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So that others might live—Coast Guard hero and FRC namesake Charles Sexton
—Charles William Sexton challenged danger every day in his duties. While rescuing four fishermen in peril, the seas tragically took him.
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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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Bobby Wilks—distinguished aviator, mentor, and minority trailblazer
—As America struggled with issues of racial inequality and segregation, African American Bobby C. Wilks was breaking barriers and blazing a trail for minorities.
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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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Charles Jones Soong—Cutterman and Powerful Chinese Patriarch
—Charles Jones Soong is the most famous individual of Chinese ancestry to serve in the United States Coast Guard. However, his fame is little known in the U.S. compared to his celebrity in the Far East.
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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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Never give up
—The Coast Guard officially welcomed its tenth Legend Class National Security Cutter, USCGC Calhoun WMSL 759, in a commissioning ceremony April 20, 2024, in Charleston, South Carolina.
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Dorothy Stratton—Wartime Coast Guard trailblazer and SPAR Leader
Coast Guard Capt. Dorothy M. Stratton held a life-long commitment to public service and was an inspirational leader during a very difficult time in the nation’s history.