line of duty while conducting maritime law enforcement operations off the coast of California. He sustained fatal injuries when the small boat he was on was rammed by a vessel being operated by drug smuggling criminals. One of Horne’s final actions was to push a fellow crewmember out of the way before the smuggling vessel collided with the Coast Guard small boat, thereby giving his life to save his shipmates. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of Senior Chief Petty Officer and awarded the Coast Guard Medal.

Donald R. Horsley

Master Chief Boatswains Mate Donald Robert Horsley served the Coast Guard though 44 years of continuous service from age 17 to 62, enlisting on 4 August 1942. He served on active duty for 44 years, four months, and 27 days. His career spanned three wars, and saw service on board 34 vessels. During the Vietnam War, BMCM Horsley served 41 months as the senior enlisted person assigned to Division 13, Coast Guard Squadron One out of Cat Lo, Republic of Vietnam. This Division of 82-foot patrol boats was tasked with the maritime interdiction of the reinforcement and re-supply of Communist forces fighting in South Vietnam. During this assignment, BMCM Horsley was awarded the Bronze Star with a Combat "V". After Vietnam, Horsley served throughout the Pacific, including assignments on board the seagoing tender Basswood and as the Officer-in-Charge of the Coast Guard Buoy Depot on Guam. In 1976, he was assigned as the Officer-in- Charge on board the river tender Wyaconda, out of Dubuque, Iowa. He returned to sea on board the cutter Sherman and was transferred to Morgenthau when Sherman was decommissioned in early 1986. At his retirement ceremony in January 1987, Horsley was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.

George F. Hutchinson

Lieutenant, junior grade George F. Hutchinson was awarded the Silver Star: "For gallantry in action against the enemy as Commanding Officer of the USS LCI(L)-83 while landing assault troops in Normandy, France, June 6, 1944. Lieutenant Hutchinson directed his ship to the beach through heavily mined obstacle while under heavy enemy fire that caused numerous Army casualties, successfully unloaded troops after the ship was mined and remained with the ship effecting repairs that enabled it to come off the beach on the next tide."

Miles H. Imlay

Captain Miles H. Imlay commanded a flotilla of Coast Guard landing vessels in all major amphibious invasions in the European Theater of operations during the Second World War, including the invasion of occupied France at Normandy. He was the second in command of one of the three invasion groups that landed at Omaha Beach on the morning of June 6, 1944 and sailed off the beaches during the day directing incoming landing craft to their correct landing places, continually under enemy fire. He later assumed command of that force after the assault group commander returned to England. He was instrumental in restoring operations off Normandy after the storms of late June wrecked the artificial harbors created off the invasion beaches. He was awarded the Silver Star for his actions on D-Day and also earned the Legion of Merit for his actions at the invasion of Sicily and a gold star in lieu of a second Legion of Merit for his role during the invasion of Salerno, Italy.

Joshua James

Captain Joshua James served for his entire adult life as a life-saver. Beginning with the Massachusetts Humane Society at age 15, he ended his career in the Life-Saving Service at age 74 when he died while still serving at his Point Allerton Life-Saving station. During that career he earned almost every medal available for bravery and the Life-Saving Service Superintendent, Sumner Kimball, wrote "Captain Joshua James was probably the most celebrated life-saver in the world."

David H. Jarvis

David Henry Jarvis was appointed to the Revenue Cutter Service in 1881, and served until his retirement as a captain in 1905. He spent the majority of his career in Alaska and the Bering Sea. His most famous adventure came during an expedition to save the men of a whaling fleet that had become trapped in the ice off Point Barrow, Alaska, during the winter of 1897-1898. Jarvis, then a first-lieutenant, led a three-man rescue team consisting of Second-Lieutenant Ellsworth P. Bertholf and Doctor J.S. Call of the U. S. Public Health Service, with a herd of about 400 reindeer across 1,500 miles of tundra and pack-ice to Point Barrow. They arrived after a journey of 99 days and thereby saved over 300 men from starvation. They had completed the longest rescue mission ever undertaken in Coast Guard history. On 28 June 1902, Congress, in response to a request from President William McKinley to recognize officially what he called a "victory of peace," awarded Gold Medals of Honor to Jarvis and the other two members of what became known as the Overland Relief Expedition.

Maurice Jester

Lieutenant Commander Maurice Jester was the commanding officer of the cutter Icarus that attacked and sank the more heavily armed U-352 off the coast of North Carolina during the Second World War. The Navy awarded Jester the Navy Cross for his actions in sinking the Nazi submarine, the second U-boat sunk by U.S. forces during the war.

Clifford Johnson

Petty Officer Clifford Johnson was on liberty at the Coconut Grove Lounge in Boston on the night of 28 November 1942 when the lounge caught fire. Over 490 persons perished in what was one of the worst fires in the nation's history. Petty Officer Johnson repeatedly risked his life by entering the fire on four occasions to pull victims from the flames, receiving severe burns over his body. He spent over two years in the hospital recovering from his injuries.

Jerome G. Kiah

Keeper Jerome G. Kiah, keeper of the Point Aux Barques, Michigan, Lifeboat Station, was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for his gallant attempt to rescue people on board the scow J.H. Magruder in 1880. His boat capsized and he was the only survivor. He later became a district superintendent.

Sumner I. Kimball

Sumner Increase Kimball was the man most responsible for organizing the U.S. Life-Saving Service, established in 1878. He served as its head for its entire existence through its merger with the Revenue Cutter Service in 1915. He also served as the civilian head of the Revenue Marine Bureau within the Department of the Treasury, and so was intimately connected to both the Revenue Cutter Service and the Life-Saving Service, the fore-bears of the present day Coast Guard. In 1877 he established a School of Instruction whereby the service selected and trained its own officer replacements, the fore-runner of the Coast Guard Academy.

Michael Kirkpatrick

Lieutenant (j.g.) Michael Kirkpatrick was the executive officer of the cutter Point Arden during the conflict in Vietnam. While acting as the mount captain, directing harassment-and interdiction mortar fire against enemy positions along the South Vietnamese coast on 9 August 1969, the mortar battery exploded, mortally wounding him.

William J. Kossler

Captain William J. Kossler was the Chief of Aeronautical Engineering who urged, in concert with Frank Ericsson, the development of the helicopter for military use and rescue work. Because of his far vision and confidence in the principle of rotary wing aircraft, Captain Kossler was greatly responsible for the adoption of the helicopter by the Coast Guard and Navy. He was instrumental in establishing a helicopter training base for all the U.S. military services and for the British Admiralty at the Coast Guard Air Station in Brooklyn.

Lawrence O. Lawson

Keeper Lawrence O. Lawson of the Evanston, Illinois, Life-boat Station was awarded the Gold Lifesaving medal for the rescue of the crew of the steam vessel Calumet on November 28, 1889. His boat crew, made up entirely of students from Northwestern University, took a train, rode horses, and walked to the site of the wreck 15 miles from the station through a gale. Rescue was effected only after the display of extraordinary courage and heroism by the boat’s crew. They launched a surfboat under near impossible conditions to rescue the 18-man crew of the Calumet. He was known throughout the service for his leadership abilities.

Frederick Lee

Captain Frederick Lee, USRM, commanded the revenue cutter Eagle during the War of 1812. The British captured the Eagle only after a battle that lasted for over a day in which Eagle's crew valiantly fought the British from the shore when their cutter grounded.

Ida Lewis

Taking over for her father who had been incapacitated by a stroke, Idawalley Z. Lewis served 39 years as the keeper of the Lime Rock, Rhode Island, Lighthouse. She made her first rescue at age 15, and was credited with saving 18 lives. She made her last rescue when she was 65, fifty years after her first. In recognition for her outstanding career as the keeper at Lime Rock, the light was renamed Ida Lewis Light.

Harris Loomis

Captain Harris Loomis was the commanding officer of the revenue cutter Louisiana that assisted in the destruction of a pirate base on Breton Island in 1820. While under his command the Louisiana also captured nine pirate vessels.

Raymond J. Mauerman

Captain Raymond J. Mauerman, USCG, was awarded the Legion of Merit for: "meritorious conduct as commanding officer of the USS JOSEPH T. DICKMAN during the amphibious invasion of Italy. Displaying keen judgment and expert professional skill, he effectively directed the training planning and performance of his; ship under devastating hostile fire, enabling troops, vehicles and equipment to be disembarked expeditiously on the well fortified enemy beachhead. By his splendid ship handling and sound evasive tactics he fought his vessel ably and efficiently during repeated heavy bombing attacks and brought her through without serious casualties to his command." CAPT Mauerman was awarded a Gold Star in lieu of a second Legion of Merit for: "outstanding services as commanding officer of DICKMAN prior to and during the amphibious invasion of Southern France 15, 1944. Captain Mauerman efficiently organized and thoroughly trained his ship and boat group to execute the assigned mission leading transporting to the assault area and landing the embarked army assault units on the invasion beaches on the coast of Southern France. His able conduct of this task contributed materially to the effective establishment of the beachhead and to the overall success of the invasion."

C. C. Mauethrop

Seaman C. C. Mauethrop, a member of the crew of RC Commodore Perry, gave his life in the performance of his duties in Unalaska in 1896. Prior to his death he rescued four of his shipmates who had fallen into the sea from the cutter's launch after they had gone to rescue another crewman who had fallen overboard. Mauethrop "grabbed a line and leaped over the side" into the freezing water to rescue the four. He died later when he fell from a mast after trying to free a fouled pennant.

John A. Midgett

John Allen Midgett was the Keeper of the Chicamacomico Lifeboat Station, North Carolina. On 16 August 1918 Midgett heard an explosion and saw the British tanker, Mirlo, (a victim of U-117) foundering. Manning a power surfboat Midgett and his men (5 of 6 of whom were also named Midgett) went out to render assistance. Braving a heavy surf and burning oil, Midgett and his crew were able to save all but 10 men in this 6 Â½ hour ordeal. For their efforts the Midgetts received Gold Lifesaving medals.

Rasmus S. Midgett

Surfman Rasmus S. Midgett single-handedly rescued ten people from the grounded ship, Priscilla, on 18 August 1899. While on patrol three miles from the Gull Shoal Lifeboat Station, Midgett noticed the flotsam and heard the cries from the broken vessel. Deciding to take immediate action, he first directed seven of the passengers through the surf and then he carried the other three to safety. For his actions he received the Gold Lifesaving Medal.

Harold Christian Miller

Boatswain's Mate Second Class Harold Christian Miller was awarded a Silver Star by Admiral Chester Nimitz for his combat actions during the invasion of Guadalcanal. He participated in the first wave landings at Tulagi Island. His citation reads: "For distinguishing himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity in action during the landings on Tulagi Island, whose boat with seven others, constituted the first assault wave. He landed his embarked troops and then made repeated trips during that day and the following two days, in spite of heavy enemy fire, to effect the landing of equipment, ammunition and supplies, and on September 8 he made a landing against a Japanese force at Taivu Point, Guadalcanal Island; thereby materially contributing to the successful operations in which the enemy were defeated. His conduct throughout was in keeping with the finest traditions of the United States Coast Guard." Vice Admiral Russell R. Waesche, Commandant of the Coast Guard, also promoted him to Boatswain's Mate, First Class.

Tracey W. Miller

Aviation Machinists Mate 3/c Tracey W. Miller was posthumously awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for "heroic daring during a sea rescue on 18 January 1953." Miller was a crewman on board a Coast Guard PBM that crashed offshore of mainland China while conducting a rescue of the crew of a Navy reconnaissance aircraft that had been shot down. He was killed in the crash.

Kathleen A. Moore

Kathleen "Kate" Moore served as the keeper of the Fayerweather Lighthouse of Black Rock in Bridgeport for decades. Her father began tending the light in 1817 and Ms. Moore began assisting him in 1824 when she was twelve. When her father became ill, she took over all of his duties. Although she served as the principal keeper during that time she did not receive her official appointment as the head keeper until 1871. She saved at least 21 lives during her tenure. She retired from service in 1878.

Charles B. Mosher

Lieutenant (j.g.) Charles B. Mosher, commanding USCGC Point Grey, was awarded the Silver Star Medal "for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action" while serving on a Market Time patrol. On 10 May 1966 near the mouth of the Co Chien River, the Point Grey engaged an enemy trawler attempting to infiltrate arms and ammunition to the Viet Cong. After forcing the trawler to ground in shoal water near the shoreline, "POINT GREY laid down an effective, intermittent barrage along the shore to prevent Viet Cong forces from removing the trawler's cargo. . .[he] twice drove his cutter through a withering blast of enemy gunfire in attempts to put a boarding party on the trawler, He ceased these valiant attempts to put a boarding party on the trawler only after three of his crewmembers were wounded. He then joined with newly arrived friendly forces in destroying the enemy vessel and confiscating part of its cargo. Lieutenant (jg) Mosher's outstanding leadership and professional skill were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard."

Douglas A. Munro

Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Matanikau River, Guadalcanal on 27 September 1942. As coxswain of a 36-foot Higgins boat, Munro took charge of the dozen craft which helped evacuate the surrounded elements of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller. Shortly after the last marine got on board, Munro was shot and killed by enemy fire. He is the only Coast Guardsman to have been awarded the Medal of Honor.

James J. Nevins

Boy 1/c James J. Nevins, of the cutter USCGC Seneca on convoy duty during the First World War, was posthumously awarded a Navy Cross "for services in attempting to save the British merchant steamer Wellington after she had been torpedoed by a German submarine, and who lost his life when the Wellington foundered on September 17, 1918."

Carl S. Newbury

Coxswain Carl S. Newbury of the cutter Seneca was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross "for services in attempting to save the British merchant steamer Wellington after she had been torpedoed by a German submarine, and who lost his life when the Wellington foundered on September 17, 1918."

Frank Newcomb

Lieutenant Frank Newcomb was the commanding officer of the revenue cutter Hudson at the battle for Cardenas, Cuba, during the Spanish American War. Newcomb and his crew rescued the disabled Navy torpedo boat USS Winslow under fire. President William McKinley noted in his request to Congress to recognize the gallantry of Newcomb and his crew with a special medal. The President noted that "In the face of a most galling fire from the enemy's guns, the revenue cutter Hudson, commanded by First Lieutenant Frank h. Newcomb, United States Revenue Cutter Service, rescued the disabled Winslow, her wounded commander and remaining crew. The commander of the Hudson kept his vessel in the very hottest fire of the action, although in constant danger of going ashore on account of the shallow water, until he finally got a line fast to the Winslow and towed that vessel out of range of the enemy's guns, a deed of special gallantry." Congress awarded Newcomb a gold Congressional medal, the officers of Hudson received silver medals, and the crew received bronze medals for their heroism. These were the only specially struck medals awarded for bravery during the war.

Margaret Norvell

Margaret Norvell, a keeper in the U.S. Lighthouse Service, served at the Head of Passes Light from 1891 to 1896, the Port Pontchartrain Light from 1896 to 1924 as the head keeper and then finished her career at the West End Light where she served from 1924 to 1932. She rescued numerous shipwrecked persons during her career and assisted many others in distress. On one occasion in 1903 when a storm swept away every building in the community except the lighthouse she cared for over 200 people who had been left homeless.

Merlin O'Neill

Captain Merlin O'Neill, USCG, was awarded the Legion of Merit for: "outstanding services in the amphibious invasion of the Island of Sicily as commanding officer of the USS LEONARD WOOD. By careful preparation, outstanding professional skill and cool and energetic leadership under fire, he affected the landing of embarked troops and equipment in such manner as to contribute greatly to the success of the assault. He ably fought his ship during enemy bombing attacks, and upon completion of operations, retired from the combat area without any damage to the ship."

Douglas Ottinger

Captain Douglas Ottinger was a commander of the revenue cutter Lawrence. He gained fame when he boarded the clipper ship Challenge with a small armed party to quell a riot that had broken out in the harbor where Challenge was berthed. When the mob boarded the vessel, Ottinger and his party dispersed the mob and saved the vessel. Ottinger was also an early Inspector of the US Life-Saving Service. He built the early Lifesaving Service boathouses on the Jersey shore and promoted the use of the life-car.

Martin M. Ovesen

Water Tender Martin M. Ovesen, of the cutter Seneca on convoy duty during the First World War, was posthumously awarded a Navy Cross "for services in attempting to save the British merchant steamer Wellington after she had been torpedoed by a German submarine, and who lost his life when the Wellington foundered on September 17, 1918."

