VOLUME XIX ISSUE I 1 M catch boat capsIzes leaVIng ... · VOLUME XIX ISSUE I 1 MARCH 2019 Mary B II Continued on page 2 ‘DeaDlIest catch’ boat capsIzes, leaVIng multIple was already

Visit our Web site at www.cgretirenw.org

Pacific currents newsletter

United States Coast GuardRetiree Council NorthWest

“They Also Serve” Volume XIX Issue I 1 march 2019

Mary B II Continued on page 2

‘DeaDlIest catch’ boat capsIzes, leaVIng multIple DeaD

USCGPacificNorthwest@USCGPacificNW

Three people aboard the Mary B II were pronounced dead after their vessel capsized off the coast of Newport, Oregon on Tuesday, officials said.

Three people aboard the "Deadliest Catch" boat Mary B II were pronounced dead after their vessel capsized off the coast of Newport, Oregon on Tuesday 8 January 2019, officials said.

The boat was on the Discovery Channel show, “Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove,” according to the New York Post. The network told Fox News that the captain and crew onboard the vessel were not featured on the show.

The fatal incident occurred after the fishermen requested the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) assist them in crossing the Yaquina Bay bar shortly before 10 p.m. “due to high seas,” Oregon State Police said in a news release.

At 10:13 p.m., authorities got word that the boat “had capsized with three people onboard,” police said. (Oregon State Police)

A Coast Guard crew, which was already on the scene for an escort request, witnessed the capsizing and quickly went into search and rescue mode, reported Coast Guard Petty Officer Levi Read.

USCG Air Facility Newport and Station Yaquina Bay boat crews responding to 3 fishermen in the water after commercial fishing vessel Mary B II capsizes while crossing Yaquina Bay Bar. Crews battling 12 to 14-foot seas.

The USCG Pacific Northwest tweeted about the incident as it was occurring, saying that responders were “battling 12 to 14-foot seas.” There were reports of 16 to 20-foot waves as well, Read said.

The first person was recovered around 11:20 p.m. by a Coast Guard helicopter, Read said. The individual – identified as James Lacey, 48 – was taken to a hospital in Newport and pronounced dead, according to state police.

A second deceased individual – Joshua Porter, 50 – was located on the beach, authorities said.

“The Mary B II ultimately ran aground, on the beach, near

Page 2 Coast Guard Retiree Council Northwest Newsletter pacIfIc currents

Visit our Web site at www.cgretirenw.orgSpring 2019

CWOA Continued on page 3

the north side of the Yaquina Bay North Jetty,” state police said. “The boat Skipper, Stephen Biernacki (age 50 from Barnegat Township, NJ) was found with the boat and pronounced deceased at the scene.”

Mary B II Continued from page 1

us coast guarD seIzes 35,000 pounDs of cocaIne In pacIfIc

USCG Public Affairs

Coast Guard Cutter Forward (WMEC-911) crewmember positions bales of interdicted cocaine to be loaded onto a crane and offloaded at Port Everglades, Florida, Feb. 5,

2019. The Forward crew offloaded approximately 34,780 pounds of cocaine at Port Everglades worth an estimated $466 million wholesale seized in international waters in

the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Coast Guard Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Murray.

05 February 2019. The USCGC FORWARD home ported at the Integraded Support Command (ISC) Portsmouth, VA. seized nearly 35,000 pounds (15,000 kilograms) of cocaine from apparent drug smuggling vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Six crews seized the drugs from 21 separate vessels stopped in Pacific waters off Mexico and Central and South America. The drugs, worth an estimated wholesale value of $466 million and were off-loaded in Port Everglades,

cWoa 2019 annual meetIngaprIl 3 - aprIl 5

https://cwoauscg.org/event/cwoa-2019-annual-meeting/

The 2019 Annual meeting will be held at the Embassy Suites at 44610 Waxpool Road Ashburn, VA 20147, from 03-05 April 2019. Executive Committee, please mark your calendars now because we would like a good showing from all chapters.

-What to expect? Lots of good (orderly) conversation on various topics that are important to our membership.

-What is the dress code? Generally the meeting is more of a polo shirt/khaki type of event. Most of us where a CWOA shirt along with dressier pants. The installation dinner on Friday evening is fancier with dinner dress jacket or dinner dress expected for active duty/reservists and equivalent civilian attire expected for guest and retirees.

-Does the CWOA pay for our travel? The CWOA pays for one representative for each Chapter to travel to the event. DO NOT USE A GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD. The CWOA will reimburse you for your travel but it is not government travel. You will fill out a travel claim at the meeting and receive a check during the meeting. The CWOA reduces costs by doubling chapter reps up in rooms (so two people per room). You can have your own room if desired but you will have to pay half of the costs out of your own pocket. Do not reserve your own room, the executive director takes care of all of this for you when she receives your registration.

The ANNUAL MEETING REGISTRATION

FORM can be found at: https://cwoauscg.org/event/cwoa-2019-annual-meeting/

or you can use the registration form

included in this newsletter.

CGC Forward Continued on page 4

Coast Guard Retiree Council Northwest Newsletter pacIfIc currents Page 3

Spring 2019Visit our Web site at www.cgretirenw.org

CWOA Continued from page 2

REGISTRATION FORM Apr i l 3 – 5 2019 ANNUAL MEETING

Name (for Badge): Name of Chapter: Your Street Address: City Day-time Phone: Email

Rank:

State Zip:

MEETING, LODGING AND INSTALLATION DINNER AT THE Embassy Suites Hotel Dulles North, 44610 Waxpool Road,

Ashburn, VA Ph: 703-554-6070

DO NOT MAKE RESERVATIONS WITH THE HOTEL

Lodging Room Rate is $149.16 per night (price includes taxes and breakfast for two)

Hotel Arrival Time/Date Hotel Departure Date

I desire a Non-Smoking Room Handicap-Accessible Room

I am attending the meeting and desire a single occupancy room (This means I’m paying for ½ the room)

I am attending the meeting and desire a double room (You will share a room with another Chapter Rep)

I will be accompanied and need a room to accommodate persons Names of persons accompanying me:

I am attending the meeting but do not need room accommodations. If you are bringing a spouse and you would like her/him to eat lunch with us the cost will be 20.00 per day. We will settle it on your claim.

