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CGC Storis — Galloping Ghost of the Alaskan Coast
—Over its service of nearly 65 years, Storis set the record for length of service for a White Hull cutter, steaming 1.5 million miles and recording many firsts and setting many records, including some that have endured to this day.
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Joseph Toahty at Guadalcanal—Pawnee warrior strikes the first blow beside Douglas Munro
—In 1942, Native American Joseph Robert Toahty deployed for Guadalcanal, the Allies’ first amphibious operation of World War II.
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Rollin Fritch—Silver Star hero of Attack Transport Callaway
—“Planes! They’re coming from the stern!” With seconds to react, Coast Guard Seaman First Class Rollin A. Fritch leaped into action and peppered the incoming kamikaze with a hail of 20mm gunfire.
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Coxswain for all invasions—Robert Ward and the Joseph T. Dickman at D-Day
—While Omaha saw the worst fighting on D-Day, Utah beach would prove a career highlight for Seaman First Class Robert Ward.
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D-Day hero Jack DeNunzio and LCI-94 at Normandy
—Eighty years ago, on June 6, 1944, Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, in what was the largest amphibious invasion of World War II. Among those 15 Coast Guardsmen killed in action at Normandy was 21-year-old John “Jack” Albert DeNunzio.
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“Into the Jaws of Death”—Coast Guard landing craft at D-Day
—One of the most reproduced photographs to come out of June 6, 1944—D-Day was captured by Coast Guard Chief Photographer’s Mate Robert F. Sargent and entitled “Into the jaws of death.” Sargent.
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Jack Hamlin—Boatswain, rescue swimmer, and savior of D-Day
—“We had no idea what was going to happen. We could hear all the guns going off and could see the landing barges going in. We could see so many of them being hit or hitting mines that were laid underneath the water ...”
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“Love your Freedom, because that’s what we fought for”—D-Day Gunner’s Mate Frank DeVita
—“DeVita, drop the ramp!” For a few seconds I froze, because I knew when I dropped that ramp, the machine gun bullets will come into the boat. And then for the third time he yelled, punctuated with colorful profanity and I dropped the ramp. The bullets that were hitting the ramp came into the boat.
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Defending a “Large, Slow Target”—Joe Gerczak’s service and sacrifice from Philly to New Guinea
—Facing kamikaze attacks, Joseph Gerczak provides an example of unrelenting courage.
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Edith Munro—leader, mentor, SPAR and Medal of Honor hero mother
—Edith Munro will always be remembered for raising one of the Coast Guard and Marine Corps’ greatest heroes…but few people know that Munro was also Lt. Munro, of the U.S. Coast Guard Women’s Corps—also known as SPARs.