Gene E. Oxley

Seaman 1/c Gene E. Oxley was awarded the Silver Star for his actions on D-Day at Normandy on 6 June 1944. His citation reads: "For gallantry while on the USS LCI(L)-85 during the assault on the coast of France June 6, 1944, and for extraordinary courage in volunteering and twice taking a line ashore, in the face of heavy machine gun and shell fire, in order to assist troops unloading from the ship to the beach through chest deep water."

Richard H. Patterson

BMC Richard Patterson served on board the cutter Point Welcome when the cutter came under attack by friendly aircraft in August, 1965 just south of the demilitarized zone in South Vietnam. The first attack caused a blazing gasoline fire on the fantail of the cutter that threatened to engulf the entire after section of the vessel. Chief Patterson, displaying the finest qualities of bravery and leadership, took charge of the situation and using a fire hose, forced the flaming liquid over the side, thus extinguishing the fire. Even as he was accomplishing this task, he saw the second aircraft attack rip through the pilot house killing the cutter's commanding officer and seriously wounding the executive officer and the helmsman. Unhesitatingly, and with complete disregard for his personal safety, Chief Patterson climbed to the bridge and took command. He ordered the crew to carry the wounded to the comparative safety of the below decks area. Alone on the bridge, he then maneuvered the cutter at high speed to avoid subsequent attacks. When it became apparent that he could not successfully evade the attacking aircraft, he ran the cutter close ashore, and directed the crew to abandon ship. Under his composed leadership, the wounded were wrapped in life jackets and paired with the able bodied before going over the side. Chief Patterson kept his crew calm and organized while they were in the water and until they were picked up by rescue craft. The Navy Department awarded him the bronze star with the combat "V" device for his actions.

Carl U. Peterson

Lieutenant Commander Carl U. Peterson was the commanding officer of the cutter Escanaba which was sunk in the North Atlantic in June of 1943 with a loss of all but two crewmen. The cutter had been on escort duty. He was posthumously awarded the Legion of Merit for "outstanding services as commanding officer of the USCGC Escanaba while that vessel was engaged in rescue operations in behalf of an American transport [Dorchester] which was torpedoed and sunk on February 3, 1943. Proceeding through heavy seas in total darkness, Lt. Comdr. Peterson, under imminent threat of enemy attack, took immediate action which involved great skill with the result that 133 men were rescued from the sea."

Kenneth Phillips

Lieutenant Commander Kenneth Phillips was the commanding officer of the Coast Guard manned destroyer escort USS Leopold during the Second World War. The Leopold, while escorting a convoy across the North Atlantic, was torpedoed and sunk by a U-boat. He ensured that his men abandoned ship and did his utmost to encourage his men to survive in the frigid waters until they were rescued. He did not survive.

Robert H. Prause

Lieutenant Robert H. Prause, the executive officer of cutter Escanaba, was awarded a posthumous Letter of Commendation for his work in organizing and supervising the rescue operations of the survivors of the sinking of the troopship Dorchester on 3 February 1943. The handling, by LT Prause, of the survivors and crew members in the water while the ship was maneuvering, plus the prompt recovery of two crew members who were pulled overboard as they tried to keep the survivors alongside, displayed sound judgment and excellent seamanship. Despite the lack of illumination there was no confusion. Everyone worked with grim determination to cheat the enemy out of as many victims as possible, despite the constant threat of submarine action. LT Prause had previously planned the retriever method of rescue and had gone into the icy water off the dock at Bluie West One, Greenland, in a rubber suit with a line attached. He perished later that year when Escanaba blew up and sank while on convoy duty.

William H. Prime

Seaman William H. Prime, of the cutter Seneca on convoy duty during the First World War, was posthumously awarded a Navy Cross "for services in attempting to save the British merchant steamer Wellington after she had been torpedoed by a German submarine, and who lost his life when the Wellington foundered on September 17, 1918."

John A. Pritchard

Lieutenant John A. Pritchard was a Coast Guard aviator assigned to the cutter Northland on the Greenland Patrol during World War II. He and his radio operator, ARM1c Benjamin Bottoms, were killed when his aircraft crashed while attempting to rescue a downed Army Air Force B-17 crew in Greenland during a severe storm. The day before Pritchard had already rescued two of the bomber’s crew and he heroically volunteered to attempt another flight to rescue the remaining Army Air Force personnel even though a storm was closing in on the crash site.

Forrest O. Rednour

Ship's Cook, 2/c Rednour, of Chicago, was awarded the Navy & Marine Corps Medal during World War II. His citation reads: "For heroic conduct while aboard the CGC Escanaba during the rescue of survivors from a torpedoed ship [Dorchester] in North Atlantic waters. Despite possible enemy submarine action, Rednour risked his life in the black and icy waters to aid in the rescue of unconscious and helpless survivors. Realizing the danger of being crushed between the rafts and the ship's side or of being struck by a propeller blade if the engines backed, he swam in under the counter of the constantly maneuvering Escanaba and prevented many floating survivors from being caught in the suction of the screws, in one instance retrieving a loading raft. Rednour's gallant and voluntary action in subjecting himself to pounding seas and bitter cold for nearly four hours contributed to the rescue of 145 persons." Rednour worked the longest of all retrievers and accounted for the greatest number of survivors.

Jack Rittichier

Lieutenant Jack Rittichier began his flying career with the U.S. Air Force before accepting a commission with the Coast Guard in 1963 and began his first Coast Guard assignment flying out of Air Station Elizabeth City. He quickly earned a Unit Commendation for his rescue work during Hurricane Betsy. In May 1966 he was assigned to Air Station Detroit and was awarded the Air Medal in June 1967 for his role as the copilot of a helicopter that flew 150 miles from Detroit, in blinding snow and ice conditions, to rescue eight seamen from the West German motor vessel Nordmeer. Rittichier was one of the first three Coast Guard exchange pilots to volunteer to fly combat search and rescue missions with the Air Force's 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron in the Republic of Vietnam. Within three weeks of his arrival in Vietnam he demonstrated his courage above and beyond the call of duty. Flying through heavy enemy fire to save four Army fliers, he earned a Distinguished Flying Cross. Two weeks later, under the light of illumination flares, he pulled nine men from the side of a mountain, five of whom were badly wounded. On 9 June 1968, 37 miles west of Hue, Rittichier, along with his crew, attempted to rescue a downed Marine Corps fighter pilot. After heavy enemy fire forced him to pull away during his first attempt to land, he came around again after the area had been swept by helicopter gunships. As he hovered near the Marine pilot, however, enemy bullets riddled his HH-3E "Jolly Green Giant" helicopter and set it afire. He tried to pull away, but his aircraft would not respond. The helicopter settled to the ground and exploded. Within 30 seconds a ball of fire consumed the aircraft, killing all on board. During his distinguished career, he demonstrated a fearless determination to save lives at the risk of his own. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters, the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Silver Star, a Purple Heart, and a Coast Guard Unit Commendation.

Robert M. Salmon

Lieutenant Robert M. Salmon was awarded the Silver Star: "For gallantry as commanding officer of a U.S. LCI(L) while landing assault troops in Normandy, France, June 6, 1944. He pressed the landing of troops despite the mining of his vessel, a serious fire forward and heavy enemy gunfire. He supervised the unloading of troops, directed the fire fighting despite the loss of proper equipment and exhibiting courage of a high degree remained with the ship until it was impossible to control the progress of the fire until it was impossible to control the progress of the fire and it was necessary to abandon ship over the stern. After abandoning he directed a party searching for firefighting equipment and subsequently fought the fire on another LCI(L) and assisted her commanding officer until she was abandoned."

Sidney Sanderlin

BMC Sidney Sanderlin was the commanding officer of CG-249, a 75-foot patrol boat, who was killed in action in 1927 during a boarding and arrest while enforcing the Prohibition laws. His killer, Horace Alderman, was hanged at the Coast Guard Section Base, Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Charles Satterlee

Captain Charles Satterlee was the commanding officer of the cutter Tampa during the First World War. He was killed in action when the Tampa was torpedoed and lost with all hands on September 26, 1918. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.

Charles B. Sexton

Machinery Technician First Class Charles W. Sexton, USCG, was awarded a posthumous award of the Coast Guard Medal for "extraordinary heroism." His award citation stated: "Petty Officer SEXTON is cited for extraordinary heroism on 11 January 1991 while serving as emergency medical technician aboard Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat CG-44381. The boat crew was responding to a distress call from F/V SEA KING, a 75-foot stern trawler with four persons on board, which was taking on water and in danger of sinking, four nautical miles northwest of the Columbia River Bar, with her decks awash and after compartment and engine room steadily filling up with water. From the relative safety the motor lifeboat, Petty Officer SEXTON unselfishly volunteered to go aboard the foundering fishing vessel to treat the injuries of a SEA KING crew member who had fallen to the deck boat during a failed helicopter hoist. He skillfully diagnosed the victim's injuries, informed the flight surgeon of the extent of the injuries and provided first aid treatment. Once the victim was stabilized, Petty Officer SEXTON turned his attention to assisting with the dewatering of the vessel. The SEA KING required several dewatering pumps to remove the initial quantity of sea water from the engine room. Then, hourly dewatering of the vessel was necessary to maintain proper trim aboard the vessel. After more than 6 hours of this exhausting routine, with the worst of the treacherous bar crossing behind them, the SEA KING suddenly, without warning, rolled over, throwing victims into the churning seas and trapping Petty Officer SEXTON in the enclosed pilot house. He went down with vessel, sacrificing his life while attempting to save the lives of the SEA KING’s crew members. Petty Officer SEXTON demonstrated remarkable initiative, exceptional fortitude, and daring in spite of imminent danger in this rescue. His courage and devotion to duty are most heartily commended and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard."

Leonard G. Shepard

Captain Leonard G. Shepard was the Chief of the Division of the Revenue Cutter Service from 1889-1895. He saw the service through a number of reforms that prepared it for the next century. No longer was the primary duty of the cutters revenue collection. He oversaw the change to a constabulary of the sea.

Halert C. Shepheard

Commodore Halert C. Shepheard served as the Coast Guard's Chief of the Merchant Marine Inspection Division during World War II. At the invitation of General Dwight Eisenhower, Vice Admiral Russell Waesche appointed then-Captain Shepheard to serve on the staff of SHAEF during the planning for the Normandy Invasion where he was the staff expert on issues regarding the merchant marine. For his service during the war, Commodore Shepheard was awarded the Legion of Merit. His citation read, in part: "Uncompromising in his devotion to duty and tireless in his efforts, Commodore Shepheard, by his resourceful initiative and judgment, contributed essentially to the development of an efficient war-time United States Merchant Marine for the transportation of troops, war-time personnel and war cargoes to all fronts of the world on merchant and troop ships with a minimum loss of ships, passengers, operating personnel or cargoes, thereby serving the interests of his country to the best of his fine abilities throughout the most critical period in the history of the Nation."

Charles F. Shoemaker

Captain Charles F. Shoemaker replaced Captain Leonard Shepard as the Chief of the Revenue Cutter Service in 1895. He oversaw the establishment of a permanent school to train cadets and convinced Congress to authorize and appropriate money for the construction of newer cutters capable of ocean cruising.

Edward Smith

Rear Admiral Edward "Iceberg" Smith served for 40 years in the Coast Guard. He was the first Coast Guardsman to earn a Ph.D. He commanded the Greenland Patrol during the Second World War after first becoming an expert in arctic operations and oceanography before the war with the International Ice Patrol. The Navy awarded him the Distinguished Service Medal for his war-time activities. Prior to the war he participated in the Marion Expedition and took part in the Graf Zeppelin polar flight of 1931. After the war he commanded the Third District and the Eastern Area before retiring in 1950. He went on to head the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

William Allerton Sparling

Coxswain William Allerton Sparling was awarded a Silver Star by Admiral Chester Nimitz for his combat actions during the invasion of Guadalcanal. He participated in the first wave landings at Tulagi Island. His citation reads: "For distinguishing himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity in action during the landings on Tulagi Island, whose boat with seven others, constituted the first assault wave. He landed his embarked troops and then made repeated trips during that day and the following two days, in spite of heavy enemy fire, to effect the landing of equipment, ammunition and supplies, and on September 8 he made a landing against a Japanese force at Taivu Point, Guadalcanal Island; thereby materially contributing to the successful operations in which the enemy were defeated. His conduct throughout was in keeping with the finest traditions of the United States Coast Guard." Vice Admiral Russell R. Waesche, Commandant of the Coast Guard, also promoted him to Boatswain's Mate, Second Class.

Edward R. Stark

Merton Stellenwerf

Coxswain Merton Stellenwerf, of the cutter Seneca on convoy duty during the First World War, was posthumously awarded a Navy Cross "for services in attempting to save the British merchant steamer Wellington after she had been torpedoed by a German submarine, and who lost his life when the Wellington foundered on September 17, 1918."

Joseph E. Stika

Lieutenant Joseph E. Stika was awarded the Navy Cross for heroic conduct on the occasion of the explosion and fire at the T.A. Gillespie shell-loading plant at Morgan, New Jersey, in October 1918.

Elmer F. Stone

Commander Elmer "Archie" Fowler Stone was a Coast Guard aviation pioneer. He was one of two officers to first suggest that the Coast Guard develop an aviation capability and became the Coast Guard's first aviator upon graduating from flight training at Pensacola. Stone piloted the Navy's NC-4 on its historic and successful trans-Atlantic flight in 1919. For this daring feat, Stone earned a Congressional Medal of Achievement as well as a Navy Cross. Stone then worked with the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics for the next six years as a test pilot. Here he assisted in the development of the catapults and arresting gear of the new aircraft carriers USS Lexington and USS Saratoga, equipment still used on aircraft carriers to this day. After a tour at sea, "Archie" Stone became the commanding officer of the Coast Guard Aviation Unit at Cape May, NJ. He continued to develop his skill at making open-ocean landings until he was arguably the best seaplane pilot in any of the world's naval services. In 1933 when the Navy dirigible Akron went down off the Atlantic coast in a storm with only three survivors of the 76 aboard, Stone was the only pilot available willing to attempt a landing in the heavy seas. He accomplished this successfully, but was too late to save any more lives. In December 1934 Stone set a new world speed for amphibian aircraft. His last duty was as the commanding officer of the Air Patrol Detachment in San Diego. He died of a heart attack while on duty on 26 May 1936 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Stone was a pivotal figure in the establishment and development of aviation for the Coast Guard and the Navy and was a favorite of many of the famous aviation figures of the day, including Eddie Rickenbacker, aircraft designers Anthony Fokker, Igor Sikorsky, and Alexander P. de Seversky and the Prince of Wales. Commander Elmer "Archie" Stone was enshrined in the Naval Aviation Hall of Honor in 1983.

Dorothy Stratton

Captain Dorothy Stratton, USCGR, directed the Coast Guard’s Women’s Reserve or SPARs during the Second World War. A full professor and the dean for women at Purdue University, Stratton was the first woman accepted into the women’s reserve in 1942 and she devised the name SPAR from the Coast Guard’s motto Semper Paratus - "Always Ready." Serving in administrative and support roles, the SPARs freed desperately needed men for sea duty and made a significant contribution to the American war effort.

John F. String, Jr.

Lieutenant John F. String, Jr., USCGR, was awarded the Silver Star for: "conspicuous gallantry in action while serving as commanding officer of the USS PC 545 off Anzio, Italy on March 18, 1944. When an enemy motor torpedo boat was sighted at night. Lt, String immediately ordered the attack. With an expert display of seaman ship, he so skillfully maneuvered the ship that the first shots scored hits on the enemy craft before it was able to maneuver into position to effectively use its torpedoes and the resulting fire caused it to disintegrate in an explosion. This successful action against the enemy contributed materially to the protection of shipping in the Anzio area and to the successful maintenance of forces ashore."

Gerald W. Stuart

Lieutenant (j.g.) Gerald W. Stuart was posthumously awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for "heroic daring during a sea rescue on 18 January 1953." Stuart was a crewman on board a Coast Guard PBM that crashed offshore of mainland China while conducting a rescue of the crew of a Navy reconnaissance aircraft that had been shot down. He was killed in the crash.

Josiah Sturgis

Captain Josiah Sturgis of the U.S. Revenue Marine was the commanding officer of the revenue cutter Hamilton that gained notoriety along the coast of New England. He rescued hundreds of people and many ships in his career. He received many testimonials from Boston merchants and was so well known that a piano piece was written about his ship entitled the "Hamilton Quick Step."