Installation Dinner Friday, 5 Apr (Reception 1800 followed by dinner at 1900)

Individuals at $45 each (Included with registration) Please make menu selection(s) below Pan Seared Chicken Saltimbocca – Fresh

Sage, Prosciutto and White Wine

Pepper Crusted Sirloin – Demi Glaze and Button Mushrooms

Char-Grill Salmon – Dill Beurre Blanc

Vegetable Lasagna If you need a special menu, contact Carol Setteducato at (202)554-7753 or [email protected]

Please send your form and check to CWOA, 12 Brookley Ave. S.W., Washington, DC 20032 Signature: Date

FORMS MUST BE RETURNED TO THE ASSOCIATION PRIOR TO 14 March 2019

Tuesday, 2 Apr (1730-1930) Welcome Reception

Number of Individuals (no charge for reception)



Florida on Tuesday, the Coast Guard said in a news release.

Commander. Michael D Sharp, commanding officer of the Forward, told reporters the drugs were found over the last three months aboard fishing vessels and go-fast boats outfitted to conceal contraband and evade authorities.

The USCG’s Commandant, Adm. Karl Schultz, said in the last few years, crews have seized 1.3 million pounds (0.6 million kilograms) of cocaine and detained 1,200 suspects at sea. Schultz said most of the drugs originate in Colombia and are destined for the U.S.

CGC Forward Continued from page 2

the year Was 1964 – coast guarD aIr statIon astorIa

oregon establIsheD

https://cgaviationhistory.org/1964-coast-guard-air-station-astoria-oregon-established/

Coast Guard Group/Air Station Astoria was established on 14 August 1964 at Tongue Point Naval Station with a crew of 22 officers and 104 enlisted men. Two single engine Sikorsky HH-52A helicopters were operated from that location. The helicopters staged from the Port of Astoria Airport in nearby Warrenton during periods of inclement weather. On 25 February 1996 the Air Station was permanently

moved to its present location at the Port of Astoria Airport. The HH-52A helicopters were replaced with three larger twin engine HH-3F Pelican helicopters in March 1973. Two HU-25A Falcon jet aircraft were assigned to the Air Station in October 1983 to enhance the law enforcement effort and contribute to Search and Rescue (SAR) and logistical missions.

The larger helicopters and the two additional jet aircraft required a larger facility. A 4.8 million dollar construction and modification project began in 1982 and was completed in August 1984. A new medical building and new shop buildings were also built during the project. A third HU-25A Falcon was added in June 1988. Then in September 1987 the HH-3F Pelicans were replaced with 3 HH-65 Dolphins. In 1995 both the HU-25A Falcons and the HH-65 Dolphins were replaced by the HH-60J medium range recovery helicopters.

Air Station Astoria, now under Sector Columbia River, has an area of responsibility which stretches from the Queets River on the Washington coast, south to Cape Kiwanda on the Oregon coast; and the Columbia River east of Longview Washington. Sector Columbia River provides support functions to all units stationed in Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington. The Sector also provides operational support to the National Motor Lifeboat School and the Advanced Rescue Swimmer School, both located in Ilwaco, Washington.

The rescue Swimmer Program has evolved dramatically from the initial concept. In 1995 it was recommended that advanced training be provided in hazard awareness and various new procedures, techniques and equipment that rescue swimmers did not receive in Rescue Swimmer School or normally encounter during operations at their air stations. Astoria was determined to be the best location for such a school, as the rugged coastline, demanding surf and prevailing high seas provided ideal

Astoria Continued on page 5



AIRSTA Continued on page 6

training conditions. In April of 1996 the Coast Guard Advanced Rescue Swimmer School was established. Twice a year for one month periods, advanced rescue swimmer training is conducted for pilots, hoist operators, flight mechanics and rescue swimmers from all Coast Guard air stations.

Today, (2019) Sector Columbia River is composed of Air Station Astoria in Warrenton, Oregon; Station Grays Harbor in Westport, Washington; Station Cape Disappointment in Ilwaco, Washington; Station Tillamook Bay in Garibaldi, Oregon; and Aids to Navigation Team Astoria at Tongue Point, Oregon.

Support infrastructure includes a medical clinic and 160 housing units, as well as the Coast Guard facility at Tongue Point. The Sector also provides operational, logistical, and administrative support to two Astoria-based medium endurance cutters, a 225’ buoy tender also home-ported in Astoria, the National Motor Lifeboat School, and the Advanced Helicopter Rescue School.

Astoria Continued from page 4

CGAS Astoria H-60J Working Aids to Navigation. USCG Photo

Piasecki HRP 1 Rescuer, aka The Flying Banana, US Coast Guard, 1947

year Was 1974 – aIr statIon north benD oregon

establIsheDhttps://cgaviationhistory.org/1974-air-station-north-bend-

oregon-established/

Air Facility Newport HH-65C – airlifted injured logger for transport to hospital. U S Coast Guard Photo

The Coast Guard Air Station North Bend was commissioned 28 September 1974, as part of Group North Bend, co-located on the North Bend, Oregon, Municipal Airport. The airport is a former Naval Auxiliary Air Station and is located on the shore of Coos Bay.

