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SS Steel Executive—an impossible and heroic aviation medevac in the fog
—Lewis had to make what he considered to be one of the most crucial decisions of his life. Peering at the fog below him, he remembers asking himself a question to plunge or not to plunge…
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Isaac Mayo—Surfman, Gold Life-Saving Medal recipient and FRC namesake
—Like many other local mariners on Cape Cod, Isaac Mayo volunteered his professional services as a sailor and boatman to the Massachusetts Humane Society. He quickly proved himself to be a very competent surfman handling boats to rescue shipwreck victims in Cape Cod’s storm surf.
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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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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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“Get in the boat; we have a job to do!”—BOSN Wilson motors into the Great New England Hurricane
—Just before the storm’s arrival there was a surround-all, eerie feeling, which seemed to permeate everything. No one was sure of what was approaching—the conversations were hushed and speculative about the silence and the threatening sky.
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Joseph Napier—Heroic surfman, Gold Lifesaving Medal recipient and FRC namesake
—Napier’s gallantry was never more visible than on the day he risked his life and led his crew into gale-force winds to save six souls aboard a stranded vessel.
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Bernard “Bernie” Webber and the greatest smallboat rescue in Coast Guard history
—Nearly 72 years ago, four men of Coast Guard Station Chatham on CG 36500 staged a rescue of 38 merchant seamen from two tankers during a winter-time hurricane of rare proportions.
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Lewis Wescott—the lost grave of a heroic Pea Island lifesaver
—Nearly lost to history, the grave of Capt. Lewis Wescott is discovered in the underbrush in Jarvisburg, North Carolina.
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Melvin Williams, Jr.—An African American Coast Guardsman’s aviation story
—After hearing about a ship rescued by the United States Coast Guard, Melvin Williams, Jr. knew that would be his path in life and enlisted in the Coast Guard.
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First to serve, first to fight and first to sacrifice—African Americans in the U.S. Coast Guard
—The history of African American participation in the Coast Guard and its predecessor services dates back to the very founding of the Service in 1790.