Recent Blog Posts
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FRC namesake Lawrence Lawson’s Thanksgiving Day rescue
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—Enlisted pioneer of helicopter flight
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. -
Celebrating the Coast Guard’s role in liberating Rome during World War II
While many are familiar with the Allied landings in Normandy in June 1944, few know about the landings that took place several months prior in Italy. -
Native Americans in the Coast Guard — Semper Paratus since 1815
Native Americans have been members of the Coast Guard and its predecessor services for well over 200 years. -
The Coast Guard responds to ghostship Carroll A. Deering!
The mystery surrounding the disappearance of schooner Carroll A. Deering’s crew of 11 or 12 men has never been solved although the Department of Justice had been called in to investigate rumors of “piracy.” -
Standing a deadly watch—the final hours of Scotch Cap Lighthouse
In 1946, the Scotch Cap Lighthouse is destroyed by a tsunami wave estimated at well over 120 feet high that also impacted the greater Pacific. -
Coast Guard’s Storm Warriors fought North Carolina’s Hurricane Florence
Dropping more than 33 inches of rain in portions of North Carolina, the storm caused widespread destruction that people could never have imagined. -
CGC Storis — Galloping Ghost of the Alaskan Coast
Over its service of nearly 65 years, Storis set the record for length of service for a White Hull cutter, steaming 1.5 million miles and recording many firsts and setting many records, including some that have endured to this day. -
Domingo Suarez y Rosa—Towerman of Puerto Rico
It was at Guanica on a stormy night in 1914 that Domingo Suarez witnessed a pilot boat capsize beyond the mouth of the bay. Without hesitation, he jumped into the water and assisted the boat’s crew to safety, earning a U.S. Lighthouse Service commendation. -
Joseph Toahty at Guadalcanal—Pawnee warrior strikes the first blow beside Douglas Munro
In 1942, Native American Joseph Robert Toahty deployed for Guadalcanal, the Allies’ first amphibious operation of World War II. -
Brazos Station’s Latino lifesavers and the catastrophic Florida Keys Hurricane
The storm grazed the Florida Keys and slipped into the sheltered waters of the Gulf of Mexico before unleashing devastation in Texas. -
Lessons learned from 2017’s Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico
In Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, the Coast Guard was Semper Paratus in responding to both hurricanes Irma and Maria. -
Remembering 9/11—a day that changed the Coast Guard forever
The day war was declared on the Empire of Japan, President Franklin Roosevelt referred to Dec. 7, 1941, day of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, as “a date which will live in infamy.” Little did he know the nation would face a similar date nearly 60 years later. -
Vincent Danz—9/11 hero and FRC namesake
As a member of the Emergency Service Unit, he and his fellow officers were the first to enter the doomed Trade Center. He called home to his wife and told her it was real bad up in the Towers. -
Jeffrey Palazzo—A 9/11 Coast Guard hero’s story
Saving lives was what drew Jeffrey Palazzo to the Coast Guard, and on Sept. 11, 2001, Palazzo, a Coast Guard Reservist, was one of hundreds of New York Fire Department personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice trying to save others. -
Maturing and Making an Impact—Coast Guard Intelligence in the 1980s and 1990s
In the early 1990s Coast Guard Intelligence made extensive contributions to mass migration preparation and response. -
Hero without a headstone—Forgotten keeper Joseph Doyle and his Gold Lifesaving Medal rescues
The weather was horrific with dark skies, steady rain, and tumultuous seas. The keeper and his crew were quickly away and encountering “fearful seas.” -
Raising “The White Picket Fence”—the origin of the Coast Guard’s Haitian Migration Interdiction Operations
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.” -
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… -
The service’s first drug seizure at sea? The mostly mistaken case of the George E Starr
"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. " -
Honor, Respect, Devotion to Duty—Foundational principles of Coast Guard culture
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. -
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. -
The Last Flight of Coast Guard Aviator No. 3
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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
“Into the Jaws of Death”—Coast Guard landing craft at D-Day
One of the most reproduced photographs to come out of June 6, 1944—D-Day was captured by Coast Guard Chief Photographer’s Mate Robert F. Sargent and entitled “Into the jaws of death.” Sargent. -
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. -
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 . . ..” -
“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. -
Rogue cutter Madison—remembering our first POWs 210 years ago
Early in the War of 1812, the Madison had set sail on an unsanctioned cruise to capture British merchantmen. It would be the cutter’s last patrol. -
Sentinels of the past—the Coast Guard’s Civil War boat howitzers from the Revenue Cutter Service
Learn how howitzer cannons have changed over time in size, shape, and utilization during their service. -
Devotion to Duty—Asian nationals serving in the Coast Guard
Asian nationals began serving in the United States Coast Guard 175 years ago, playing an important role in the history of the Coast Guard’s ancestor agency of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
The only remnant of a sunken Coast Guard cutter
The bronze placard is the only verified artifact from the Coast Guard Cutter Tampa, which sank in September 1918 off the coast of Wales, just before the end of World War I. -
Dobbins and Knapp—Frontier Mariners, Naval Officers, and Revenue Cutter Masters
The worst place for an American to be in the spring of 1812 was anywhere along the Canadian border—it was like a winding stretch of gunpowder ignited on one end. -
“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. -
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. -
Commandant delivers the 2024 State of the Coast Guard Address
Adm. Fagan highlighted operational accomplishments while focusing on workforce and mission readiness and strengthening Service culture. -
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. -
Edith Munro—leader, mentor, SPAR and Medal of Honor hero mother
Edith Munro will always be remembered for raising one of the Coast Guard and Marine Corps’ greatest heroes…but few people know that Munro was also Lt. Munro, of the U.S. Coast Guard Women’s Corps—also known as SPARs. -
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. -
“When I say Americans, I mean all Americans!” — Segregation’s take-down by President Harry Truman
On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed a pair of executive orders, the combination of which banned racial segregation in the armed forces and federal civil service. This article offers context on this occurrence and explores their significance more than 75 years after being signed. -
Master Chief McShan—leader, mentor, trailblazer and FRC namesake.
A 20-year veteran of the service, the first African American woman to achieve the enlisted rank of master chief and distinguished role model for the Coast Guard’s core values. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
Coast Guard pioneers the marine radio over 100 years ago!
On Aug. 23, 1899, the terse message: “Sherman is sighted,” announced the return of the troopship after the Spanish-American War. Transmitted from Lightship 70, this message was the first wireless ship-to-shore telegraph message in U.S. history. -
Built to Last—The early days of the 210-foot cutter fleet
Despite their vintage, the iconic Reliance class cutters and their dedicated crews continue to carry out Coast Guard lifesaving, law enforcement, and homeland security missions. -
1957—First U.S. transit of the Northwest Passage
The story of how three United States Coast Guard cutters successfully break through and officially chart what had become known as the fabled Northwest Passage. -
Merry Christmas from the Galley! — the Coast Guard’s collection of vintage Christmas Menus
Over the years, various Coast Guard cutters have celebrated Christmas either in port or at sea. Being away from home and family no doubt left a void as evidenced by letters written home. Commanding officers allowed the observance of Christmas with a dinner with all the trimmings. Some men would go ashore and celebrate Christmas while on liberty; others chose to remain on board. Oftentimes, cutter logbooks would say “omitted general quarters on account of holiday” as the only mention of any Christmas celebrations. It was just another day on board.