The Long Blue Line

With a seizure of opium near the entrance to San Francisco Bay in November 1886, cutters of the Revenue Marine Service began a fight against maritime drug smuggling that continues to this day.

Joe led the tactical law enforcement specialists that comprised his Drug Interdiction Assist Team through the rivers of Central America, resulting in one of the largest drug busts of its time.

The size of the refugee flotilla was staggering. Trailered boats were lined up 50 to 100 deep in Key West waiting their turn to be launched. This went on for between 36 to 48 hours; residents could hear the activity around the clock.

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.

After the schooner rolled over and disappeared beneath the surface, the only evidence that the vessel had ever been there were a single lifeboat with two persons aboard, and around half-a-dozen men thrashing in the frigid water

Vessel boarding has been a time-honored skill set of the Coast Guard since its founding in 1790.

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

“Charlie remembered the overall feeling of frustration at the lack of communication, or “voice,” in matters that affected every sailor in the field.”

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.