Champions of Commerce

The Coast Guard has a rich history of underwater operations. Since the early 1940s, the service has nurtured a diving capability that has become vital to modern Coast Guard missions.

“Kill the engines,” Jackson ordered. In the eerie quiet, they heard a metallic tapping. Closer now, they saw a man in a second-story attic window, striking its metal bars with a quarter. He and his bedridden, 87-year-old mother had been trapped for days in water up to their necks. Jackson’s team sawed through the attic ceiling.

From evacuating stranded survivors to reopening critical waterways, the Coast Guard (USCG) performed heroically during Hurricane Katrina, but the widespread disaster exposed operational limitations that soon served as lessons learned and has resulted in sweeping changes in readiness, technology, and interagency collaboration.

Even before Katrina made initial landfall, the Coast Guard was closely coordinating with local vessels and the region’s maritime industry in order to help reduce loss of life and property – as well as avoid environmental impact. Beyond lifesaving, here are some of the ways the Coast Guard helped the nation recover after Hurricane Katrina.

Oftentimes during a crisis, an iconic image or object defines that moment. During the search and rescue effort following landfall of Hurricane Katrina, several of those images and relics became a hallmark of Aug. 29, 2005, the day the massive storm ravaged the Gulf Coast. To the men and women stationed at Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans, the air station’s sign became that iconic relic.

Katrina destroyed between 70-90% of all the navigational aids on the Mississippi River south of Baton Rouge. With rescue and evacuation activities complete, Pamlico’s next priority was to restore aids to navigation and to make the river more accessible for recovery activities.

The Coast Guard’s response to Katrina was not simply wild improvisation. After gaining significant hurricane response experience during Hurricanes Hugo and Bob, planning, training, and extensive preparations were made for a catastrophic weather scenario. Coast Guardsmen in the field would rely heavily on these plans and preparations. These instructions could be summarized as “don’t wait for permission,” and they became the basis for successful improvisation.

In the Great Galveston Hurricane, Harry Claiborne demonstrated great devotion to duty. He manned the light in the worst sea and weather conditions and saved hundreds of storm victims.

From fragile wooden hulls of the Age of Sail to the steel giants of the early 20th century, the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service—and later the Coast Guard—evolved to meet the icy challenges of America's northern waterways. As steam power and steel hulls unlocked frozen frontiers, cutters shifted from surviving the winter to breaking its grip. Discover how daring missions, innovative ship design, and a presidential mandate forged the legacy of America’s first icebreakers.

Those familiar with Coast Guard history know that the service’s development has been shaped by the nation’s natural and man-made disasters. Many Coast Guard missions were written in blood. Nowhere is that clearer than the marine safety mission.