Daniel James Tarr

Surfman Daniel James Tarr was awarded a Silver Star by Admiral Chester Nimitz for his combat actions during the invasion of Guadalcanal. He participated in the first wave landings at Tulagi Island. His citation reads: "For distinguishing himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity in action during the landings on Tulagi Island, whose boat with seven others, constituted the first assault wave. He landed his embarked troops and then made repeated trips during that day and the following two days, in spite of heavy enemy fire, to effect the landing of equipment, ammunition and supplies, and on September 8 he made a landing against a Japanese force at Taivu Point, Guadalcanal Island; thereby materially contributing to the successful operations in which the enemy were defeated. His conduct throughout was in keeping with the finest traditions of the United States Coast Guard." Vice Admiral Russell R. Waesche, Commandant of the Coast Guard, also promoted him to Boatswain's Mate, Second Class.

Barham F. Thomson III

Lieutenant (j.g.) Barham F. Thomson III, commanding USCGC Point Slocum, was awarded the Silver Star Medal "for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action" while serving on a Market Time patrol. On 20 June 1966 the Point Slocum went to the assistance of USCGC Point League which was in a "fierce firefight" with an enemy trawler attempting to deliver arms and ammunition to Viet Cong forces near the mouth of the Co Chien River. By the time the Point Slocum arrived on scene, the enemy trawler had been driven aground and Viet Cong forces ashore were firing on the cutters. When friendly aircraft arrived in the area, the Point Slocum passed close along the shoreline in an attempt to draw enemy fire, thereby exposing their positions to the aircraft. The cutter received some damage from enemy fire. When the trawler caught fire, he "put POINT SLOCUM alongside and proceeded to extinguish the fire. His bravery and skill in risking his vessel, first to draw the enemy fire, and then to save the captured ship and its cargo greatly contributed to the United States efforts against insurgent forces in the Republic of Vietnam and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Armed Forces."

Raymond H. Tingard

Water Tender Raymond H. Tingard, of the cutter Seneca on convoy duty during the First World War, was posthumously awarded a Navy Cross "for services in attempting to save the British merchant steamer Wellington after she had been torpedoed by a German submarine, and who lost his life when the Wellington foundered on September 17, 1918."

Carl R. Tornell

Aviation Electronicsman 1/c Carl R. Tornell was posthumously awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for "heroic daring during a sea rescue on 18 January 1953." Tornell was a crewman on board a Coast Guard PBM that crashed offshore of mainland China while conducting a rescue of the crew of a Navy reconnaissance aircraft that had been shot down. He was killed in the crash.

Samuel Travis

Captain Samuel Travis of the Revenue Marine was the commanding officer of the cutter Surveyor during the War of 1812. The cutter was boarded by the British in 1813 and captured after a brief, but spirited, engagement which so impressed the British commander that he returned Travis’s sword. He wrote:

"Your gallant and desperate attempt to defend your vessel against more than double your number, on the night of the 12 inst., excited such admiration on the part of your opponents, as I have seldom witnessed, and induces me to return you the sword you had so nobly used. . . . Our poor fellows have severely suffered; occasioned chiefly, if not solely, by the precautions you had taken to prevent surprise. In short, I am at a loss which to admire most, the arrangement on board the Surveyor, or the determined manner by which her deck was disputed, inch by inch. You have my most sincere wishes for the immediate parole and speedy exchange of yourself and brave crew. . ."

William F. Trump

Motor Machinist's Mate 1/c William F. Trump was awarded the Silver Star: "For gallantry and intrepidity in action in the assault phase of an LCI (L) which landed troops in the face of severe enemy fire and despite a profusion of beach obstacles on the coast of France June 6, 1944. Having volunteered for the assignment he waded between the heavily mined beach obstacles and dragged an anchor and anchor-line to shallow water, thereby providing a safety line for troops to follow."

William B. Turek

Lieutenant Commander William B. Turek, a marine inspector assigned to MSO Hampton Roads, gave his life in the line of duty on 3 March 1993 while inspecting the M/V Cape Diamond. During a test of the ship's carbon dioxide extinguishing system a release of a significant amount of CO2 imperiled the crew stationed in the engine room. Lieutenant Commander Turek gave his life in attempting to warn those men of the CO2 release. The Coast Guard posthumously awarded Lieutenant Commander Turek the Coast Guard Medal.

Aden C. Unger

Commander Aden C. Unger was awarded the Silver Star: "For outstanding services as a deputy assault group commander in the assault on the coast of France, June 6, 1944. He took his station close to the beach under heavy enemy fire on the day of the assault and remained under fire during the most bitter period of the fighting, when with great coolness he made decisions on the spot, reorganized, grouped and dispatched craft to the beach, and made the weight of his judgment felt in a manner which contributed materially to the success of the operation."

Larry D. Villarreal

Engineman Second Class Larry D. Villarreal, a crewman on board the cutter Point Banks on patrol in Vietnam, was awarded the Silver Star for "his heroic courage and gallantry in action while engaged in armed conflict against North Vietnamese and Viet Cong aggressors in the Republic of Vietnam on Jan. 22, 1969." He and fellow Point Banks crewman GM1 Willis J. Goff volunteered to man the cutter's launch to rescue a group of nine South Vietnamese soldiers who were trapped along a beach by two Viet Cong platoons. Under continuous enemy fire, they made two landings on the beach to rescue successfully all of the South Vietnamese soldiers. His citation read, in part: ". . .with courageous disregard for their own safety, Petty Officer Villarreal and his fellow crewmember were able to rescue the nine Vietnamese Army personnel who would have met almost certain death or capture without the assistance of the two Coast Guardsmen. Petty Officer Villarreal's outstanding heroism, professionalism, and devotion to duty and to his fellow man were in the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."

Christian Von Paulsen

Captain Christian Von Paulsen, a Coast Guard aviation pioneer, earned his wings in 1920. He helped to establish the first successful Coast Guard air unit on Ten Pound Island in Gloucester Harbor in May 1925. Using borrowed U.S. Navy aircraft, they proved that aviation was useful in carrying out traditional Coast Guard operations, including law enforcement and search and rescue. The former was important during this time as Prohibition and the consequent increases in smuggling put the national spotlight on the Coast Guard. Von Paulsen continued experimenting with different techniques, insuring that aviation would become an indispensable part of the Coast Guard. He commanded Coast Guard Air Station Cape May from 1930 to 1932 and then Air Station Miami. While he was stationed here the Treasury Department awarded him a Gold Lifesaving Medal for a daring open-sea rescue. The rescue made him famous and he appeared in the "Unsung Heroes" comic book in the mid-1930s. He was also a respected sailor and ship's captain as well, and commanded the Greenland Patrol during World War II. Von Paulsen played an instrumental role in establishing the aviation arm of the Coast Guard.

Arend Vyn, Jr.

Lieutenant junior grade Arend Vyn was awarded the Silver Star: "For gallantry in action as Commanding Officer of USS LCI-91 in the assault on the coast of France June 6 1944. Lt (j.g.) Vyn beached his ship and discharged the Army elements therein in the face of murderous fire and a labyrinth of obstacles and mines. In spite of the fact that his ship was mined and repeatedly struck by artillery fire and small-arms fire, he continued to land the army load in the face of certain loss of his ship. His determination to put the Army ashore was in keeping with the highest traditions of the offensive spirit of the United States Naval Service."

Russell R. Waesche, Sr.

Admiral Russell R. Waesche, Sr., was the commandant of the Coast Guard from 1936 through 1945. He oversaw the expansion of the Coast Guard during the Second World War and managed to keep the service’s identity intact during its four years under the control of the Navy Department during that conflict.

Kate Walker

Kate Walker, a keeper with the U.S. Lighthouse Service, served at the Robbins Reef Light from 1894 to 1919. She was originally appointed as an assistant keeper to her husband, the head keeper of the light. When he passed away in 1886 she became the head keeper and served until she retired in 1919. During her tenure, she rescued approximately 50 people who were shipwrecked near her station.

Quentin R. Walsh

Lieutenant Commander (later Captain) Quentin R. Walsh was a member of the Logistics and Planning Section, US Naval Forces during World War II. Prior to the Normandy invasion, he planned the occupation and operation of the ports that were to be captured from the Germans. During the fighting for Cherbourg in late June 1944, Walsh and Lieutenant Frank Lauer, USNR forced the surrender of Fort du Homet, a German stronghold. For his actions he was awarded a Navy Cross. His citation read: [For] "Heroism as Commanding Officer of a U.S. Naval party reconnoitering the naval facilities and naval arsenal at Cherbourg June 26 and 27, 1944. While in command of a reconnaissance party, Commander Walsh entered the port of Cherbourg and penetrated the eastern half of the city, engaging in street fighting with the enemy. He accepted the surrender and disarmed 400 of the enemy force at the naval arsenal and later received unconditional surrender of 350 enemy troops and, at the same time, released 52 captured U.S. Army paratroopers."

Robert G. Ward

Seaman 1/c Robert G. Ward was awarded the Silver Star: "For conspicuous gallantry in action during the landing operations against the enemy on Cotentin Peninsula, France, June 6, 1944. While acting as coxswain of a landing craft in the first wave, Ward successfully landed his troop personnel despite enemy opposition. Upon retracting from the beach he observed the stranded crews from two other landing craft whose boats had been destroyed by enemy mortar fire. Ward returned to the beach, took off both crews despite continued shelling, and returned safely with them to his ship."

Bernard C. Webber & the crew of the CG-36500

BM1 Bernard C. Webber, coxswain of motor lifeboat CG-36500, from Station Chatham, Massachusetts, and his crew of three rescued the crew of the stricken tanker Pendleton, which had broken in half during a storm on 18 February 1952 off the coast of Massachusetts. Webber maneuvered the 36-footer under the Pendleton's stern with expert skill as the tanker's crew, trapped in the stern section, abandoned the remains of their ship on a Jacobs ladder into the Coast Guard lifeboat. Webber and his crew of three, EN3 Andrew Fitzgerald; SN Richard Livesey; and SN Irving Maske, saved 32 of the 33 Pendleton's crewmen who were on the stern section of the ship. Webber and entire crew were awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for their heroic actions.

Robert J. Yered

Engineman First Class Robert J. Yered was awarded the Silver Star for action on 18 February 1968 while attached to Explosive Loading Detachment #1, Cat Lai, Republic of Vietnam. EN1 Yered was supervising the loading of explosives on board an ammunition ship when an enemy rocket struck a barge loaded with several tons of mortar ammunition moored alongside. His citation noted that "without regard for his personal safety, [he] exposed himself to the enemy fusillade as he helped extinguish the fire on the burning barge. . .His courageous act averted destruction of the ammunition ship, and the Army Terminal." EN1 Yered also received the Purple Heart for injuries suffered during the attack.

Hopley Yeaton, USRM

Captain Hopley Yeaton, a veteran of the Continental Navy during the American Revolution, was the first officer commissioned in what would become the Revenue Marine and commanded the revenue cutter Scammel, one of the original 10 cutters authorized by Alexander Hamilton and Congress.

August Zuleger

Assistant Master at Arms August Zuleger, of the cutter Seneca on convoy duty during the First World War, was posthumously awarded a Navy Cross "for services in attempting to save the British merchant steamer Wellington after she had been torpedoed by a German submarine, and who lost his life when the Wellington foundered on September 17, 1918."

When was the rank of Chief Petty Officer authorized for the Coast Guard and who was the first to attain the rank?

While the term Chief originated during the Civil War, it usually referred to the ship’s cook with the most rank or authority. On 25 February 1893 President Benjamin Harrison issued General Order No. 409. This executive order established an enlisted pay scale which was divided into rates and included the grade of Chief Petty Officer. Shortly thereafter, on 1 April 1893 the U.S. Navy created the grade of Chief Petty Officer. Later, the changes resulting from the merger of the Revenue Cutter Service and the U.S. Life Saving Service to form the U.S. Coast Guard in 1915 demonstrated that there was a need for the establishment of a higher enlisted authority. On 18 May 1920, therefore, the 66th Congress authorized in Chapter 190, Section 8:

That commissioned officers, warrant officers, petty officers, and other enlisted men in the Coast Guard shall receive the same pay, allowances, and increases as are now, herein are, or hereafter may be prescribed for corresponding grades or ratings and length of service in the Navy; and the grades and ratings of warrant officers, chief petty officers, petty officers, and other enlisted persons in the Coast Guard shall be the same as in the Navy, in so far as the duties of the Coast Guard may require...

That same day U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters issued General Order No. 43, Article 817 which created the rank of the chief petty officers. The first uniform of the Chief Petty Officer appeared in the 1922 Coast Guard Headquarters Uniform Regulations. Similar to that worn by CPOs in the Navy, the Coast Guard CPO Uniform was distinguished by the inclusion of the Coast Guard Shield which was 1 inch in height and was affixed on the right sleeve midway between the wrist and elbow. The symbol of the Chiefs’ authority is the anchor. Emblematic of their stability and security, it also reminds Chiefs of their responsibility to those they serve, both senior and junior.

Although 18 May 1920 is acknowledged as the day the grade of Chief Petty Officer was authorized, who the first Coast Guardsman to attain that grade has not been determined. Therefore, no particular individual can be considered the first Chief Petty Officer in the Coast Guard.

When was the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer authorized for the Coast Guard and who was the first to attain the rank?

The heritage of Senior Chief Petty Officer and Master Chief Petty Officer are intertwined. In May 1958, Congress established two additional senior enlisted pay grades, E-8 and E-9, with the enactment of Public Law 85-422. Each service was left to define its two new pay grades. Although the Coast Guard adopted the Navy’s version, Coast Guard roles did not accurately match Navy roles as the two had different missions.

Service-wide examinations for outstanding Chiefs were held on August 5, 1958.

On November 1, 1958, Master Chief Yeoman Jack Kerwin became the first Coast Guardsman to advance to E-9. A few months later, a second group of Chiefs from the February 1959 examinations were elevated to E-8 and E-9 effective on May 16, 1959.

Researched and written by MKCM G. L. "Roc" Della Rocco, USCG

Coast Guard Firsts, Lasts and/or Record Setting Achievements:

Please note that this is not an officially sanctioned list but only one put together by the Historian's Office as a means of keeping track of events of historical interest. Unless otherwise indicated the entries are made up of submissions sent to our office by the Coast Guard personnel involved as well as research by William R. Wells, II (see below).

Retired Coast Guardsman and historian William R. Wells II has published a list of firsts for officers of the Revenue Cutter Service entitled "Who's on First."

He compiled his list from his research in the original "Rosters of Officers of the Revenue Cutter Service."

Oldest:

Station--Oldest by location: Boston Light (1716)

Oldest existing structure: Sandy Hook Lighthouse (1764) (transferred to National Park Service)

Oldest commissioned boat station still in service: Sandy Hook, NJ

Oldest cutter in active service: Smilax (1 Nov 1944).

Oldest airframe in active service: HC-130H number 1500 (delivered August 1973); oldest rotary wing HH-65A number C6501 (delivered to CG on 14 Nov 1984)

Oldest structure still in service: Boston Light (1789)

In seniority, the Coast Guard is the oldest continuous sea-going service of the United States. It was created on 4 August 1790 when President George Washington signed "The Tariff Act," a bill Congress passed, that was originally written by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. The Act created a "system of cutters" charged with enforcing the new nation's customs' laws, which, at the time, were the only source of revenue for the federal government. The "system of cutters," which was eventually named the Revenue Marine, is therefore older than the United States Navy. The Continental Navy was disbanded after the end of the Revolutionary War and Congress did not authorize a "new" navy until 27 March 1794, when it passed an act that authorized the construction of six frigates of which only three were actually constructed and launched in 1797. Congress did not even create an actual Department of the Navy until 1798, administering the frigates and their crews through the Department of War up until that time! The 1794 act also authorized the creation of Marine detachments for each frigate, thereby marking the beginning of this illustrious sea service under the federal government. The United States Coast Guard, the modern descendant of the Revenue Marine, therefore predates both the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

Aviation:

First involvement in aviation: Life-Saving Service personnel from the Kill Devil Hills Lifesaving Station assisted Orville and Wilbur Wright during the world's first heavier than air flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on 17 December 1903.

First Coast Guard Aviator: Elmer Stone, 1917

First enlisted Coast Guard aviator(s): Charles T. Thrun; Walter S. Anderson; Leonard M. Melka, 1917

First Coast Guard Air-Station: Morehead City, North Carolina; 24 March 1920 [closed due to a lack of funding the following year].