The original Group, renamed Sector North Bend, has grown since inception and now consists of the Air station, an Air Facility at Newport, the 110 foot Coast Guard Cutter Orcas, six Motor Lifeboat Stations with two additional search and rescue detachments, an Aids to Navigation Team with five lighthouses



AIRSTA Continued from page 5

and 181 minor aids to navigation. The Newport Air Facility was built in 1992 after local groups lobbied for additional resources. The Sector oversees all operations of Sector North Bend units and supports them by providing administrative, supply, medical, engineering, and communications services. The area of responsibility extends from Depoe Bay Oregon southward to the California border. The Commanding Officer of Sector North Bend is also the Commanding Officer of the Air Station and many of the officers assigned to the Air station have additional duties in the Sector.

The Air Station was commissioned to address the increase in the amount of Search and Rescue activity which took place on the Oregon coast in the late sixties and early seventies. Three HH-52 helicopter aircraft were assigned. The HH-52s were replaced by HH-65A dolphins by 1990 and five are presently assigned to address the increased activity. Search and Rescue remains the primary mission of the Air Station. There has been an increase in law enforcement and environmental activities in recent years. The Air Station also frequently assists federal, state and county agencies by responding to calls for assistance with inland searches and medical evacuation of injured loggers.

Coast Guard Air Station North Bend can leave you in awe of the wonderful beauty of the Pacific Northwest, but it can also remind you of tremendous force of nature. Many lives have been lost off the Oregon Coast due to frigid waters and violent seas; mariners and a fellow Coast Guard Aviator.

Captain Jason Hamilton Retires

Coast Guard Captain Jason Hamilton retired January 18th after 26 years of honorable service. Rear Admiral David Throop, Thirteenth Coast Guard District Commander, presided over the ceremony at Base Seattle.

Captain Hamilton’s last assignment was District Chief of Response. He was also Chair of the U.S./Canada Joint Response team and a part-time Judge on the Coast Guard Court of Military Appeals. While Chief of Response, he also served temporarily as Acting Chief of Staff, and for a day, as Acting District Commander.

Captain Hamilton was previously Commanding Officer of USCGC Healy, a job he called the highlight of his career. Before that, he was Thirteenth Coast Guard District Chief Counsel and a part-time Special Court-Martial Judge. He was Senior Counsel, USCG Office of Maritime and International Law in Washington, DC, representing the Coast Guard in domestic and international Maritime Safety, Security, and Environmental Response Issues. Admiral Throop singled out his performance in that role as especially valuable to the Coast Guard and to the country.

Other assignments included Executive Officer of USCGC Polar Sea, Executive Assistant

Captain Jason Hamilton and Rear Admiral David Throop, 13th Coast Guard District Commander at

retirement ceremony. Photo by Commander Vic Primeaux

Hamilton Continued on page 7

Next Council meeting is 1030-1200 on 13 April in the Coho Room of the Base Seattle galley.



to the Pacific Area Commander, Senior Prosecutor and Military Justice Advisor to the Maintenance and Logistics Command (MLC)

Pacific and District 11 Commanders. He is an honor graduate of the Coast Guard Academy.

Captain Hamilton met his wife while in Law School at the University of Washington. He was Editor of the Law Review, and she was Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review. This prompted Admiral Throop to remark that “Jason married his boss!” Captain Hamilton, his wife, and two daughters will continue to reside in the Seattle area.

Hamilton Continued from page 6

neW phonetIc alphabet



buoy tenDer blackthorn—lost nearly 40 years but not forgotten

Written by William Thiesen Coast Guard Atlantic Area Historian

Black and white photo of Buoy Tender Blackthorn. At the time of its sinking the tender was homeported at Galveston, Texas. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

One of 40 180-foot buoy tenders built during World War II, the Coast Guard commissioned Blackthorn (WLB-391), March 27, 1944.

The principal job of a buoy tender is to service aids to navigation. However, as with all Coast Guard craft, buoy tenders are often diverted to other missions like the Blackthorn early in its career. During its first few months in service, Blackthorn broke ice on the Great Lakes to keep open wartime shipping lanes. In mid-1944, the buoy tender received assignment to San Pedro, California, transiting the St. Lawrence River, East Coast, Gulf of Mexico and Panama Canal. For the next five years, Blackthorn operated out of San Pedro, servicing aids to navigation and carrying out other Coast Guard missions.

In early 1950, Blackthorn was reassigned to Mobile, Alabama, transiting the Panama Canal once again. While assigned to Mobile, the crews of Blackthorn assisted numerous vessels in distress. In April 1951, the buoy tender searched for survivors of Esso Greensboro, which had collided with tanker Esso Suez. Blackthorn assisted distressed merchantmen Ocean Pride in July 1951, Kerry Mac in October 1951, Mission Carmel in June 1952, and Beatrice in April 1954. Blackthorn also assisted Miss Cain Joy in July 1959.

During its time in Mobile, Blackthorn assisted in several airplane crash response efforts. In August 1952, the Blackthorn crew helped search for survivors of a B-17 bomber crash and, in February 1953, it searched for survivors of National Airlines Flight 470. Between May and June 1953, Blackthorn recovered the wreckage of the National Airlines aircraft. In April 1954, it salvaged a U.S. Air Force aircraft and, in May 1956, Blackthorn searched for two missing naval aircraft. In October 1957, Blackthorn salvaged sister buoy tender Iris, which had beached after suffering a hole in its hull.

Blackthorn Continued on page 9



Blackthorn Continued from page 8

Blackthorn Continued on page 10

Blackthorn was modernized throughout its 35-year career. In 1968, it received improvements in its heating and ventilation systems, and a new generator. In 1972, the buoy tender underwent another overhaul renovating the berthing, heads, and dispensary and adding a new lounge and pollution abatement system. A few years later, in 1976, Blackthorn was reassigned to Galveston, Texas. From late 1979 through early 1980, Blackthorn received yet

another overhaul—this time in Tampa, Florida. 1980 photograph of Blackthorn after raising for

inspection and subsequent sinking as a reef. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

On the evening of Monday, Jan. 28, 1980, having just completed its overhaul, Blackthorn began its return to Galveston outward bound from Tampa Bay. While the buoy tender was outbound in the shipping channel, the 600-foot tanker S.S. Capricorn was steaming into the bay. Having been overtaken by the Russian passenger ship Kazakhstan, Blackthorn proceeded in mid-channel. Glare from the brightly-lit passenger vessel prevented the bridge watches of Blackthorn and Capricorn from seeing each other. After regaining its bearings, Capricorn began to turn left, but this prevented the two ships from passing port-side to port-side. Unable to make radio contact with Blackthorn, Capricorn’s pilot blew two whistle blasts to signal that the ships pass starboard-to-starboard.

