Coast Guard Pararescue — The U.S. Military’s First Parachute Rescue Unit
Daniel J. Blaich —
In 1943, after a grueling mountain rescue in Alaska, Chief Warrant Officer Arthur H. Hook organized the U.S. military’s first parachute rescue unit. Trained by U.S. Forest Service smokejumpers, a small group of Coast Guardsmen pioneered techniques that later became the foundation of modern Air Force pararescue.