First use of a Coast Guard aircraft to chase rum runners was on 20 June 1925 [Vought UO-1 out of Ten Pound Island].

First seizure of a vessel with the assistance of an aircraft occurred on 24 June 1925 [Vought UO-1 out of Ten Pound Island].

First permanent Coast Guard Air Station: Cape May, New Jersey, 1926.

First Coast Guard aviator killed in the line of duty: CHGUN Charles T. Thrun, 1935.

Records for amphibian aircraft established by Coast Guard aircraft and aviators (records certified by the Federation Aeronautique International-FAI):

Speed: 191.734 miles per hour; record established on 20 December 1934; Coast Guard Grumman piloted by CDR Elmer Stone.
173.945 miles per hour over a 100 kilometer course with a 500 kilogram load, record established on June 25, 1935; Coast Guard Grumman V-167 piloted by LT Richard L. Burke.
Altitude of 17, 877.243 feet with a 500 kilogram load, record established on 27 June 1935; Coast Guard Grumman V-167 piloted by LT Richard L. Burke.

First Coast Guardsmen to be awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross: LT C. B. Olsen on 12 May 1938.

First Coast Guard helicopter pilot: Frank A. Erickson, 1943.

First rescue mission by helicopter: Frank A. Erickson was an aviation pioneer who led the Coast Guard’s acquisition and development of rotary wing aircraft. On 3 January 1944 he piloted a HNS-1 helicopter through 25-knot winds to bring urgently needed plasma from Brooklyn to a hospital in Sandy Hook, New Jersey. The plasma was used to treat the survivors of the explosions aboard the destroyer USS Turner.

First helicopter take-off and landing aboard a ship underway at sea: LT Stewart R. Graham, on board the SS Daghestan, North Atlantic, 16 January 1944.

First Coast Guard helicopter pilot to rescue personnel from the open sea: LT Stewart R. Graham, off Manasquan, New Jersey, on 2 October 1944.

15 March - 27 July 1946: For the first time, Coast Guard aircraft supplemented the work of the Coast Guard patrol vessels of the International Ice Patrol, scouting for ice and determining the limits of the ice fields from the air. [USCG Public Information Division News Release, 31 December 1946.]

15 January 1947: The first helicopter flight to the base "Little America" in Antarctica took place. The pilot was LT James A. Cornish, USCG and he carried Chief Photographer's Mate Everett Mashburn as his observer. They flew from the Northwind.

On 6 April 1949 a U.S. Coast Guard H03S-1 [tail number 234] helicopter, piloted by then-LT Steward Graham, completed the longest unescorted helicopter flight in the world to that date. The flight was also the first unescorted transcontinental flight by a Coast Guard helicopter. The trip from Elizabeth City, NC, to Port Angeles, WA, via San Diego, CA, a distance of 3,750 miles, took 10 1/2 days to complete and involved a total flight time of 57.6 hours.

1950: Then-LT Steward Graham became the first Coast Guard pilot to exceed 1,000 hours of flying a helicopter and was the third pilot in the United States to hold this distinction.

On 17 December 1951 President Harry Truman presented the Collier Trophy to the Coast Guard, the Department of Defense and the "helicopter industry" in a joint award, citing "outstanding development and use of rotary-winged aircraft for air rescue operations." Coast Guard commandant VADM Merlin O'Neill accepted the trophy for the Coast Guard.

On 13 May 1952 the U.S. Coast Guard announced the establishment of an Organized Air Reserve Training Program, the first in U.S. Coast Guard history. Morton G. Lessans was sworn in as the first member of the Organized Air Reserve on 12 December 1951.

Bobby C. Wilks was the first African-American Coast Guard aviator (Coast Guard aviator 735) and the first African American to command a Coast Guard air station [he was the CO of AIRSTA Brooklyn]. He was also the first African American to reach the rank of Captain.

Beginning in 1959, for the first time, the U.S. Coast Guard used a helicopter instead of a small fixed-wing aircraft to support law enforcement activities of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Division of the Treasury Department. The helicopter proved to be considerably more effective than the fixed wing aircraft in locating illegal "stills."

Records for amphibian aircraft established by Coast Guard HU-16E 7255:

Speed over a 1,000 km closed course with a 1,000 kg load: Established by CDR Wallace C. Dahlgreen, USCG and CDR William G. Fenlon, USCG on 13 August 1962 at a speed of 201.5 knots.
Speed over a 1,000 km closed course with a 2,000 kg load: Established by CDR Wallace C. Dahlgreen, USCG and CDR William G. Fenlon, USCG on 13 August 1962 at a speed of 201.5 knots.
Speed over a 5,000 km closed course with a 1,000 kg load: Established on 15 and 16 September 1962 by two US Navy pilots flying Coast Guard HU-16E 7255 at a speed of 131.5 knots.
Altitude with a 1,000 kg load: Established on 12 September 1962 by two US Navy pilots flying Coast Guard HU-16E 7255 at the altitude 29, 475 feet.
Altitude with a 2,000 kg load: Established on 12 September 1962 by two US Navy pilots flying Coast Guard HU-16E 7255 at the altitude 27,405 feet.
Distance--non-stop: Established on 24 October 1962 on a flight from USCG AIRSTA Kodiak to the US Naval Air Station at Pensacola, a distance of 3,104 miles, by CDR William G. Fenlon, USCG, CDR Wallace G. Dahlgreen, USCG, LT W. Senn, USCG, and CPO W. Taggart, USCG.

CGC Mellon’s first commanding officer was CAPT Robert P. Cunningham, the first Coast Guard aviator to command a 378-foot cutter.

On 7 May 1969 Coast Guard HC-130 CG-1453 based out of AIRSTA Kodiak became the first Coast Guard aircraft to ever fly directly over the geographic North Pole. The aircraft commander was LCDR Melvin J. Hartman and the copilot was LT Larry Minor. The purpose of the flight was ice reconnaissance of a potential route for super tankers from the North Slope of Alaska to the east coast of the U.S. According to a summary of the flight published in the Commandant's Bulletin (No. 21-69; 23 May 1969, p. 6): "COAST GUARD AIRCRAFT FLIES AROUND THE WORLD NONSTOP. . .During the course of this flight, the aircraft circled the north pole, crossing all meridians in eighty seconds."

USCG at the Aviation Training Center in Mobile, AL, was the first armed force to authorize instrument ratings based strictly on simulator flight time, 1973.

First female Coast Guard aviator was Janna Lambine, who graduated from naval aviation training at NAS Whiting Field, Milton, Florida on 4 March 1977.

First woman to graduate from the Aviation Machinist's Mate "A" School was Petty Officer Robyn L. Bregante. She graduated from AD(A) School on 5 August 1977.

In 1977 AT2 Weldon "Diz" Rease became the first African-American enlisted navigator. The last Coast Guard enlisted aviator, ADCM (AP) John Pershing Greathouse, USCG, who retired in 1979. He entered Coast Guard boot training in October, 1941, and as a Seaman 1/c served at the Fort Point Lifeboat Station, CA. A year later, he entered flight training and graduated as an Aviation Pilot from the Naval Aviation Training Center, Pensacola, FL in August, 1943. He was the first Coast Guard aviator to surpass 10,000 flight hours and he passed his own flight-time record of 12,000 hours in 1973. By the time he retired he had accumulated a total of 14,146 flight hours. He was also the first person to parachute from a helicopter (along with AD3 John Smith) when he bailed out of his "ailing" HOS-1G helicopter over Philadelphia on 25 September 1945.

After a month-long training program at AIRSTA Elizabeth City, four corpsmen from the Support Center became the first corpsmen to be designated as aircrewmen on the HH-3F. They were HMC John Pettay, HM1 Jimmie Allen, HM3 David Lehmkuhl and HMS Johnny Midgett.

AD3 Carolyn DeLeo was the first woman to be awarded the Air Medal. She received it for "Meritorious Achievement in aerial flight" in 1983.

The first Coast Guardsmen to become a NASA astronaut was LCDR Bruce E. Melnick, USCG, who was accepted by NASA in 1987. He later went on to make two shuttle flights.

ASM1 Jeffery Tunks became the first Coast Guard rescue swimmer to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross after conducting a heroic rescue in December, 1987 in Alaskan waters.

Kelly Mogk, USCG was the first female rescue swimmer in the Coast Guard. Additionally she was the first female to graduate from the Navy's Rescue Swimmer School when she graduated on 23 May 1986. She earned an Air Medal for her first rescue in January, 1989.

Marilyn Melendez Dykman became the first Hispanic-American female Coast Guard aviator when she earned her wings of gold on 24 May 1991.

On 6 May 1994 the Coast Guard retired the last active HH-3F Pelican helicopter in Coast Guard service. This ended the Coast Guard's amphibious-era, as no aviation asset left in service was capable of making water landings. The final Coast Guard HH-3 flight occurred on 10 May 1994 when the HH-3 was flown from CGAS Clearwater to the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida for use as a museum artifact.

First Cuban-born Coast Guardsman promoted to CWO (Aviation): Angel L. Martinez, 1999.

The first set of the newly authorized ‘helicopter rescue swimmer insignia, or ‘wings’, were presented to the senior rescue swimmer in the Coast Guard, Master Chief Aviation Survival Technician (AST) Keith Jensen, at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C. on 19 July 2001.

In September 2002 CDR A. J. Berghorn took command of VT-2, becoming the first Coast Guard officer to command a US Navy training squadron.

In 2002, the United States Coast Guard’s Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron Ten or HITRON-10 for short became America’s first airborne law enforcement unit tasked with interdicting and stopping suspected drug-laden, high speed vessels known as ‘go-fasts.’

In December 2003 Coast Guard helicopter pilot LCDR Sidonie Bosin was recognized by the First Flight Centennial Commission's 100 Heroes Committee (formed for the commemoration of the Wright Brothers first powered flight) as being one of the "top 100 aviators of all time." She was also the first female aviation officer in charge of air detachments deployed to the Coast Guard cutter Polar Sea in the Antarctic, including one made up of an all-female flight crew.

On 24 June 2005 LTJG Jeanine McIntosh-Menze was awarded her wings at a ceremony at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, after completing training there. She was the first African-American female Coast Guard aviator.

On 1 January 2008 CDR Jose (Tony) Saliceti became the Coast Guard's first qualified Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) pilot and was designated CG UAS Pilot No. 1.

In October 2010 LTJG La'Shanda Holmes became the first African-American female helicopter pilot in the Coast Guard.

Marine Safety & Security:

The first Cutterman and Chamorro (native Pacific Islander from the Mariana Islands) to be Captain of the Port was Juan T. Salas, Marine Safety Office Guam, 1992-1994.

In June, 2002, CAPT Jane M. Hartley, USCGR, was designated as the Commanding Officer of Marine Safety Office Wilmington, North Carolina and as such became the first woman in the Coast Guard to become Captain of the Port.

Then-LCDR Gerard A. Williams became the first African-American to command an MSST when he took command of MSST 91102 (Chesapeake) in 2004.

In 1962 YNC (CRXI) Frank Cook Sanders became the first African-American to be selected as a Coast Guard Intelligence and Law Enforcement Agent. In 1968 he was designated as a Marine Investigating Officer while serving MIO San Francisco. Chief Sanders retired in from the Coast Guard in 1968 and went on to another distinguished career, this time with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, where he retired in 1988.

In 2010 ME3 Michael Carpenter and David McIver became the first certified Precision Marksman - Observer Team (PM-OT) in the Coast Guard.

Aids to Navigation:

Lighthouse Facts:

First lighthouse - Boston, MA (1716)
Oldest original lighthouse in service - Sandy Hook, NJ (1764)
Newest shoreside lighthouse - Charleston, SC (1962)
Only triangular-shaped lighthouse tower - Charleston, SC (1962)
Only lighthouse equipped with an elevator - Charleston, SC (1962)
Tallest lighthouse - Cape Hatteras, NC (191 ft)
First American-built West Coast lighthouse - Alcatraz Lighthouse (1854)
First lighthouse to have a Fresnel lens installed - Navesink lights (First & Second Order lenses; 1841)
First lighthouse to use electricity - Statue of Liberty (1886)
First Great Lakes lighthouses - Buffalo, NY & Erie, PA (1818)
Most expensive lighthouse (adjusted cost) - St. George’s Reef, CA (1891)
First lighthouse built completely by the Federal Government - Montauk Point, NY (1797)
Founding of the U.S. Lighthouse Service - 7 August 1789
U.S. Lighthouse Service merged with the Coast Guard - 7 July 1939
Second most powerful lighthouse in the world (and most powerful in the Western Hemisphere) - Charleston, SC (1962)

On 11 June 1764 the Sandy Hook Lighthouse, at the south point of the entrance to New York Harbor, was first lighted. Today, its octagonal tower, built by Mr. Isaac Conro of New York City with money collected by a group of New York merchants, is the oldest original light tower still standing and in use in the United States.

In 1820 the first U.S. government lightship, a decked-over small boat, took station off Craney Island, Virginia.

The lightship variously known as "ZZ", Aurora Borealis or "Northeast Pass" was the first U.S. lightship on an exposed station when it entered service in 1820 off the outside of the Northeast Pass entrance of the Mississippi River. The 1822 edition of The American Coast Pilot by Edmund M. Blunt noted: "A vessel with a floating light is moored by a chain and anchor, 1 1/4 mile due south of the bar of the N. E. pass of the Mississippi, between Wallace's and Bird islands, in lat. 29Â° 8' 40" N. and 5 miles E. by N. 1/2 N. of the block-house at the Balize, and 1 3/4 mile E. by S. 3/4S. from the unfinished lighthouse on Frank's island, which station she will not leave unless driven by stress of the weather. By day she will be known by having a white flag with a red cross hoisted upon her mainmast. By night her lantern will be hoisted 45 feet above the level of the water upon her mainmast. A large bell is suspended near the windlass of this light vessel, which will be kept tolling during foggy weather both night and day; this bell may be heard 6 miles with the wind, and 4 miles against it, in moderate weather."

Anthony Christy, keeper of the Christiana Lighthouse in Delaware, died on duty in September 1862 at the age of 105. He was the oldest lighthouse keeper on record.

On 23 August 1893, the Lighthouse Board reported that "This was the first instance in the history of the United States Light-House Establishment in which a light-ship has foundered at her moorings," when Lightship No. 37 was lost in rough seas at her station at Five Fathom Bank off the entrance to Delaware Bay.

On 23 May 1946 Commodore Edward M. Webster, USCG, headed the U.S. Delegation to the International Meeting on Radio Aids to Marine Navigation, which was held in London, England. As a result of this meeting, the principal maritime nations of the world would make an intensive study of the World War II-developed devices of radar, LORAN, radar beacons, and other navigational aids with a view to adapt them to peacetime use. This was the first time that the wartime technical secrets of radar and LORAN were generally disclosed to the public.

On January 31, 1948- Mrs. Fannie M. Salter, keeper of the Turkey Point Lighthouse in upper Chesapeake Bay since 1925 and the last woman keeper of a lighthouse in the United States, retired from active service. This ended nearly 150 years during which women were employed as keepers of United States lighthouses.

In 1956, Captain Gavin L. Field, Master of the Lightship Savannah, retired from the service at the age of seventy. He was the last civilian master of a lightship to serve in the Coast Guard. He joined the U.S. Lighthouse Service in 1937 and stayed in when the Lighthouse Service was merged with the Coast Guard in 1939. He elected to remain in a civilian status during his Coast Guard career.

Keeper Joseph Hindley and his wife Charlotte were the last civilian lighthouse keepers in the Coast Guard. They retired from service at the Nobska Lighthouse in November, 1973.

CWO4 William Musual retired from the Coast Guard on 1 November 1973. His last assignment was as the commanding officer of Station Castle Hill, RI. He was the last uniformed active duty Coast Guardsmen who had also served in the U.S. Lighthouse Service.

1978/79: Jeanette Roberts Burr became the light-keeper of the New Dungeness Light Station, becoming the first uniformed Coast Guard woman to become a light-keeper. She was the first woman light-keeper since Fannie Mae Salter (who retired in 1947), a civilian Coast Guard employee.

On 31 December 1981 the 14 remaining LORAN-A stations closed down at midnight, ending Loran-A coverage, which began during World War II.

Last lightship in the Coast Guard: Nantucket I, WLV-612; Decommissioned 29 March 1985.

Ocean/Weather Stations, Marine Science & Environmental Protection:

The first environmental protection mission assigned to the Coast Guard came in 1822 when Congress created a timber reserve for Navy shipbuilding and authorized the President to use whatever force was necessary to prevent cutting of live oak on public lands. The President ordered that revenue cutters assist in enforcing the provision.

