The Long Blue Line

While 1980 is most remembered for the arrival of 125,00 Cuban refugees during the Mariel Boatlift, thousands of Haitians also arrived in south Florida by sea that same year. They were collectively referred to as “Cuban-Haitian Entrants.”

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…

"On August 31 the American Steamer George E Starr was seized on Puget Sound by a detail of four officers and 18 men sent from the Wolcott. Two Chinese subjects, together with a quantity of opium, were discovered secreted on board. "

Three decades after Adm. John Klime officially promulgated the service’s core values as “Honor, Respect, and Devotion to Duty,” these core values stand the test of time.

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.

It was 3 p.m. and Thrun had already made three perfect landings. He was starting his run for his fourth take-off, when something happened.

Charles William Sexton challenged danger every day in his duties. While rescuing four fishermen in peril, the seas tragically took him.

“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.

While Omaha saw the worst fighting on D-Day, Utah beach would prove a career highlight for Seaman First Class Robert Ward.

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.