With Blackthorn’s officer-on-deck (OOD) confused about standard operating procedure, the buoy tender’s captain ordered evasive action. However, the order came too late and the ships collided. The damage to Blackthorn seemed minimal, but Capricorn’s anchor was ready to deploy. The anchor embedded in the tender’s hull and, as the ships began separating, slack in the anchor chain tightened. The anchor ripped open the tender’s port side and filled Blackthorn’s exposed compartments with water. The buoy tender capsized and sank. Twenty-three of Blackthorn’s 50 crew members perished in the accident.

Prior to the Blackthorn accident, the Coast Guard had suffered the loss of the buoy tender White Alder in 1968, and Cutter Cuyahoga in 1978. Soon after the loss of Blackthorn, the service made sweeping improvements to cutter policy, doctrine, training and standardization. It created the Prospective Commanding Officer (CO)/Executive Officer (XO) Afloat Course, mandated that all COs, XOs and OODs pass the Deck Watch Officer Examination, required prospective COs and officers-in-charge to conduct underway familiarization rides, and promulgated Commandant Cutter Navigation Standards. All of these steps improved the proficiency and safety of afloat operations, and resulted in superior levels of cutter and crew readiness.

After the accident, Blackthorn was re-floated for an investigation and board of inquiry. The tender was then sunk as an artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico. Now, nearly 40 years after the buoy tender’s sinking, we pause to remember Blackthorn and its lost crew members:

SS1 Subrino AvilaSNGM Randolph B. BarnabyMK2 Richard D. BooneSA Warren R. BrewerQM2 Gary W. CrumlyDC2 Daniel M. EstradaEM2 Thomas R. FaulknerSA William R. Flores



Blackthorn Continued from page 9

Columbia Continued on page 11

SS3 Donald R. FrankDC3 Lawrence D. FryeQM3 Richard W. GauldSA Charles D. HallSA Glen E. HarrisonMK1 Bruce LafondFA Michael K. LukeMK1 Danny R. MaxcySA John E. ProskoET1 Jerome F. ResslerCWO Jack J. RobertsSA George Rovolis, Jr.ENS Frank J. SarnaEM3 Edward F. SindelarMKC Luther D. Stidhem

Memorial service for Blackthorn held in 2015 at the Blackthorn Memorial in St. Petersburg, Fla.

U.S. Coast Guard photo.

coast guarD protects columbIa rIVer ports WIth

safety eXams of foreIgn Vessels

U.S. Coast Guard 13th District PA Detachment Astoria

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Coast Guard has detained seven foreign vessels since November 2018, due to discrepancies found during Port State Control exams in accordance with the International Maritime Organization Safety of Life at Sea multi-lateral treaty.

The most recent detention occurred after examiners from Marine Safety Unit Portland discovered 100 inoperable carbon dioxide (CO2) cylinders, which are used to extinguish fires in the vessel’s machinery space or cargo holds.

Safety pins that should prevent accidental discharge during transportation and

Lt. Katherine Brodie, Marine Inspector at Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Portland, inspects an emergency fishing tackle box kept in the lifeboat

aboard the vessel Port Belmonte, during a Port State Control exam at the Port of Portland, Ore., April 30, 2017. Brodie inspects whether the lifeboat contains fresh and complete provisions to sustain all crew

members in the event of an order to abandon ship.

MST1 Eric Kelley, of Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Portland, stands next to a low-pressure C02 system tank

aboard the vessel Morning Catherine during a Port State Control exam at the Port of Portland, Portland,

Ore., May 1, 2017. Kelley checks the general condition of the tank, specifically if there is any ice or frost build up,

which might indicate a leak in the tank or faulty insulation.



Pilots Continued on page 12

Columbia Continued from page 10

installation, remained in the cylinder nozzles, which would have prevented the deployment of CO2.

Foreign vessels are detained in the U.S. when serious lifesaving, firefighting, machinery, pollution prevention, or security failures are discovered during an examination. A detention controls the movement of a foreign commercial vessel until after the serious deficiencies are rectified.

“The Coast Guard maintains the safety of the port by preventing damage to property or the marine environment,” said Capt. Tom Griffitts, commanding officer, Marine Safety Unit Portland. “Inspectors from our unit do a great job of identifying major non-conformities aboard vessels and through this identification we ensure vessels are safe, secure, and environmentally sound to transit the complex Columbia River System.”

MST1 Class Eric Kelley, of Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Portland, and the crew of the vessel Morning

Catherine observe the rudder indicator on the bridge during a steering test as part of a Port State Control

exam at the Port of Portland, Ore., May 1, 2017. This portion of the exam confirms the functionality of the emergency steering systems, which allow the crew to

steer the vessel from the engine room in the event they are unable to do so from the bridge

coast guarD, unIVersIty team up In a Quest for

more pIlots

A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., conducts pre-flight checks before departing the air station on a training flight, Jan.

8, 2019. CORINNE ZILNICKI/U.S. COAST GUARD

By JEFF HAMPTON | The Virginian-Pilot |February 15, 2019

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (Tribune News Service) — Elizabeth City State University, a historically black college with the only four-year aviation degree in the state, could help the Coast Guard increase its number of pilots.

The university lies about a mile from one of the largest Coast Guard bases in the country where 36 pilots fly helicopters and airplanes on 200 to 300 rescue missions a year. There are about 1,000 pilots across the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard and the college have signed agreements in the past promising that local service members attend ECSU functions such as graduations and meet regularly with the school's military affairs officer.