The ocean station program was formally established on 25 January 1940 under order from President Franklin Roosevelt.

The cutters Duane and Bibb were the first cutters to undertake ocean-weather station patrols. Their first transmissions regarding meteorological data were on 10 February 1940.

The Coast Guard's formal Ocean Station Program ended on 30 June 1974 with the closing of stations "Bravo" in the Atlantic and "November" in the Pacific. Station "Hotel" remained active but was not considered part of the OS Program and remained in use until 1977.

The cutter Taney departed Ocean Station "Hotel" on 30 September 1977 when the station was closed and replaced by a buoy. This was the final ocean station patrolled by a Coast Guard cutter.

An oil spill along the coast of California off San Francisco in 1998 was traced to a 717-foot Liberian-flagged tanker Command. A Coast Guard boarding team took samples of her cargo and matched it to oil found along the coast. A Coast Guard spokesman noted: "This is the first time the Coast Guard has pursued an oil spill investigation into the international arena to the extent of stopping and boarding a vessel on the high seas, with permission of the vessel's flag state."

Cutter, Tender & Small Boat Operations:

First cutter to be launched: Vigilant, launched in March, 1791.

Although she was launched later than a number of other cutters, by tradition the cutter Massachusetts is considered to be the first to actually enter active service.

First commissioned Revenue officer: Hopley Yeaton, commission dated 21 March 1791.

First Revenue "squadron" cruise on record: Scammel sailed on patrol with Massachusetts in November, 1791.

On 16 December 1831 Secretary of Treasury John McLane ordered Revenue cutters to conduct "winter cruises." The cutter Gallatin became the first cutter "directly authorized by the government to assist mariners in distress."

On 22 December 1837 Congress authorized President "to cause any suitable number of public vessels, adapted to the purpose, to cruise upon the coast, in the severe portion of the season, and to afford aid to distressed navigators." First statute authorizing activities in the field of maritime safety. Thus interjecting the national government into the field of lifesaving for the first time. Although revenue cutters were specifically mentioned, the performance of this duty was imposed primarily upon the Revenue Marine Service and quickly became one of its major activities.

First steam-powered cutter was the Legare, which entered service in 1844.

First U.S. ship to police U.S. continental waters on the Pacific coast was the cutter Lawrence in San Francisco harbor, 1849. She reached the west coast by sailing around Cape Horn.

First Lieutenant Michael Healy became the first African-American to command a vessel of the United States Government when he was appointed as the commanding officer of the Revenue Cutter Chandler in 1877.

Last sailing cutter built for the Revenue Service: Chase, completed 6 August 1878.

On 3 May 1882 the Treasury Department reported that the crew of the Revenue Cutter Oliver Wolcott deserted their ship. No reason was given for their desertion. This was the first and only time a crew deserted their cutter.

The McCulloch was the first cutter to transit the Suez Canal when she sailed from the east coast to join the Navy's Asiatic Squadron in Hong Kong in the spring of 1898.

First cutter to use wireless telegraph: Grant in 1903.

Light Vessel No. 58 was the first U.S. vessel of any type to transmit a distress call by radio when on 10 December 1905, during a heavy gale, while relieving Nantucket LV 66, a serious leak developed in fire-room compartment; suction pumps clogged repeatedly; distress messages sent by radio were handled by Newport Naval Station in Rhode Island. Rising water eventually extinguished the boiler furnaces and the ship was then bailed by hand for 24 hours. Tender Azalea responded, arriving at 0400 on December 11 and started towing about 1100. Heavy cross seas hindered the operation and about 4 hours later, the lightship signaled "must abandon". Her crew was safely taken aboard Azalea and 10 minutes later LV 58, listing heavily to starboard, went down by the stern in 25 fathoms of water about 18 miles northwest of the station.

In 1921, the first synchro-turbo electric drive on ships in any of the U.S. services was introduced by Captain Quincy B. Newman, Engineer-in-Chief of the U.S. Coast Guard. They were to be used in his Tampa-class cutters. He designed both the Tampa-class cutters and their revolutionary drive systems.

Clarence Samuels assumed command of the Coast Guard Patrol Boat AB-15 on 18 July 1928, thereby becoming the first African-American to command a Coast Guard vessel.

The cutter Sea Cloud became the first U.S. military vessel to sail with a fully racially-integrated crew when it set sail in November 1943. Approximately half of the crew, including three commissioned officers, were African-American.

On 22 August 1944 the Liberty ship SS Alexander V. Frazer, named for the "first" commandant of the service, was launched.

LTJG Clarence Samuels became the first African-American to command a cutter since Michael Healy and the first to achieve command during wartime when he assumed command of the Light Vessel No. 115 on 28 July 1944.

The cutters Spar, Bramble, and Storis became the first U.S. vessels to transit the Northwest Passage in July 1957. The Spar also became the first U.S. vessel to circumnavigate the North American continent as well.

In 1960-61 the icebreaker CGC Eastwind became the first cutter to ever circumnavigate the globe. She departed Boston on 25 October 1960, transited the Panama Canal, crossed the Pacific Ocean, visited New Zealand and then participated in Operation Deep Freeze in Antarctica. She sailed home via the Indian Ocean, Suez Canal, the Mediterranean Sea, through the Straits of Gibraltar, and arrived back at Boston in May, 1961.

The icebreaker CGC Eastwind was the first cutter to ever circumnavigate Antarctica. She accomplished this historic feat during Operation Deep Freeze 1967. Eastwind was also the first ship to circumnavigate Antarctica since 1843.

On 13 October 1968 CGC Southwind departed Baltimore, Maryland for a seven-month deployment to Antarctica and other world-wide destinations. By the time she returned to Baltimore on 7 May 1969 she had become only the second cutter in Coast Guard history to circumnavigate the globe.

CGC Mellon’s first commanding officer was CAPT Robert P. Cunningham, who was the first Coast Guard aviator to command a 378-foot cutter.

In 1976 CGC Boutwell rolled 68-degrees in a storm on her way to Alaska for a fisheries patrol--the greatest roll on record for any cutter.

The first woman to command a U.S. "military vessel" was Beverly Kelley, who took command of the CGC Cape Newagen on 12 April 1979.

LTJG Mary Jane East Wixson was the third female Coast Guardsman and the first female Coast Guard Academy graduate to command a cutter when she took command of the Cape Straight.

In 1981 Cecelia (Oakes) Stoutamire became the first African-American female assigned to an icebreaker.

The icebreaker CGC Polar Star became the second cutter to circumnavigate Antarctica in 1982.

The first Chamorro (native Pacific Islander from the Mariana Islands) to command a cutter was Juan T. Salas when he took command of CGC Lipan (WMEC 85) in 1986.

The first enlisted woman Officer in Charge of a cutter was Chief Boatswains Mate Diane Bucci who commanded the Capstan commencing in September 1988.

First woman chief petty officer to serve afloat: YNC Patricia Stolle, USCG, on board the Mellon in 1982.

First female to command a Coast Guard cutter in the Great Lakes: Sandra Stosz took command of the CGC Katmai Bay at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, 10 August 1990.

CAPT Joseph H. Jones: First African-American to Pre-Com a cutter -- PRECOMDET NEAH BAY -- Portsmouth, VA; First African-American to command a 140 foot ice breaking tug in the Great Lakes --- NEAH BAY; First African-American to Command a 210 foot Medium Endurance Cutter -- CGC RELIANCE in New Castle, NH; First African-American to Command a 378 foot High Endurance Cutter -- CGC DALLAS in New York, NY. Also, he had command of three cutters, XO, OPS, DWO -- assigned to 6 cutters: OWASCO -- HEC; VIGOROUS --WMEC; NEAH BAY -- WTGB; UNIMAK -- WHEC; RELIANCE -- WMEC; DALLAS -- WHEC.

CGC Cape Hatteras (WPB 95305), decommissioned on 18 March 1991, was the last 95-foot patrol boat in the Coast Guard. (She was then transferred to Mexico).

In 1991 LTJG Katherine Tiongson (nee Faverey) took command of CGC Bainbridge Island, becoming the first Hispanic-American female to command an afloat unit. She was also the first Hispanic-American female intelligence officer in the Coast Guard.

On 16 November 1992 CGC Storis became the cutter with the longest service in the Bering Sea, eclipsing the U.S. Revenue Cutter Bear which had held that distinction since 1929. The Bear was decommissioned in 1929 after serving in the Bering Sea for 44 years and two months.

In 1993 BM2 Kathy Niles was the first woman to qualify on the 47-foot MLB (47200).

On 15 December 1994 BM2 Jeralyn L. Mandell became the first female surfman qualified on the 52-foot MLB (she also qualified on the 44-footer).

CGCs Monomoy and Pea Island became the first WPBs to integrate women in the crew. To that time women had only been part of the WPBs' command cadre.

The icebreaker CGC Polar Sea became the first U.S. surface vessel to reach the North Pole on 22 August 1994. She sailed with the CCCS Louis S. Ste. Laurent.

Bryon Ing was the first Chinese-American Coast Guardsman to command a Medium Endurance Cutter when he commanded CGC Venturous from 1995-1997.

In the fall of 1996, CGC Morgenthau was the first U.S. Coast Guard Cutter to deploy to the Arabian Gulf. Participating in Operation Vigilant Sentinel, Morgenthau enforced Iraq’s compliance with United Nations sanctions.

CGC Ironwood (WLB-297) was the last commissioned U.S. vessel still in service that earned the Korean Service Medal.

CGC Forward became the first medium endurance cutter to circumnavigate South America when it deployed for four months to South America in 1999.

LTJG Kathy Niles became the first woman to command an 87-foot WPB in 1999 when she took command of CGC Stingray at Mobile, Alabama.

CGC Sherman became the third cutter to circumnavigate the globe when she returned on 13 July 2001 from a six-month deployment to the Arabian Gulf--the first was Eastwind in 1960.

Coast Guard Auxiliarist Robert D. Dittman, a public affairs staff officer with Flotilla 74, Eighth Coast Guard District, became the first sightless Coast Guard employee to serve on board a cutter. He sailed aboard CGC Dallas on 22 May 2002.

CGC Matagorda, a 110-foot Island Class patrol boat, became the first cutter to begin the Integrated Deepwater System modernization and life extension overhaul when she was decommissioned on 7 February 2003 at the Bollinger Shipyard in Lockport, LA.

LT Jorge Martinez assumed command of CGC Maui on 5 June 2003, becoming the first Cuban-American to command a Coast Guard cutter.

CGC Aquidneck was the first cutter to enter a drydock availability in war zone since the Vietnam war. The availability occurred in 2003 and was held in the Kingdom of Bahrain The Port Engineer assigned to oversee the critical availability was MKCS Della Rocco. The successful availability became the template for the dozens of Coast Guard availabilities that followed.

CAPT Patrick Trapp was the first Korean-American commanding officer of a cutter - the 82-foot patrol boat CGC Point Camden, out of Long Beach, California. CAPT Trapp was also the first Korean-American to command a sector.

CAPT Jeffrey Lee was the first Korean-American to graduate from Coast Guard OCS (1983). CAPT Lee was the first Korean-American commanding officer of a 95-foot cutter - CGC Cape Cross (WPB-95321). CAPT Lee was the first Korean-American commanding officer of an icebreaking tug, the 140-foot Biscayne Bay (WTGB-104). CAPT Lee was the first Korean-American executive officer of a 378-foot cutter, the Hamilton (WHEC-715). CAPT Lee was the first Korean-American to teach at the Leadership Development Center. CAPT Lee was the first Korean-American to command a high endurance cutter, the Hamilton, taking command on 19 June 2006.

LTJG Angelina Hidalgo became the second Hispanic female to command an afloat unit, 2002. She was also the second Hispanic female intelligence officer.

The first active-duty women in the Coast Guard to serve in a combat zone occurred when CGC Boutwell served in the Northern-Arabian Gulf in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom from January 2003 to June 2003.

CAPT Charley L. Diaz assumed command of USCGC Sherman in 2005, becoming the first Hispanic-American to command a 378-foot cutter. While under his command in March, 2007, Sherman seized the M/V Gatun with nearly 20 tons of cocaine on board, the largest maritime drug smuggling bust in U.S. history.

LT Rachel Lewis was the first African-American female officer to serve aboard USCGB Eagle as Command Cadre (Operations Officer), 2006-2008.

In 2006 CGC Sequoia made a port call at Shanghai in support of the IALA conference, becoming the first cutter since World War II to visit a Chinese port. The CGC Rush made a port call in China one week later.

CWO2 Apple G. Pryor, assigned as the Main Propulsion Assistant onboard the CGC Boutwell, was the first African-American female Naval Engineering Chief Warrant Officer of the Coast Guard, 2006.

In 2008, CAPT Jeffrey Lee retired. CAPT Jeffrey Lee was the first Korean-American to go through and graduate Coast Guard OCS (1981). He became the first Korean-American to command a 95-footer, an icebreaker, and a High Endurance Cutter. He commanded CGC Hamilton when the cutter seized more than 1.6 billion dollars worth of contraband in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and also shared in the largest drug bust in maritime history by capturing 19.5 metric tons of cocaine.

LT Felicia Thomas took command of the CGC Pea Island on 19 June 2009. She is the first African-American female commanding officer of a Coast Guard cutter.

LT Carrie Wolfe and LT Olivia Grant became the first African-American female Engineering Officers on a major cutter when they reported on board CGC Spencer and CGC Venturous respectively in the summer of 2009.

SAR & Medals & Awards:

On 16 December 1831 Secretary of Treasury John McLane ordered Revenue cutters to conduct "winter cruises." The Revenue Cutter Gallatin became the first cutter "directly authorized by the government to assist mariners in distress."

On 3 March 1847 Congress appropriated $5000 "for furnishing lighthouses on the Atlantic Coast with means of rendering assistance to shipwrecked mariners." It was not used until 1849 when it was turned over to Massachusetts Humane Society for boathouses on Cape Cod. On the same date, an item added to the lighthouse appropriation bill for 1848 (9 Stat. L., 175, 176) provided for "furnishing the lighthouses on the Atlantic coast with means of rendering assistance to shipwrecked mariners." These were the first appropriations by the national government for rendering assistance from the shore to the shipwrecked.

Keeper Malachi Corbell saved two African-American fishermen whose boat capsized near Caffey's Inlet, North Carolina and in June 1877 became the first member of the U.S. Life-Saving Service to win the Congressional life-saving medal. He was awarded a Silver Lifesaving Medal.

In 1875 the first Gold Life Saving Medal ever awarded was presented to Captain Lucien M. Clemens of the U.S. Life-Saving Service in Marblehead, Ohio, who was captain of one of the first life saving stations on the Great Lakes. Medals were also given to his brothers, Al and Hubbard. They rescued six crew and a female cook from the sinking schooner Consuelo in an open rowboat.

"To evaluate its use in lighthouse work, radio equipment was installed experimentally on Nantucket Lightship in August of 1901. On December 10, 1905, while riding out a severe gale, Lightship No. 58 on the Nantucket Shoals Station sprang a serious leak. There being no recognized radio distress signal at that time, the operator could only repeatedly spell out the word "help". Although no reply was received Newport Navy station (radio) intercepted the call and passed it on to the proper authorities. The lightship tender Azalea was dispatched to the assistance of Lightship No. 58, and upon arrival at the scene passed a towline. The long tow to a safe harbor began, but after a few hours it was quite evident that Lightship No. 58 was sinking. Azalea took off her crew of thirteen men only minutes before she sank. This pioneer use of radio had indeed proved Its worth in rescue operations."

SPAR Marjorie Bell Stewart was awarded the Silver Lifesaving Medal by CAPT Dorothy Stratton, becoming the first SPAR to receive the award.

The Coast Guard Medal was established on 4 August 1949. It is the highest award for heroism not involving combat with an enemy that can be awarded by the Coast Guard.

Boatswain's Mate 3/c Raymond A. Johnson and Engineman 3/c were the first Coast Guardsmen to be awarded the Coast Guard Medal. They received the new medal on 13 June 1958.

On 28 April 1960 LTJG Kenneth R. Rider was awarded the Coast Guard Medal, the first Coast Guard officer to receive the award.

On 6 September 1966 GM1 Lester K. Gates was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with a combat "V" device for "meritorious service and action against the enemy" while serving on board Point White (WPB-82308) in Vietnam. The Point White attacked and captured a Viet Cong junk while patrolling the Soi Rap River. GM1 Gates was the first enlisted Coast Guardsman to be awarded the Bronze Star since World War II.

