Defenders of Our Nation

Suddenly, flames erupted form the number one engine and left wing, while the verticle and horizontal stabilizers suffered additional damage. The crew lost control of the engine, and all emergency efforts to suppress the fire failed. As the blaze spread aft toward the rear fuselage, the situation grew critical. At 12:30 p.m. the crew transmitted an SOS and announced their intent to ditch the PV2V-5.

Walsh’ s career spanned some of the most eventful years in Coast Guard history, including Prohibition, World War II and the post-war modernization of the service.

At the tail end of D-Day at Gold Beach, after being sent back out to sea, their landing craft’s engine failed, and they found themselves drifting helplessly into a minefield. The Royal Signalmen shouted for help, but nearby watercraft were too busy to pay attention. Then when all seemed lost a United States Coast Guard vessel appeared out of nowhere.

After refitting late in the summer of 1800, the master and crew of revenue cutter Pickering boarded their vessel at Newcastle, Delaware, for their next Caribbean war patrol. It would be the last time they set foot on dry land.

Port security has been one of the longest-running missions of the United States Coast Guard. And, historical events, such as World War I, have brought greater attention to the importance of this service specialty.

After being transferred from the Coast Guard to the Navy in World War II, Poulin saw action in the Atlantic and Pacific while participating in many invasions while assigned the USS Leonard Wood.

Mine sweeper, demolitions expert, and hero of Corregidor, Crotty served as a member of the Coast Guard, Army, Navy and Marine Corps.

Not every American amphibious assault in the Pacific was a bloodbath. Some were executed with considerable strategic acumen and tactical guile. Eniwetok would be Hoyle’s finest and toughest hour as a Beachmaster.

On Dec. 25, 1944, after a six-week campaign to liberate the Philippine Island of Leyte, Allied forces under General Douglas Macarthur were mopping up the last vestiges of Japanese resistance.

Despite any fears Chicamacomico station keeper John Allen Midgett had about entering the flames surrounding the tanker, he mustered his crew and initiated rescue operations within minutes of the explosion.