Rear Admiral Keith Smith, commander of the Fifth Coast Guard District and Karrie Dixon, ECSU chancellor, signed an agreement Thursday to continue close relations with an emphasis on recruiting, exchange of expertise and involvement in the aviation program.

"We need pilots," Smith said after the signing ceremony. "This is a perfect match."



Pilots Continued from page 11

Drone technology could also be part of the partnership, Smith said. ECSU will start in the fall a four-year degree in drone piloting and maintenance. The Coast Guard plans to expand its unmanned aircraft systems for national security operations, according to the service's website.

Lt. Philip Weston Dodson, originally from South Mills, graduated from the ECSU aviation program in 2012 with a commercial and private pilot license. Now he is a helicopter pilot at the Elizabeth City air station. The training helped him at the start of his career, he said.

"No doubt, you have a foundation," Dodson said.

Demand on pilots has increased, according to statistics. The Elizabeth City Coast Guard Air Station flew 207 missions saving 175 lives last year, according to Coast Guard spokesman Kip Wadlow. The station averaged 271 search and rescue flights saving 140 lives over the last three years. The three years before that, the station averaged 166 flights saving 85 lives.

The Coast Guard offers a scholarship for students majoring in needed fields such as math, science and aviation. So far, 18 students have graduated from ECSU under the program which pays the final two years of school, books, housing and a monthly salary. As part of the contract, the student becomes a member of the Coast Guard, goes through boot camp and participates in military activities. Later the recruit attends officer candidate school and serves a three-year active duty tour. About 40 historically black schools participate, including Hampton University and Norfolk State University.

One third of the Coast Guard Academy classes of 2018 and 2019 are minority, the highest level in its history, said Coast Guard commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft in a Coast Guard blog. Enlisted and warrant workforces are 27 percent minority, he said.

A few firsts are mentioned on Coast Guard and black history websites. Bobby Wilks was the first black Coast Guard aviator in 1957. LCDR Jeanine Menze was the first black female Coast Guard aviator in 2005. LCDR La'Shanda Holmes became the Coast Guard's first black female helicopter pilot in 2010.History was made on 21 February 2019 in the US Coast Guard at Tuskegee, Alabama!! LT Ronaqua Russell received one of military aviation’s top award, the Air Medal. This prestigious award is rarely earned by fixed wing aviators in the Coast Guard and LT Russell has inked her way into the archives!

In all of Coast Guard history, there have only been 5 black female aviators. All five, the Fab 5, flew into Moton Field, AL (Tuskegee) to celebrate this historic, monumental occasion!

1. LCDR Jeanine Menze (C-130)2. LCDR LaShanda Renee Holmes (H-65)3. LT C Angel Hughes (C-144)4. LT Chanel Lee (H-60)5. LT Ronaqua Russell (C-144)



Crazy Continued on page 14

7 crazy thIngs the coast guarD DID DurIng WorlD

War II

The Coast Guard doesn't always get a lot of respect, but the fact remains that the service and its predecessors have fought in every American war since the Revolution, they deploy to locations around the world, and were absolute slayers in World War II. For the naysayers out there, here are just seven of the awesome things puddle pirates did in the greatest generation:

1. The Coast Guard conducted the first U.S. raid of WWII

The USCGC Northland in World War II. (U.S. C. G.)

On Sep. 12, 1941, nearly three months before the Pearl Harbor attack, the crew of Coast Guard cutter Northland conducted the first U.S. raid of the war. The cutter was operating under a defensive treaty with Greenland and moved to investigate a tip that a suspicious landing party was operating in a nearby fjord. They investigated and found the SS Buskoe.

While interrogating the ship master, they found signs that the ship was acting as a relay for Nazi radio stations. The Coast Guardsmen went after the landing party and raided

an onshore radio station, capturing three Norwegians and German communications equipment, code words, and military instructions. Members of the ship and radio station crew were arrested.

2. Coast Guard led the operating, maintaining, and salvaging of landing craft

The Coast Guard's war started in the Pacific, but they were quickly employed in the Atlantic overseas as American deployed to Africa, the Mediterranean, and Europe. In all of these deployed locations, the Coast Guard was tasked with providing many of the crews for landing crafts, and it was Coast Guardsmen who were landing troops under fire everywhere from Guadalcanal to Normandy.

This was a natural evolution for the service, which had greatly increased its shallow water capabilities during Prohibition in America, learning to land teams and send them against bootleggers, possibly under fire. This led to the only Medal of Honor earned in Coast Guard history as Signalman 1st Class Douglas Munro gave his life while saving Marines under machine gun fire at Guadalcanal.

At Papa New Guinea, Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Richard Snyder was landing supplies when he and his unit came under Japanese fire. He grabbed weapons and hand grenades from the supplies cache and rushed the caves from which the fire originated. The grenades went in first, followed quickly by Snyder himself. He slaughtered four Japanese fighters and re-secured the beach, which earned him a Silver Star.



Crazy Continued from page 13

3. The Coast Guard scooped 400 men out of the water on D-Day

The Coast Guard Cutter 16, the "Homing Pigeon," crew celebrates their D-Day success pulling 126 drowning men from the waters off the Normandy coast on June 6, 1941.

(U.S. Coast Guard)

Part of that landing craft mission was landing troops at D-Day, but, given the sheer size of the operation, the Navy and Army asked that the Coast Guard also provide a flotilla of ships to rescue Americans stranded in the water. The puddle pirates quickly rose to the challenge, pulling from their experience saving mariners for over a century.

The "Matchbox Fleet," a flotilla of small cutters and other craft, went to war on D-Day right behind the first wave of landing craft. They had been told to stay two miles out, but most boats moved closer to shore where they could rescue more men. Overall, the service pulled over 400 men out of the water. A single boat, the "Homing Pigeon," rescued 126.