4 April 1972: BMC (later BMCM) Thomas D. McAdams became the first Coast Guardsmen to receive the new Coxswain insignia. Then-Commandant Chester Bender presented the insignia to Chief McAdams at a ceremony at the Coast Guard's Small Boat School in Ilwaco, Washington, where McAdams was the OIC.

On 21 June 1979, SN Ina J. Toavs was awarded the Coast Guard Medal, the first woman to receive the award.

ASM1 Jeffery Tunks became the first Coast Guard rescue swimmer to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross after conducting a heroic rescue in December, 1987 in Alaskan waters.

In 1995 BM2 Kathy Niles became the first woman to win the Munro Award.

On November 24, 1995, Dauntless rescued 578 migrants from a grossly overloaded 75 foot coastal freighter, the largest number of migrants rescued from a single vessel in Coast Guard history.

LT Nicole Carter was the first African-American female officer to receive a permanent Cutterman's Pin.

On May 5, 2004 the Coast Guard presented the Purple Heart to BM3 Joseph Ruggiero in Miami for injuries sustained while defending the Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal in Iraq on April 24, 2004. Ruggiero, the first Coast Guard recipient of the Purple Heart since the Vietnam War, received the award from VADM James D. Hull, Commander Coast Guard Atlantic Area. Ruggiero's shipmate, DC3 Nathan Bruckenthal was killed in this same bombing and was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

Ice & Arctic Operations:

December 1946-January 1947: CGC Northwind became the first Coast Guard cutter to cross the Antarctic Circle. Northwind's crew also managed to rack up a number of other firsts for their voyage south: First ever baseball game played that far south; first double-header played that far south (and without the aid of electric lights); the first golf tournament played on Antarctica; and the first helicopter flight to the base "Little America," the pilot was LT James A. Cornish, USCG and he carried Chief Photographer's Mate Everett Mashburn as his observer.

In July, 1957 CGCs Spar, Bramble, and Storis become the first U.S. vessels to transit the Northwest Passage. Spar became the first U.S. vessel to circumnavigate the continent during the year as well.

Eastwind made history when she became the first cutter to ever circumnavigate the globe in 1960-61. She departed Boston on 25 October 1960, transited the Panama Canal, crossed the Pacific Ocean, visited New Zealand and then participated in Operation Deep Freeze in Antarctica. She sailed home via the Indian Ocean, Suez Canal, the Mediterranean Sea, through the Straits of Gibraltar, and arrived back at Boston in May, 1961.

CGC Eastwind was the first cutter to ever circumnavigate Antarctica. She accomplished this historic feat during Operation Deep Freeze 1967. Eastwind was also the first ship to circumnavigate Antarctica since 1843.

On 25 August 1971 the Secretary of Transportation announced the awarding of a contract to the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle, WA, "to build the world’s most powerful icebreaker for the US Coast Guard," Polar Star, the first of the Polar-Class of icebreakers.

On 29 July 1970 CGC Vigorous became the first 210-foot cutter to cross the Arctic Circle. This took place while she was part of the 1970 Cadet Cruise Squadron. At the time, CDR George Wagner, USCG, was the commanding officer.

SN Cecelia M. (Oakes) Stoutamire became the first African-American woman to be assigned to an icebreaker when she reported aboard CGC Glacier in 1981. She also became the first African-American woman to participate in an Operation Deep Freeze cruise while aboard, participating with Glacier during Operation Deep Freeze 1981.

In 1982 CGC Polar Star became the second cutter to circumnavigate Antarctica.

CGC Polar Sea became the first U.S. surface vessel to reach the North Pole on 22 August 1994. She sailed in concert with the CCCS Louis S. Ste. Laurent.

AMT1 Mark R. Mobley, USCG, was the first active duty Coast Guardsman to stand on the North Pole, August 22, 1994. He was assigned to the Aviation Attachment on board CGC Polar Sea during its historic 1994 voyage to the North Pole.

Law Enforcement:

The first recorded narcotics seizure by a cutter occurred on 31 August 1890 when the USRC Wolcott, stationed in the Straits of Juan de Fuca, boarded and discovered a quantity of undeclared opium on the U.S. flagged steamer George E. Starr. The cutter seized both the vessel and the opium for violations of Customs laws.

First use of a Coast Guard aircraft to chase rum runners was on 20 June 1925 [Vought UO-1 out of Ten Pound Island].

First seizure of a vessel with the assistance of an aircraft occurred on 24 June 1925 [Vought UO-1 out of Ten Pound Island].

CGC Vigorous was the first cutter to make a seizure of a foreign-flag fishing vessel in the high seas when she seized the Italian fishing vessel Tontini Pesca Cuarto for illegally taking lobster on 31 January 1975. All of the other fishery seizures prior to this were of vessels that had violated territorial seas (TS) or Contiguous Fishing Zone (CFZ). At the time, Vigorous was under the command of CDR Paul Welling, USCG. The arresting officer was ENS S.T. Fuger, Jr., USCG.

CGC Sherman set the record for the largest USCG maritime-marijuana seizure to date when she seized the M/V Don Emilio on 13 October 1976 100 miles off the coast of Acklins Island, Bahamas.

In April of 1977 CGC Decisive made the first seizure of a foreign-flag vessel under the new Magnuson Fisheries Conservation and Management Act of 1976 [FCMA] when she seized the 275-foot Soviet trawler Taras Shevchenko on Georges Bank with a cargo of illegally caught fish. After spending a month detained in Boston, the Taras Shevchenko forfeited her cargo and paid $250,000 in fines before being released.

On 6 June 1979 CDR George R. Rinch was the first Coast Guardsman to graduate from the FBI National Academy at Quantico, Virginia.

On 1 March 1982 CGC Vigilant seized the fishing vessel Lady Jay on Georges Bank for violating the FCMA which prohibited fishing in the area for cod, haddock and yellowtail flounder during the spawning season, from March to May. It was the first Coast Guard seizure of a domestic vessel made under the FCMA.

On 9 August 1982- The Department of Defense approved the use of Coast Guard law enforcement detachments (LEDETs) on board Navy vessels during peace-time. The teams conducted law enforcement boardings from Navy vessels for the first time in U.S. history.

On 1 November 1984 the largest USCG maritime-marijuana bust to date in West Coast history took place as CGC Clover seized the 63-foot yacht Arrikis 150 miles southwest of San Diego. The yacht was loaded with 13 tons of marijuana.

On 4 November 1984 CGC Northwind seized the P/C Alexi I off Jamaica for carrying 20 tons of marijuana, becoming the first icebreaker to make a narcotics seizure and breaking the record set by CGC Sherman in 1976.

CGC Taney seized the M/V Sea Maid I on 4 October 1985 300 miles off Virginia. Sea Maid I was towing a barge loaded with 16 tons of marijuana. This seizure tied the record set by CGC Sherman in 1976 but did not surpass CGC Northwind's record marijuana seizure of 20 tons set the year before.

On 8 May 1987 Coast Guard units, including CGC Ocracoke, made the largest seizure of cocaine by the Coast Guard to date: 1.9 tons.

1988: LTJG John T. Broadway became the first African-American OIC of a LEDET when he took command of Group Cape Hatteras LEDET in September, 1988.

On 19 August 1994, Operation Able Vigil commences during a massive influx of Cuban migrants fleeing Cuba. It was the "largest joint peace-time operation" in Coast Guard history, according to the then-commandant, ADM Robert Kramek.

1995: LT Ricky Sharpe became the first African-American CO of a TACLET when he took command of TACLET Gulf. In July 1995, one of his LEDET's, under the command of LTJG Robert Landolfi out of Mobile, seized the F/V Nataly I when the team discovered 24,325 pounds of cocaine hidden on board, making this the largest U.S. maritime seizure of cocaine to date.

On November 24, 1995, CGC Dauntless rescued 578 migrants from a grossly overloaded 75 foot coastal freighter, the largest number of migrants rescued from a single vessel in Coast Guard history.

LT Jose L. Rodriguez was the first Hispanic to command a TACLET when he took command of TACLET South, 1996-1998.

On 1 October 1996, Operation Frontier Shield commenced. It was the largest counter-narcotics operation in Coast Guard history to-date.

In June, 1998, the cutters Boutwell, Jarvis, Polar Sea, Coast Guard aircraft, along with two Russian fisheries patrol vessels seized a total of four Chinese fishing vessels suspected of high-seas driftnet fishing. This was the largest high-seas driftnet fisheries bust ever for the Coast Guard.

Lucille "Pam" Thompson became the First African-American woman to serve as a Coast Guard Special Agent. She served as a Special Agent from July, 2000 to July, 2004.

On 28 April 2001 a LEDET assigned to the USS Rodney M. Davis, with later assistance from the Active (based in Port Angeles, WA) made the largest cocaine seizure in maritime history (to date) when they boarded and seized the Belizean F/V Svesda Maru 1,500 miles south of San Diego. The fishing vessel was carrying 26,931 pounds of cocaine.

CGC Dauntless became the first cutter in history to seize one million pounds of marijuana, an accomplishment signified by a large gold marijuana leaf painted on her superstructure. As of 2002, Dauntless had over 85 illegal narcotics "busts" to her credit, more than any other cutter.

Special Agent Andrew B. Clapp, Coast Guard Investigative Service, was the first (and to date, the only) Coast Guard agent to achieve: Honor Graduate of the Year, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynco, Georgia, for the year 2002. Preceded by Honor Graduate of the Criminal Investigator Training Program at FLETC (2002, class number CITP-222).

In 2004 the Coast Guard made the largest cocaine seizure in its history (to date) when Coast Guard and Navy forces located and seized 30,000 pounds of cocaine aboard the fishing vessel Lina Maria approximately 300 miles southwest of the Galapagos Islands. LEDET 108, embarked aboard the USS Curts, made the seizure. A second Coast Guard and Navy team intercepted the Lina Maria's sister ship, the fishing vessel San Jose, 500 miles west of the Galapagos, and discovered and seized 26,250 pounds of cocaine.

On 18 March 2007 the Coast Guard made the largest cocaine seizure in its history (to date) when CGCs Hamilton and Sherman seized 42,845 pound of cocaine aboard the Panamanian-flagged M/V Gatun off the coast of Panama. The Gatun was first located by an HC-130 on 17 March.

On 15 June 2009 law enforcement officers from the 14th Coast Guard District reported aboard the USS Crommelin (FFG-37) to support U.S. Coast Guard fisheries enforcement in Oceania in an operation called the "Fight for Fish" mission. It marked the first time a Navy warship was utilized "to transit the Western Pacific enforcing fishing regulations in a joint effort with the Coast Guard to stop illegal fishing in this region."

National Defense & Military Preparedness:

On 10 October 1798, Secretary Stoddert, first Secretary of the Navy, sent first instructions to cutters acting in cooperation with Navy via collectors of customs. This was in the beginning of the first "war" fought by the United States: The Quasi-War with France. The U.S. only had the revenue cutters as a naval force ready to meet French navy warships and privateers as there was as yet no warships in the Navy. The cutters, with privateers, first upheld the new nation's dignity on the high seas in this war.

The Revenue Cutter Service cutter Harriet Lane fired the first naval shot of the Civil War on 12 April 1861 when she stopped the steamer Nashville with a shot across the bow when the Nashville refused to show her colors off Charleston. The Harriet Lane was under the command of Revenue Captain John Faunce and the famous shot was fired by Revenue Lieutenant Daniel D. Thompkins.

On 13 August 1864 Revenue Captain Thomas M. Dungan became the first Revenue officer to be killed in action against the enemy. He was the commanding officer of the cutter Reliance and perished during an attack on Confederate forces when the cutter was five miles up the great Wicomico River (as per William R. Wells, II "Who's on First").

First vessel to carry the news of Admiral George Dewey's victory over the Spanish fleet at Manila was the Revenue cutter McCulloch, which carried news of the victory from Manila to Hong Kong, where it was put out via telegraph. In joining Dewey's fleet the McCulloch made a number of firsts, including being the first cutter to transit the Suez Canal and the first to sail in the western Pacific.

The Coast Guard made the first capture of enemy forces by any U.S. service in World War II when the cutter Northland seized the Norwegian vessel Buskoe off the coast of Greenland. The Norwegians were in the service of Nazi Germany and were attempting to establish a weather station along the Greenland shore.

Signalman 1/c Douglas Munro was the first and only Coast Guardsman to be awarded the Medal of Honor.

On 17 April 1943, Lieutenant Ross P. Bullard and Boatswain's Mate First Class C. S. "Mike" Hall boarded the U-175 at sea after their cutter, the Spencer, blasted the U-boat to the surface with depth charges. They were part of a boarding party sent to seize the U-boat before the crew could scuttle it. The damage to the U-boat was severe, however, and it sank after both had boarded it and climbed the conning tower. Both men ended up in the water as the U-boat slipped beneath the waves. Nevertheless, they carry the distinction of being the first American servicemen to board an enemy warship underway at sea since the War of 1812.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Clarence Samuels became the first African-American to command a major vessel since Michael Healy and the first to achieve command during wartime when he assumed command of the Light Vessel No. 115 on 28 July 1944.

The Coast Guard Cutter USCG 83434 became the first and only cutter to host an official surrender ceremony when Imperial Japanese Army Second Lieutenant Kinichi Yamada surrendered the garrison of Aguijan Island on board the cutter, 4 September 1945. Rear Admiral Marshall R. Greer, USN, accepted the surrender for the United States.

On 6 September 1966 GM1 Lester K. Gates was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with a combat "V" device for "meritorious service and action against the enemy" while serving on board CGC Point White (WPB-82308) in Vietnam. The Point White attacked and captured a Viet Cong junk while patrolling the Soi Rap River. GM1 Gates was the first enlisted Coast Guardsman to be awarded the Bronze Star since World War II.

Lieutenant Commander Vivien Crea became the first woman from any service to serve as the Presidential Military Aide. She carried the "football" for President Ronald Reagan for three years.

Lieutenant Glenn Sulmasy became the first Coast Guardsman to participate in Operation Desert Shield when the Dwight D. Eisenhower Battle Group went "on scene" after Iraq invaded Kuwait. Sulmasy was assigned to the battle group.

On 15 September 1990 the Secretary of Transportation and the commandant committed the first-ever deployment of a Coast Guard Reserve port security unit overseas: Port Security Unit 303.

Lieutenant Commander Everett F. Rollins III was the only Coast Guard officer assigned to JTF Proven Force which was the northern Iraq component of Operation Desert Shield, and the only Coast Guard officer assigned to Operation Provide Comfort.

The first Coast Guardsmen to enter Kuwait after its liberation were Wayne Chamberlain and MCK Monez of PSU 302. Both were assigned to a Navy MUIW unit that swept Kuwait harbor for mines. They also connected about 20 of the port city's street lights to a generator and were therefore the "first" to bring power to the city.

A USCG tactical port security boat ("Raider") [TPSB] of PSU 301 (B), stationed in Al Jubayl, Saudi Arabia, was the first boat in the newly reopened harbor, Mina Ash Shuwaikh in Kuwait City, Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm. The USCG TPSB led a procession of multinational vessels into the harbor on 21 April 1991.

During Operation "Uphold Democracy" in 1994, Telecommunication Specialist First Class Jerry D. "Burly" Burleson was the first Coast Guardsman to enter Port Au Prince, Haiti. PO Burleson and two other members, TC3 James "Jim" Bell and TC3 Robert "Rob" Sherlin provided communications support for port security units and the Navy commodore assigned to the Haitian theater. Using satellite telephones, high-frequency and line-of-site equipment, vital information was delivered to the communications staff for relay. The days consisted of long hours and very hot days because of the situational requirement to maintain full body armor and log sleeve BDU's.

First Coast Guard person to command a U.S. Marine Corps unit: Jose L. Rodriguez took command of the Riverine Training Center, Special Operations Training Group, II MEF at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina in July 1999. The first Hispanic-American Coast Guardsman to earn his Gold Navy/Marine Corps jump wings while in the Coast Guard and assigned to a Jump Billet (USMC Majors Billet at Special Operations Training Group II MEF) was Jose Rodriguez in 1999.

Six U.S. Navy Cyclone-Class patrol coastal warships were assigned to Operation Noble Eagle on 5 November 2001. This was the first time that U.S. Navy ships were employed jointly with the U.S. Coast Guard to help protect our nation's coastline, ports and waterways from terrorist attack.

