Lifesavers Around the Globe

On Thursday, January 12, 1961, the F/V Mermaid lost its rudder near the treacherous Peacock Spit. Strong currents and gale-force winds pushed the helpless vessel toward breaking waves, making a swift rescue essential to avoid near-certain destruction.

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.

In the early 1930s, Coast Guard Commandant Frederick Billard decided to acquire state-of-the-art flying boats capable of performing rescues by landing on the open sea. The first aircraft designed from the start for Coast Guard use, these new amphibians became known as the Coast Guard’s “FLBs” (for Flying Lifeboats).

“SOS! SOS! This is the Prinsendam. We have fire in the engine room and we are dead in the water. SOS!” The order to “Abandon ship” came shortly after 5 a.m.. The ship was beginning to list, and the captain suspected that lower decks were taking on water. The almost 500 passengers and other crewmembers had to leave.

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.

A Coast Guard Aviation Survival Technician fights to rescue the crew as the freighter breaks in two.

The crew sprang to their places at the oars, and when the next sea lifted the craft, the soldiers pushed it out and the oars were put in motion. The rescuing party was off on their perilous errand.

Chief Gus Jablonski was a critical figure in the early days of helicopter development. His technical knowledge and hands-on skills helped helicopter turn Igor Sikorsky’s fragile machine into a tool that could do useful work for the military.

Native Americans have been members of the Coast Guard and its predecessor services for well over 200 years.

Dropping more than 33 inches of rain in portions of North Carolina, the storm caused widespread destruction that people could never have imagined.