4. Coast Guardsmen defended the fleet during the Philippines landings

Similarly, the Coast Guard provided landing

support and lifesaving services during the amphibious landings to retake the Philippines. Many of the supply ships and landing craft piloted by the Coast Guard came under attack, making many of their personnel de facto guardians of the fleet.

And Coast Guardsmen distinguished themselves during this defense. In one, the men were defending their portions of the fleet from attack when three kamikaze pilots made their final approach at the supply ship USS Callaway. The Coast Guard crew were rattling off all their rounds in defense, but the gunners started to melt away when it became clear that at least one plane was going to make impact.

At least seven stayed in position, downing two of the planes but suffering the impact of the third and dying instantly. But the ship survived the fight, and the landings were successful.

5. The Coast Guard manned floating weather stations under fire in the Atlantic

The U.S. advantage in the Battle of the Atlantic sometimes came down to weather reports. D-Day was partially successful because the U.S. knew about a break in the storms that wasn't obvious to the Nazis. But manning weather stations, especially ones at sea, was risky in the wartime environment.

The Coast Guard sent relatively old and under-armed ships to the weather monitoring missions where they would stay in one spot and

Crazy Continued on page 15

The USS Callaway, crewed by Coast Guardsmen, in World War II. (U.S. Coast Guard)



collect data, making them highly susceptible to attack. In September 1942, the USCGC Muckeget suddenly disappeared in what was later found to be a torpedo attack, claiming the lives of over 100 Coast Guardsmen as well as four civilians. Those civilians would receive posthumous Purple Hearts in 2015 for their sacrifice.

6. Coasties interrupted German saboteurs landing on American soil.

In June, 1942, a German U-boat surfaced off the coast of New York and dropped off a team of four saboteurs that made their way to the coast. Their goal was to cripple U.S. aluminum production and hydroelectric power production through a terror campaign, weakening the U.S. and hopefully coercing the U.S. population to vote against the war.

The endeavor was quickly foiled thanks to the Coast Guard beach patrol. Coast Guard Seaman 2nd Class John Cullen came upon the group changing into disguises in the sand dunes on the beach, and offered them shelter and food at the Coast Guard station. They refused, and Cullen quickly became suspicious of the group. He played along like he believed their story of illegal fishing, but then

immediately contacted the FBI. The FBI arrived after the saboteurs had left the beach, but they were able to recover the German's buried supplies and launch an investigation that rounded up all four men before a single attack. It also allowed them to learn of a similar landing in Florida which resulted in four more arrests with no damage done.

7. It hunted U-boats, especially near the U.S. coast.

It was kept largely secret during the war, but both U.S. coasts actually came under heavy and sustained U-boat attack during World War II. Most of the attacks were subs hunting merchant vessels, but the Germans occasionally shelled towns as well. It was the Coast Guard's job to hunt these boats, sometimes with Navy blimp support.

In fact, the U.S. actually reached deep into the bench and called up civilian sailors to help with the task of hunting subs, then put the Coast Guard in charge of them. The Coast Guard allowed the civilians to help look for enemy vessels, but then sent their own crews to hunt the enemy when they were found.

The civilian vessels and crews were often surprisingly good at the task, especially since many of them were wooden-hulled, sailing boats. German sonar couldn't detect the sound of the sails like they would an engine, and they couldn't bounce other signals off the wooden hulls, so they only knew one of the ships had spotted them when a Coast Guard hunter bore down on them.

Crazy Continued from page 14

USCGC Muskeget, A weather observation ship, was sunk by a German submarine on September 9, 1942. All 121 crewmen, including four young weathermen,

were killed. (Courtesy Us Navy)

John C. Cullen.(USCG Oral History Program)



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lone saIlor aWarD recIpIent: lloyD, beau & Jeff brIDges

(left to right) Jeff, Beau and Lloyd Bridges.

Three of the newest Lone Sailor Award recipients were honored Sept 22, 2011 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. The Bridges family, Lloyd, Beau and Jeff, are probably best known for their distinguished careers in Hollywood including their acting, producing and directing credits. But what might not be as well known is all three are Coast Guard veterans. The Bridges family received the award for distinguishing themselves by drawing upon their military experience to become successful in their subsequent careers and lives, while exemplifying the core values of the sea services.

In a recent interview at the Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., Beau Bridges shared with the Coast Guard Compass his experiences while in the Coast Guard and how the Coast Guard’s core values of Honor, Respect and Devotion to Duty have reflected in his civilian life.

During World War II Lloyd Bridges left Columbia Studios to enlist in the Coast Guard and returned to acting after the war. He was a member of Coast Guard Auxiliary in the 11th

District and did a number of public service announcements for the Coast Guard. He was later appointed an

honorary commodore. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

Coast Guard Compass: You, your brother and father have all served in the Coast Guard and went on to have award-winning careers. Why did your family choose these similar paths?

Beau Bridges: My dad, he was an actor, Lloyd, and he was doing a series called Sea Hunt. And it was all about the sea and the ocean, so he had a lot of Coast Guard personnel coming in and advising him on the show and he got very involved in promoting the Coast Guard.

So I enlisted Coast Guard Reserve and I started my boot camp in Alameda, California, about eighteen years old. An incredible experience. The things that I learned during my eight years of service, qualities that I’ve imparted to my own children – I have five kids – that have served me well in my life. The whole idea of how to prepare for a task to make sure you learn the details, that you prepare yourself mentally, physically for the task at hand. That’s total Coast Guard. Being ‘Always Ready,’ that’s something you can apply to your whole life. And then the word respect is something that I remember learning in the Coast Guard. Respect, number one for yourself, respect for your shipmates; respect for your task at hand. I think I’ve tried to apply that all my life. And then I don’t want to forget my baby brother Jeff. He followed me into the Coast Guard eight years after I did. And he served eight years.

Compass: What do you remember the most about your service in the Coast Guard?