The first active-duty women to serve in a combat zone happened when CGC Boutwell served in the Northern-Arabian Gulf in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom from January 2003 to June 2003.

USCGC Aquidneck (WPB 1309) was the first CG cutter to enter a drydock availability in war zone since the Vietnam war. The availability occurred in 2003 and was held in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Port Engineer assigned to oversee the critical availability was MKCS Della Rocco. The successful availability became the template for the dozens of Coast Guard availabilities that followed.

LCDR Daniel Clark, USCGR, was the first Coast Guardsmen assigned directly to the United Nations for a staff position in a mission. He was assigned in 2004 as the Maritime Operations Officer for the UN's Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

First MSSTs ever commissioned were commissioned by two Hispanics: first two COs of MSSTs 91101 and 91102 (East and West Coast) were LCDR Ramon Ortiz and LCDR Jose Rodriguez.

On May 5 2004 the Coast Guard presented the Purple Heart to BM3 Joseph Ruggiero in Miami for injuries sustained while defending the Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal in Iraq on April 24. Ruggiero, the first Coast Guard recipient of the Purple Heart since the Vietnam War, received the award from VADM James D. Hull, Commander Coast Guard Atlantic Area. Ruggiero's shipmate, DC3 Nathan Bruckenthal was killed in this same bombing and posthumously received the Purple Heart.

Public Affairs:

The first officially appointed "public relations officer" for the Coast Guard was Commander Le Roy Reinburg, who assumed this collateral duty while stationed at Headquaters in 1933.

Commandants:

On 12 April 1843 Revenue Captain Alexander V. Fraser, Revenue Cutter Service, was appointed Chief of the newly created Revenue Marine Bureau of the Treasury Department, thereby becoming the "first" Commandant.

First head of service to be dismissed from the service: Revenue Captain Alexander V. Fraser on 14 August 1856 (as per William R. Wells, II "Who's on First").

The first Revenue Cutter Service cadet to be reprimanded for "licentious conduct" was Cadet Orin D. Myrick, on 4 July 1877 while aboard the training ship Dobbin. Cadet Worth G. Ross (who later became Commandant) received the same charge on 20 July 1877 (as per William R. Wells, II "Who's on First").

First to become Commandant the day after being promoted to the rank of Revenue Captain: Captain Charles F. Shoemaker, 19 March 1896. He became the first commandant to take command of a cutter (the Windom in 1897) while still serving as commandant and was the first commandant to visit the west coast (as per William R. Wells, II "Who's on First").

Worth G. Ross was the first Commandant to make an inspection of the service in the 20th century when he began his inspection tour in 1905 (as per William R. Wells, II "Who's on First").

On 15 June 1905 Revenue First Lieutenant John E. Reinburg became the first officer assigned as an aide to the Commandant on a full-time basis (as per William R. Wells, II "Who's on First”).

Revenue Second Lieutenant Russell R. Waesche was the first officer who would later become Commandant to serve aboard a cutter that was lost at sea. He was aboard the cutter Perry when it was lost on 27 July 1910 (as per William R. Wells, II "Who's on First").

LCDR Alfred C. Richmond, who later served as Commandant from 1954-1962, graduated from George Washington University's law school in 1938 and became the Coast Guard's first "legal specialist."

Legal:

The first Revenue Cutter Service court martial occurred on 7 December 1793 aboard the cutter Massachusetts. The offender, Third Mate Sylvanus Coleman of Nantucket, was summarily dismissed from the service for "speaking disrespectfully of his superior officers in public company. . . .insulting Captain John Foster Williams [the commanding officer] on board, and before company. . . .for keeping bad women on board the cutter in Boston and setting a bad example to the men by ordering them to bring the women on board at night and carrying them ashore in the morning. . . ." and for writing an order in the name of the commanding officer.

The first Revenue Cutter Service cadet to be reprimanded for "licentious conduct": Orin D. Myrick, on 4 July 1877 while aboard the schoolship Dobbin. Cadet Worth G. Ross (who later became commandant) received the same charge on 20 July 1877 (as per William R. Wells, II "Who's on First").

The first Revenue Cutter Service cadet charged with drunkenness: James H. Scott on 21 January 1891 (as per William R. Wells, II "Who's on First").

In 1929, Horace Alderman, convicted of murdering two Coast Guardsmen and a Secret Service agent in 1927, was hanged at Coast Guard Base 10 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was the only person ever executed by the government on a Coast Guard base.

Coast Guard attorney LCDR Robert W. Bruce, Jr., became the first member of the armed forces to argue a case before the Supreme Court in uniform when he represented the Coast Guard in Solorio vs. United States on 24 February 1987.

Personnel:

Oldest Coastie? Anthony Christy, keeper of the Christiana Lighthouse in Delaware, died on duty in September 1862 at the age of 105. He was the oldest lighthouse keeper on record.

On 21 March 1791, President George Washington commissioned Hopley Yeaton of New Hampshire as "Master of a Cutter in the Service of the United States for the Protection of the Revenue." This first commission of a seagoing officer of the United States was signed by George Washington and attested to by Thomas Jefferson. Twelve other commissions of other officers of revenue cutters were signed on the same date. Yeaton was subsequently assigned to the revenue cutter Scammel whose station was Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

The first warrant officers of the service received their appointments on 5 March 1830. They were: Beverly Diggs, Thomas Sands, and William Maurice. Congress first authorized warrant officers in December of 1829. George Hayes became the first warrant officer to be commissioned as a regular officer when he was promoted from warrant to Revenue second lieutenant on 31 December 1832. Thomas Sands closely followed Hayes when he was promoted to second lieutenant on 3 January 1833 (as per William R. Wells, II "Who's on First").

On 30 April 1832 all commissions of naval officers in the Revenue Cutter Service were revoked. Vacancies were thereafter filled by promotion for the first time.

On 20 August 1835 Revenue Captain Thomas M. Randolph died while on active service at Key West (he was not aboard a cutter). He is the first recorded Revenue officer to die while on active duty (as per William R. Wells, II "Who's on First").

On 8 September 1835 Revenue Second Lieutenant William M. A. Moore died while aboard the revenue schooner Ingham, probably from yellow fever. He was the first Revenue officer to die on active service while aboard a cutter (as per William R. Wells, II "Who's on First").

On 13 August 1864 Revenue Captain Thomas M. Dungan became the first Revenue officer to be killed in action against the enemy. He was the commanding officer of the cutter Reliance and was killed during an attack on Confederate forces when the cutter was five miles up the great Wicomico River (as per William R. Wells, II "Who's on First").

D. F. A. de Otte signed aboard a cutter as an ordinary seaman on 17 August 1886. He remained in the service and became the first officer in the 20th century to rise from the ranks (as per William R. Wells, II "Who's on First").

The first surgeon (medical doctor) to receive a regular commission in the Revenue Cutter Service was S. J. Call. He received a commission as a Revenue First Lieutenant on 20 March 1905 (as per William R. Wells, II "Who's on First").

The first recorded instance of a Revenue officer being murdered while on active duty was Revenue First Lieutenant William A. Whittier, who was murdered on 20 August 1911 while he was on liberty in Boston (as per William R. Wells, II "Who's on First").

First commissioned SPAR: Dorothy Stratton, USCGR.

First SPARs to enlist for duty in World War II: Theodora Jennings [Banner], & Dorothy Tuttle.

On 14 April 1943 Joseph C. Jenkins graduated as ensign in the Coast Guard Reserve, becoming the first commissioned African-American officer in the Coast Guard.

On 1 June 1943 the Coast Guard promoted warrant officer Clarence Samuels to Lieutenant, Junior Grade, making him the first African-American officer to reach that rank in the Coast Guard.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Clarence Samuels became the first African-American to command a cutter since Michael Healy and the first to achieve command during wartime when he assumed command of the Light Vessel No. 115 on 28 July 1944.

On September 27, 1944 Clarence Samuels was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, the first African-American to reach that rank in the Coast Guard.

Justo Gonzalez became the first Hispanic-American to make the rank of chief petty officer when the Coast Guard promoted him to Chief Machinist's Mate (acting) on 16 February 1944. The promotion was made permanent on 16 October 1948.

James W. Parks became the first African-American Gunner's Mate in the Coast Guard when he made GM3/c on 16 April 1949. He became the first Coast Guard African-American Chief Gunner's Mate when he was advanced to GMC on 1 November 1956 and the first Senior Chief Gunner's Mate on 1 April 1965. He retired from the Coast Guard after twenty years honorable service in 1967.

First Coast Guardsman to earn an advanced degree under U.S. Coast Guard sponsorship through night class attendance: Lieutenant F. X. Riley. He received his M.A. in Public Administration from the American University on 29 May 1949.

First Coast Guard SPAR advanced to warrant officer: Elizabeth Splaine, 1958.

Master Chief Yeoman Jack Kerwin became the first Coast Guardsman to advance to E-9 when he was advanced on 1 November 1958. A few months later a second group of chiefs from the February 1959 examinations were elevated to E-8 and E-9 effective on 16 May 1959.

First SPAR advanced to E-7: Pearl Faurie, 1962.

In 1962 LTJG Arthur H. Bleich was the first (and, to date, only) Coast Guardsman to win the title of Military Photographer of the Year awarded by the National Press Photographers Association.

First woman to make master chief petty officer: YNCM Pearl Faurie, USCGR, 1967.

First woman to retire from the Coast Guard with full retirement benefits: Mary Ashley, 1968.

First SPAR to be sworn into the regular Coast Guard: Alice Jefferson, 1973.

CWO4 William Musual retired from the Coast Guard on 1 November 1973. His last assignment was as the commanding officer of Station Castle Hill, RI. He was the last active duty person who had also served in the U.S. Lighthouse Service.

The first group of women ever enlisted as " regulars" in the U.S. Coast Guard began their 10-weeks of basic training at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May on 15 January 1974. Thirty-two women were in the initial group and formed Recruit Company Sierra- 89.

SN Debbie Atkin became the first woman graduate of the Reserve Training Center's Boatswain's Mate School in 1974.

On 22 June 1977 Secretary of Transportation Brock Adams introduced Ensign Beverly G. Kelley and Boatswain's Mate 3/c Debra Lee Wilson during a press conference as two of 14 women who were assigned to sea duty. "This is the first time in Coast Guard history that women have been sent to sea." Both women had orders to report of the USCGC Morgenthau later that year.

First woman to graduate from the Aviation Machinist's Mate "A" School: Petty Officer Robyn L. Bregante. She graduated from AD(A) School on 5 August 1977.

First African American to make the rank of captain: Bobby C. Wilks was promoted to O-6 on 1 September 1977. He was also the first African American Coast Guard aviator and the first African American Coast Guardsman to command a Coast Guard air station [AIRSTA Brooklyn].

First female company commander at Cape May: YNC Holly, 1978.

LT Kay Hartzell became the first female commanding officer of an isolated duty station when she took command of LORAN Station Lampedusa, Italy in 1979.

First female Boatswain's Mate First Class (BM1): Debra Chambers Buchanan, 1979.

First Class Storekeeper Mary Alice "Mike" Shaffer retired in 1981 from the Coast Guard Reserve after 34 years of service. She was the last World War II-era SPAR to retire from the service and was probably the only former SPAR to leave in compliance with legal maximum age requirements.

First female quarters manager was Petty Officer Beth L. Suher. She was at Elizabeth Dole's dining room as well as ADM Paul Yost's quarters in the early 1980s. She received her training at the Culinary Institute of America.

Petty Officer Otis Tukes was the first black Coast Guardsman to receive training at the Culinary Institute of America in the Coast Guard's equivalent to the Navy's White House Program of Chef Training and Service.

First African-American female to be advanced to E-7: Edith S. Brown, 1 March 1981.

First active-duty woman to be advanced to chief petty officer: PAC Day Boswell, USCG, 1982.

Lia deBettencourt became the first woman to make Coast Guard Person of the Year for an entire District (D-5 in 1983 and D-3 in 1985).

First woman Coast Guard diver: BM2 Linda Moroz, 1984 (she was assigned to the National Strike Force Dive Team, Elizabeth City, NC).

First female MSTC: Lia deBettencourt, 1986.

First woman promoted to CWO (PERS): Pamela Jones, 1986.

First Coast Guardsmen to become a NASA astronaut: Lieutenant Commander Bruce E. Melnick, USCG. He later went on to make two shuttle flights: selected in 1987.

First woman promoted to CWO (F&S): Ellen Terrill, 1987.

First woman promoted to CWO (MED): Connie Swaro, 1987.

First African-American OIC of a LEDET: LTJG John T. Broadway when he took command of Group Cape Hatteras LEDET in September, 1988.

First African-American female engineer advanced to E-7: Pamela Autry, 1988.

First Asian-American female warrant officer: Grace Parmalee, 1988.

LT Monyee Kazke and LT Jody Turner were assigned to 270s in 1989 as EOs, becoming the first female EOs of a Coast Guard cutter. LT Kazek was assigned in 1987 as the Pre-commissioning EO of the CGC Thetis.

The first Chamorro (native Pacific Islander from the Mariana Islands) to graduate from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and from any military service academy was Juan T. Salas, Class of 1968. He was also the first Chamorro to command a cutter, USCGC LIPAN (WMEC 85) 1986-1988. Additionally he was the first Cutterman to be Captain of the Port, Marine Safety Office Guam, 1992-1994.

YNC Joyce M. Harrell became the first African-American female Officer in Charge of a recruiting office when she took command of Recruiting Office San Francisco Bay in 1989.

Boatswains Mate 1/c Krystine Carbajal became the first female Officer in Charge of a Coast Guard Station when she took command in March 1989.

First active-duty woman to make senior chief petty officer: Connie Swaro (1 September 1981)

First woman promoted to CWO (ELC): Lauren Cantatore, 1989.

First woman promoted to CWO (COMMS): Robin Patton, 1989.

First African-American female reservist to be advanced to E-7, 1/1/90: Mary Hughes Holmes

First woman promoted to CWO (BOSN): Anne Visser, 1990.

First woman promoted to SSC(FS): Karen Nault, 1990.

First African-American Command Master Chief Petty Officer: Stephen Spencer, 1991.

First African-American CO of a TACLET: ENS Ricky Sharpe, 1991.

First Hispanic-American female advanced to E-7 was YNC Grisel Hollis, who was advanced on 1 May 1991. The second was Sonia Colon, who was advanced in 1992. Hollis was later promoted to CWO(PERS) on 1 June 1995 while assigned to the USCGC Hamilton as the YNC.

First active-duty woman to make master chief petty officer: YNCM Patricia Stolle, USCG, 1993.

First woman advanced to MUCM: Constance I. Coghlan; also the first female member of the Coast Guard Band.

First woman advanced to Chief Telephone Technician (TTC): Tammie Bustamante, 1 June 1993.

First enlisted woman since the SPARs to be advanced to E-9: Patricia Stolle, 1993.

First military woman assigned as Chief Judge of the Coast Guard: Lane McClelland, 1993.

First woman advanced to E-7 in a weapons rating: Jo Wildman, 1993.

First African-American to become the commanding officer of a TACLET: LT Ricky Sharpe, 1995. He took command of TACLET Gulf.

First active duty African-American woman to be promoted to warrant officer: Doris Hull, 1995.

First woman advanced to SSCS (FS): Karen Naulty, 1995.

First female admiral appointed from the Public Health Service to head the Health and Safety Directorate of the Coast Guard: Joyce Johnson, 1997.

First woman command master chief: Both YNCM Patricia Stolle and BMCM Diane Bucci, 1998.

First woman promoted to CWO (WEPs): Jo Wildman, 1999.

First African-American admiral: Erroll M. Brown, 1998.

First African-American Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard: Vincent Patton, III, 1998.

First woman advanced to FSCM: Karen Naulty, 1999.

First woman advanced to MKC: Gayla Thompson, 1993. She was also the first female who held the qualifications for EPO Ashore/Afloat.

First women promoted to CWO (ENG): Gayla Thompson & Karyn Terry, 1999.

ASM1 Terry Hallmark made over 1,200 jumps under orders while he was assigned to the CG ASM instructor at NAS Lakehurst, NJ.

ASM1 Terry A. Hallmark was the first Coast Guardsman to earn the gold Navy/Marine Corps parachute "jump" wings. He was assigned to NAS Lakehurst, NJ as a ADM-A school instructor from 1977 to 1980 and earned his wings and navy jumpmaster rating. He performed numerous parachute demonstrations and made over 1,200 jumps under orders until his retirement in 1987. ASM1c Hallmark designed the parachute air delivery system (PAS) that is used by the U.S. Coast Guard today.

