The official blog of the U.S. Coast Guard
Last summer, after several months of preparation, the Coast Guard Cutter Bear received a mission objective for 14 days of its 72-day patrol off the coast of New England. CGC Bear was tasked with serving as a research vessel, facilitating a search for the wreck of the original United States Revenue Cutter Bear.
Joseph Toahty, half Pawnee and half Kiowa Indian, joined the Coast Guard in 1941. He was the first Pawnee Indian to go to sea, the first Native American to participate in a U.S. naval offensive operation and the first to set foot in enemy territory during the World War II.
During the Age of Sail, the seasonal pattern of icebound winters froze-in merchant vessels and reduced the wintertime demand for revenue cutters on the Great Lakes, in the Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic States. In some cases, cutters were decommissioned in December, winterized and their crews dismissed until the spring thaw.
The Coast Guard’s history is closely tied to the State of North Carolina. This connection dates back to 1790 and the men and women who have served at the many stations and bases along the coast and eastern side of North Carolina.
With nearly seven and a half decades of water in her wake, Smilax is the oldest U.S. Coast Guard cutter in service today and she turns 75 on November 1.
Work began in February. The brick was scrubbed and wire brushed and washed for preparation. A coat of off-white primer was applied and let dry and a second coat applied. The stenciling happened over several nights in between underway duty and watches. We worked and listened to music and drank coffee late into the night to finish our labor of love and respect. We thought we had until the end of our deployment to finish the brick.
After earning his PhD in geophysics from University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Jonathan M. Berkson served his nation for nearly half a century.
Today, he remains one of the Coast Guard’s last MIAs. Records indicate that Jimmy Crotty was the only active duty Coast Guardsman that fought the Japanese at Bataan and Corregidor, operations that merited authorization of the Defense of the Philippines battle streamer for the Coast Guard.
In 1897, eight whaling ships became trapped in pack ice near Point Barrow, Alaska. Concerned that the ships’ 265 crewmembers would starve to death, the whaling companies appealed to President William McKinley to send a relief expedition.
William H. Thiesen, Historian, Coast Guard Atlantic Area His keen presence of mind and discerning judgment in a grave emergency undoubtedly prevented the successful culmination of hostile intrigue designed to sabotage our national war effort. Legion of Merit Medal citation, Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class John C. Cullen, 1943 The accolades above recognize John C. Cullen,