Bridges: I think it prepared me for life, my training in the Coast Guard. It was a peacetime service, so I didn’t see any wartime action; but I learned a lot about life. How to take care of myself. How to be of service to other people. And I’ve tried to carry on that tradition. And I’ve also met a lot of friends. I think what’s great about the military is, you join another family when that happens. But also being a man who served in peacetime, I had many friends who fought in the Vietnam War. My term of service ended right before



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Lone Continued from page 16

the war started so I had a lot of friends that fought in Vietnam. Some of them giving their lives. So I have a profound respect and admiration for those people who have seen action in the military – men and women. And I think about them all the time. I feel that one of the reasons I’m here to celebrate the Lone Sailor is to cause attention to the wounded warriors and the military veterans who are returning, that want to come back into civilian life, if that’s what they choose. We don’t support those people enough. We don’t respect them enough – that word respect again – and we need to.

Compass: Can you briefly discuss some high points of your Coast Guard career?

Bridges: I served on a buoy tender. I was a cook’s helper. Sometimes I had to cook the main meals. And this is way back. I was on the USS Dexter. This is in the early 60s. But I mostly remember the beauty of being out at sea. It’s just a wonderful feeling. The ocean is so powerful, but it can be so still and peaceful. Even if you’re on the beach, you can look out at least at a 180 degrees of nothing but horizon. When you’re out at sea, of course you get 360 degrees. If you got that watch and you’re out there by yourself in the morning, it’s beautiful. Nothing matches it. You can’t be fooled by the ocean. You have to always respect it. You have

to be ready for it to change. That’s why it’s a wonderful life lesson to be at sea, because in the end that’s what life’s all about, is change. It’s constantly changing. In the ocean, it can be the same piece of sea, and it can be calm like a lake and in an hour, boom, you’re in a major storm. So you always have to keep your eyes open and be fluid.

Compass: After your service you went on to acting and directing. What skills that you learned in the Coast Guard, did you use in your Hollywood career?

Bridges:I spent a lot of time, like all of us did, working on the decks and the ship was our home. My active duty was on that ship [Dexter]. LIMA 28 was my company. We were a team. We did think we were going to war. We were young men; we were training, getting ready. We all had each other’s back. And I think you go into civilian life, whether you’re an actor making a movie or working at an office, you’re usually on a team. And certainly making films is very much a collaborative effort. It gets back to that thing, respect again. My dad told me, “you have to come in, you have to respect your shipmates. Because you’re doing it for all of you.” In the Coast Guard that was a major thing from the get-go, was that we do this together. And I think the most dramatic way that came to me was, the first time someone screwed up in our company, we had to run the grinder of

the morning and they made us all run high-port if one guy messed up. So you know, I said, “oh, okay that’s the way it works.” I don’t want to make that mistake, but I also realize that if

The Dexter was named for Secretary of the Treasury Samuel Dexter, who was appointed to that position by

President John Adams in 1801. U.S. C. G. photo.



Tampa Continued on page 19

Lone Continued from page 17

someone else makes a mistake and I have to run high-port because of his mistake, that I can’t be angry with that guy because that could be me next time making everybody do it. And I probably did a couple times.

Compass: The Lone Sailor is the namesake of the award you are being presented with and is a statue that exists in memorials all around the United States. The original is here outside the Navy Memorial and is a tribute to all personnel of the sea services. What does it mean for you to represent the sea services?

Bridges: I saw it for the first time today, the memorial. I was blown away. What I love about it the most is the humbleness of it. It’s not like some five hundred foot high statue on a big giant pedestal. There he is and he’s right down ground level with everybody else. He’s got his gear and he’s ready to go. I like that about him. Even the memorial itself, it’s a huge circle of cement seats, places to sit. You’ve got the fountains all around it. I think if you were taking a walk and you walked right past it, you wouldn’t think of it as a memorial. It just looks like a great place to hang and have lunch. And I can see people doing that. I said, “yeah that’s what it should be.”

Lone Sailor Award recipient Jeff Bridges

rememberIng the cutter tampa….

https://www.history.uscg.mil/tampa/

USCGC Tampa

The U.S. Coast Guard needs your help with locating and contacting descendants of the crew of the Cutter TAMPA, which was tragically sunk during World War I with all hands lost. The Service has yet to present 84 of the outstanding Purple Heart Medals awarded posthumously to the crew.

The Coast Guard intends to recognize as many of the descendants as possible this Memorial Day. They need your help to do this.

Background:

The USS TAMPA, a Coast Guard ship and crew serving under the Department of the Navy during World War I, was lost with all hands after being torpedoed by a German U-boat off Wales on 26 September 1918.

This tragic loss occurred just weeks before the end of World War I. It was the single largest loss suffered by the Coast Guard during that conflict.

At the time of TAMPA’s loss, the Purple Heart Medal was not in use. In 1942, eligibility was extended to include the Coast Guard, but it was not until 1952 that the awarding of the Purple Heart Medal was made retroactive for



Tampa Continued from page 18

actions after 5 April 1917.

However, TAMPA was overlooked until 1999, when a retired Coast Guardsman submitted a proposal to award the Purple Heart to her crew.

In 1999, then-Commandant Admiral James Loy authorized the posthumous awarding of the Purple Heart Medal to the crew of USS TAMPA. Today, over one hundred years after TAMPA was lost and twenty years after the first TAMPA Purple Heart was awarded, the Coast Guard is still attempting to identify those families who have yet to receive their ancestors’ Purple Heart.

The Coast Guard has issued an ALCOAST message to raise awareness of the Purple Heart award program and to continue to identify those families who have yet to receive their ancestors’ medals. You can help by sharing this information with anyone and everyone who may be, or know of, a descendant of a crewman lost with TAMPA that fateful day.

There were 130 men on TAMPA, including 111 Coast Guardsmen and 4 Navy men.