The first Coast Guardsman to "earn jump wings while on active duty at Fort Benning, Georgia Airborne School" was Jose L. Rodriguez on 1 October 1999.

First woman promoted to flag rank in the Coast Guard: RADM Vivien S. Crea, 2000.

In 2000 GM3 Tajuana Usry became the first African-American woman to receive the Small Arms Instructor (SAI) designation.

First African-American woman to serve as a Coast Guard Special Agent: Lucille "Pam" Thompson, who served as a Coast Guard Special Agent from July, 2000 to July, 2004.

First woman to command the Coast Guard Recruiting Command & first female School Chief of the Coast Guard Officers' Candidate School: Captain Jody A. Breckenridge.

First active-duty Asian-Pacific-Islander-American to attain the rank of 0-6 in the Coast Guard: Captain Juan Salas.

First Japanese-American to attain the rank of O-6 in the Coast Guard: Captain Gilbert Kanazawa.

CAPT Earl R. Fox, USPHS was the oldest person on active duty with any of the uniformed services and was the last World War II veteran on active duty prior to his retirement on 19 November 1999. His last assignment was as the Senior Medical Officer at the Coast Guard Military Personnel Command. He had served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

First Cuban-born Coast Guardsman promoted to CWO (Aviation): Angel L. Martinez, 1999.

First woman promoted to CWO (Aviation), Deborah Walsh, 1 June 2000.

On 1 November 2000 Angela McShan became the first African-American woman to advance to master chief.

First female Reserve officer promoted to flag rank: RADM Mary P. O'Donnell, USCGR, 2000.

CDR Sharon Donald-Baynes was the first African-American woman to command an operations ashore unit. She commanded, beginning in 2001, Group Lower Mississippi River, Memphis, Tennessee. Additionally, she was the senior African-American woman in the Coast Guard as of 2001.

With his promotion to rear admiral, Kenneth Stevens Harrison, USCGR, Chief Counsel of the U. S. Coast Guard, became the first flag officer ever appointed in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve.

Brothers Richard Atteberry and Carl Atteberry were both advanced to Chief Petty Officer on 1 August 2001. They were initiated at the same time except they were stationed on opposite coasts.

CWO2 Thomas Keenan was the first Coast Guardsman to hold the designation as a U.S. Air Force C-12 crewmember (designation began on 1 November 2001). He was the first Coast Guardsman to work PCS at an embassy in Latin America under Defense Intelligence Agency auspices -- he transferred to Colombia on 19 October 2001.

CAPT Joseph H. Jones, USCG: First African-American to Pre-Com a cutter -- PRECOMDET NEAH BAY -- Portsmouth, VA; First African-American to command a 140-foot ice breaking tug in the Great Lakes -- NEAH BAY; First African-American to command a 210-foot Medium Endurance Cutter -- CGC RELIANCE in New Castle, NH; First African-American to Command a 378-foot High Endurance Cutter -- CGC DALLAS in New York, NY. Captain Jones commanded three cutters, he also served as XO, OPS, DWO -- Capt Jones was assigned to 6 cutters: USCGC OWASCO -- WHEC; USCGC VIGOROUS --WMEC; USCGC NEAH BAY -- WTGB; USCGC UNIMAK -- WHEC; USCGC RELIANCE -- WMEC; USCGC DALLAS -- WHEC; Captain Jones was the First African-American to be assigned as Executive Assistant to an Assistant Commandant; Captain Jones was the First African-American to be assigned as the chief of operations of a CG District (District Seven, Miami, Florida); Captain Jones was the First African-American tactics officer at the USCGA; Captain Jones was the First O-6 CG-man in the Defense Attaché System served as the Senior Homeland Security Rep at the US Embassy in Mexico City, MX; Captain Jones was the second African-American Security Assistance Officer accredited to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

In September 2002 CDR A. J. Berghorn took command of VT-2, becoming the first Coast Guard officer to command a US Navy training squadron.

On 16 May 2003 LT Greg Duncan became the first African-American Coast Guardsman to successfully complete the scuba diver course at the Navy Dive and Salvage Center in Panama, Florida.

LT Jorge Martinez assumed command of the Maui (WPB-1304) on 5 June 2003, becoming the first Cuban-American to command a Coast Guard cutter.

In July 2003 Coast Guard Auxiliarist Robert Dittman completed the Coast Guard's Reserve Enlisted Basic Indoctrination course at Coast Guard Training Center, Cape May, New Jersey. He was the first Auxiliarist and first blind person to go through such a training program in any of the five branches of the U.S. military.

First African-American Female Coast Guard officer to earn a 20-year retirement: LCDR Rhonda Fleming-Makell, 2004.

YNC Crystal A. Sparks was the first female to be the Company Commander School Chief (training Company Commanders) at TRACEN Cape May, 2004.

CAPT Patrick Trapp, the commanding officer of Group Portland, Maine, was the senior Korean-American in the Coast Guard. He was the first Korean-American commanding officer of a cutter - the 82-foot patrol boat Point Camden (WPB-82373), out of Long Beach, California. He was also the first Korean-American to graduate from the Coast Guard Academy (1981). CAPT Trapp was the first Korean-American commanding officer of a Coast Guard station -- first at Station Grays Harbor, Washington then at Station Sandy Hook, New Jersey. CAPT Trapp is the first Korean-American to attain the rank of O-6. He was also the first Korean-American to command a sector.

CAPT Jeffrey Lee was the first Korean-American to graduate from Coast Guard OCS (1983). CAPT Lee was the first Korean-American commanding officer of a 95-foot cutter - the Cape Cross (WPB-95321). CAPT Lee was the first Korean-American commanding officer of an icebreaking tug, the 140-foot Biscayne Bay (WTGB-104). CAPT Lee was the first Korean-American executive officer of a 378-foot cutter, the Hamilton (WHEC-715). CAPT Lee was the first Korean-American to teach at the Leadership Development Center. CAPT Lee was the first Korean-American to command a high endurance cutter, the Hamilton, taking command on 19 June 2006.

YNCM Pamela J. Carter was the first female active duty master chief petty officer to retire with 30 years of active-duty service when she retired on 1 June 2004.

First female commanding officer of the Coast Guard Institute: Theresa Tierney, August, 2004.

On 24 June 2005 LTJG Jeanine McIntosh-Menze was awarded her wings at a ceremony at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, after completing training there. She is the first African-American female Coast Guard aviator.

In May of 2006 Senior Chief Boatswains Mate Emmanuel Zambrana became the Officer-in-Charge of Station San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was the first Puerto Rican to command the Puerto Rican-based CG Small Boat Station. He transferred in June 2007 after his promotion to CWO.

First woman warrant boatswain to command a Coast Guard station: CWO3 Mary Ward commanded Station Port Canaveral until her retirement on 16 June 2006.

CWO2 Apple G. Pryor, assigned as the Main Propulsion Assistant onboard the CGC Boutwell, was the first African-American female Naval Engineering Chief Warrant Officer of the Coast Guard.

Bryon Ing was the first Chinese-American Coast Guardsman to command a Medium Endurance Cutter when he commanded USCGC Venturous from 1995-1997. He also commanded CGC Nunivak from 1988-1990. He was the first Chinese-American and Coast Guard Liaison Officer to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (J7-Doctrine) in 1997. He was the first Chinese-American DAWIA/DHS Level III Certified Systems Acquisitions (2002). He was the first Chinese-American DHS Certified Level III Acquisitions Program Manager (PM) (2005) leading the Response Boat-Medium (RB-M) acquisition (2002-2006), awarding the contract for the 45’ RB-M replacement vessels for the 41’ UTB in 2006.

Martha E. Utley became the first female master chief for the Hospital Corpsman/Health Services Technician rating as of 1 June 2007. On 1 June 2010 she became the first female to serve as Command Master Chief for the USCG HSWL Service Center.

Mary Cunningham became the first African-American female and the first active-duty female to make Chief Damage Controlman when she was advanced from DC1 to DCC on 1 August 2007.

ISCM David Rochefort (Rating Force Master Chief), ISCM Mark Pearson (Rate Training Master Chief), and ISCM Brian Lincoln (Signals Intelligence Training Manager) became the first Coast Guard Intelligence Specialists when they were inducted into the new IS Rating on 23 April 2007.

On 11 March 2008, ENS Mark A. Unpingco became the first Chamorro (native Pacific Islander from the Mariana Islands) Dive Officer of the Coast Guard after graduating from the Marine Engineering Dive Officer (MEDO) course at the U.S. Navy Dive and Salvage Training Center in Panama City, FL.

Jennifer Lowden became the first female school chief for Training Center Yorktown on 01 June 2008. She also became the first female MKCS in the Coast Guard when she was advanced on 01 August 2008.

CWO Melvin W. Williams, Jr., USCG (Ret) was the first African-American male to make Chief in the rate of then-Aviation Survivalman (ASM) and then from ASMC to Chief Warrant Officer (CWO2) before retiring. While serving as an ASM1 he was credited with the development of the Float Strobe Light. He was the first African-American male to make parachute jumps at NAS Lakehurst while undergoing Parachute Rigger training in the CG transition of combining CG Aviation Ordnanceman with CG Aviation Parachute Rigger, performed three CPRs, rigged, loaded and dropped the ADAPT system, nighttime helo rescue of two missing divers with the aid of the Night Sun CGAS Miami. He was awarded the Sikorsky Winged "S" on 23 February 1974 for rescues flying in CG HH-52s stationed at CG Air Station Miami.

In April 2008 OSC Patrick Hagan became the first Coast Guardsman to receive a National Operations Security (OPSEC) Award.

MECM Randy Krahn (Chief, ME "A" School), MECM Steven Lowry (Rate Training Master Chief), MECM Gorgon Muise (Rating Force Master Chief) & MECM William "Sam" Allred (PS Rating Force Master Chief) became the first Coast Guard Maritime Enforcement Specialists when they were inducted into the new ME rate in December, 2008.

LT Felicia Thomas took command of the CGC Pea Island on 19 June 2009. She is the first African-American female commanding officer of a Coast Guard cutter.

LT Carrie Wolfe and LT Olivia Grant became the first African-American female Engineering Officers on a major cutter when they reported aboard the CGC Spencer and CGC Venturous respectively in the summer of 2009.

First woman ISS Warrant Officer: Ronetta G. McNeill, 1 June 2010.

On October 1, 2019 LT Christine Igisomar was promoted to LCDR, becoming the first Chamorro (native Pacific Islander from the Mariana Islands) woman to achieve this rank.

Coast Guard Academy:

On 25 May 1877 training of first class of Revenue Cutter cadets began on the schoolship Dobbin at Curtis Bay with nine cadets, three officers, one surgeon, six warrant officers and 17 crew members.

On 12 December 1876, the first examination for Revenue Cutter cadets was held in Washington.

The first cadet to be reprimanded for "licentious conduct": Orin D. Myrick, on 4 July 1877 while aboard the schoolship Dobbin. Cadet Worth G. Ross (who later became commandant) received the same charge on 20 July 1877.

The first cadet to die on active service was Cadet Maurice M. Holmes who died on 7 December 1878 at Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts.

The first cadet charged with drunkenness: James H. Scott on 21 January 1891.

The cadet with the shortest career as a cadet: Walter Seely. He was only enrolled as a cadet from 12 to 16 January 1894.

The first Hispanic-American graduate of the Coast Guard Academy was Paul Powers Perez, Class of 1945.

The first Chinese-American graduate of the Coast Guard Academy was Jack Jones, Class of 1949.

The first native Chinese-born graduate of the Coast Guard Academy was Kwang-Ping Hsu, Class of 1962.

The first African-American graduate of the Coast Guard Academy was Merle Smith, Jr., Class of 1966.

The first Chamorro (native Pacific Islander from the Mariana Islands) to graduate from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and from any military service academy was Juan T. Salas, Class of 1968.

In 1978 Cadet 1/c Manson K. Brown became the first African-American brigade commander at the Coast Guard Academy.

In 1979 Cadet 1/c Linda Johansen became Regimental Commander of the Cadet Corps, the first woman to win Corps command at any of the four service academies.

The first Korean-American graduate of the Coast Guard Academy was Pat Trapp, Class of 1981.

The first female African-American graduates of the Coast Guard Academy were Angela Dennis and Daphne Reese, Class of 1983.

The first female Hispanic-American graduates of the Coast Guard Academy were Jacqueline A. Ball and Deborah R. Winnie, Class of 1983.

The first Chinese-American commissioned officer to serve in the Rotating Commissioned Teaching Corps who taught an academic subject at the Coast Guard Academy was T. L. Mar. He taught during the 1988-1989 academic year.

Allen L. Thompson, III graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. His father, Allen L. Thompson, Jr. graduated from the Academy in 1974. They were the first African-American father and son graduates of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

Captain Joseph H. Jones was the first African-American tactics officer at the Coast Guard Academy.

ENS Andrea Parker is the first African-American female to graduate with an engineering degree from the Coast Guard Academy, 2001.

Cadet 1/c Sarah Salazar became the first Hispanic Regimental Commander at the Coast Guard Academy, 2002.

Kjell Rommerdahl was the first Coast Guard Academy graduate to have two Coast Guard enlisted parents: PO1 Linda Rommerdahl (USCGR, Ret.) & MCPO Kurt Rommerdahl, USCG.

CAPT Steven H. Ratti, a graduate of the Academy Class of 1978, was promoted to RADM on 2 November 2007. His father, RADM Ricardo A. Ratti, was a 1944 Academy graduate. They were the first father-son Academy graduates to make flag rank.

LTJG Miguel Augustin was recognized as the 2009 Leon Y. McGaughey Adult Military Learner of the Year by the Commission on Military Education and Training, the first member of the U.S. Coast Guard and the first African-American Coast Guardsman to receive this award. He also received an honorable mention as the 2009 Coast Guard Collateral Duty Education Service Officer of the Year.

The first father-daughter graduates of the Academy were Captain Edward B. Holtzman (Class of 1957) and Ensign Virginia Kerr Holtzman (Class of 1981). Captain Holtzman presented his daughter her commission when she graduated from the Academy on 21 May 1981. Also present at Ensign's Holtzman's graduation were her grandfather, Captain George W. Holtzman (Class of 1933) and her sister, Cadet Helen L. Holtzman (Class of 1983).

Sandra L. Stosz was promoted to RADM, becoming the first female graduate of the Coast Guard Academy to reach flag rank.

General & Miscellaneous Firsts:

Vice Commandant-select RADM R. H. Scarborough, then-commander of the Ninth District, personally swore-in the first set of quadruplets to enlist in a U.S. military service when he gave the oath to the "Guinnane quads, Gerard, Paul, Vincent and Peter of Detroit" on 20 March 1978.

Jeffrey LaCava and Charlene LaCava were reportedly the first married couple to go through boot camp together. They began basic training in 1979.

Anthony John Cipriani, Jr. and his son, Michael Anthony Cipriani, became the first father/son to enlist in the Coast Guard Reserve when they signed their enlistment contracts on 18 April 1989.

BM3 Emmanuel Garcia became the first Coast Guardsman to be married by proxy when he wed FN Chelsea Jayne Garcia on 7 September 2004. Garcia was stationed at STA Sabine Pass and his wife was "on her way to 'A' school."

SN Michael Christensen, stationed with PATFOR SWA in Bahrain, became the second Coast Guardsman to be married by proxy when he wed Jennifer Rivard, who was in Washington state, on 8-9 August 2006. Although the state of Washington does not permit such marriages, officials there made a one-time exception for SN Christensen and his bride.

On 31 March 1995, Coast Guard Communication Area Master Station Atlantic sent a final message by Morse Code and then signed off, officially ending more than 100 years of telegraph communications. [Three operators used their skills to regretfully end a tradition of Coast Guard communications services to all nations. The operator's names and ranks were: Telecommunication Specialist First Class Jerry D. "Burly" Burleson; Telecommunication Specialist Second Class Timothy L. Hilf; Telecommunication Specialist Third Class Sergio M. Morales. At 010030Z APR 95 the last message was delivered to those that were copying the Morse code signals by the three operators. Once completed, the operator's secured the equipment carrying out the order given by the Commanding Officer Captain Freddy L. Montoya. The official logs and Morse code hand keys are on display at CAMSLANT Chesapeake ending the era of pounding brass and sparking clicks.]

In 2010 ME3 Michael Carpenter and ME1 David McIver became the first certified Precision Marksman - Observer Team (PM-OT) in the Coast Guard.