Twenty-six TAMPA Purple Heart Medals have been claimed since 1999. Three TAMPA Purple Heart Medals are presently in progress. Eighty-four TAMPA Purple Heart Medals remain unclaimed.

The names of the 84 TAMPA crew whose Purple Heart Medals remain unclaimed are listed below and at the following website: https://www.history.uscg.mil/tampa/

To submit applications for TAMPA Purple Heart Medals, please contact Ms. Nora Chidlow, Coast Guard Archivist, at [email protected] or 202-559-5142. She has served as the primary point of contact between the Coast Guard and many TAMPA descendants, and also with the Medals & Awards branch. You may also contact Captain Sean Carroll, USCG, CG-0923: Office of

External Outreach & Heritage, 202-372-4562, [email protected]

To apply for their ancestor’s Purple Heart Medal, descendants are required to provide documentation showing the descendant’s relationship to the TAMPA crew member, such as family trees, pages from family Bibles, birth/death certificates, and/or pages from Ancestry or other genealogical applications. Please expect about 4-6 weeks’ time for processing.https://www.cgretirenw.org/cgretire1_019.htm

USCGC Tampa, originally known as Miami, was built by the Newport News Shipbuild ing and Drydock Corporation, Newport News, Virginia. Construction was authorized on 21 April, 1910. She launched on 10 February 1912, and was commissioned on 19 August.

Following the sinking of RMS Titanic in April 1912, Miami was assigned ice patrol duty with Seneca in 1913, and saw extensive duty as part of the international ice patrol.

That same year, Miami and her crew participated in the city of Tampa’s Gasparilla Pirate Festival, a celebration of a mythical Spanish pirate. That tradition continued until the United States entered World War I in 1917. The cutter and crew enjoyed a close relationship with the city of Tampa, and was re named in honor of the city in 1916.

Tampa, under the command of Captain Charles Satterlee, was one of six Coast Guard cutters assigned to convoy duty in European wa ters during World War I. Armed with four 3-inch guns, she es corted eighteen convoys, losing only two ships and earning a special commendation for exemplary service.


Captain Charles Satterlee



On 26 September 1918, having just detached from her 19th convoy, and sailing alone through the Bristol Channel toward the Welsh port of Milford Haven to recoal, Tampa was torpedoed by the German submarine UB-91. Exploding amidships, she sank in just under three minutes. One hundred and thirty men lost their lives, including 111 Coast Guardsmen.

The sinking of the cutter was the single largest loss of life for the Coast Guard during World War I. The sacrifices of her crew were not forgotten. The city of Tampa conducted a fundraising campaign, “Remember the Tampa!,” to an effort to sell war bonds. In 1921, the Coast Guard christened a new cutter in her name. Seven years later, on 23 May 1928, The US Coast Guard Memorial was dedicated at Arlington National Cemetery, honoring the sacrifice of those who had served aboard Tampa.

Some of the crew of Miami (Tampa). All were killed, USCG Photo

USS Tampa Purple Heart Project

The following crew list identifies those individuals who have yet to be awarded the Purple Heart for their sacrifice. (Please note the asterisk denotes those Purple Hearts already awarded or in progress.)

Coast Guard

James Jenkins Adams, 23, Key West, FloridaRobert Leake Agee, 22, Ft. Lauderdale, ForidaEarle Clarke Bell, 23, Dover, FloridaAlgy Knox Bevins, 23, Davenport, FloridaArthur Lee Bevins, 25, Davenport, Florida

Roy Ackerman Bothwell, 28, Brooklyn, New YorkJohn Bouzekis, 23, Pashalimani, GreeceLeonard Richardson Bozeman, 24, Tampa, FloridaWilliam Richard Bozeman, 29, Tampa, FloridaJohn Robertson Britton, Jr. , 22, Tampa, FloridaRoy Wallace Burns, 23, Brocton, MassachusettsAlfonso Joseph Busho, 21, Saulte Ste. Marie, MichiganArthur Robert Campbell, 22, Brooklyn, New YorkHerman A. Carmichael, 18, Tampa, FloridaJohn Thomas Carr, 40, Jamaica Plain, MassachusettsWilliam Benson Clements, 20, Boston, MassachusettsWilliam Randolph Connell, 19, Tampa, FloridaStanley Shields Cooke, 25, Denver, Colorado*Richard Cordova, 26, Key West, Florida Frank William Creamer, 25, Brooklyn, New YorkJoseph Cygan, 27, New Bedford, Massachusetts*Benjamin Nash Daniels, 25, Baltimore, MarylandJules Garnier Darnou, 41, Tampa, FloridaArthur Joseph Deasy, 23, Brooklyn, New YorkCharles Dechrit, 20, Danbury, ConnecticutWilliam Francis Deering, 25, Boston, MassachusettsEdgar Francis Dorgan, 21, Woodhaven, New York Gilbert James Doyle, 24, Brooklyn, New York*James Marsden Earp, 30, Baltimore, MarylandAlbert Cecil Emerson, 20, Tampa, FloridaHerrick Leopold Evans, 19, Key West, FloridaClarence Milton Faust, 20, Chicago, IllinoisWilliam Leonard Felton, 18, Key West, FloridaNorman Wood Finch, 23, Springfield, Massachusetts *James Marconnier Fleury, 30, Jamaica, New York Peter Fonceca, 18, Boston, MassachusettsJames Alexander Frost, 30, Brooklyn, New York*Charles Emmitt Galvin, 24, Tampa, FloridaFrank Charles Garrett, 22, Flip, MissouriCharles Edward Greenwald, 26, Albany, New YorkGeorge Henry Griffiths, 22, Mineola, New YorkHans Hansen, 17, Hvitmolle, SwedenArthur Thomas Harris, 25, Brooklyn, New YorkOtto Guenerious Harrison, 21, Jamaica, New YorkWilliam Pizza Hastings, 21, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaHarold Michel Haugland, 26, Haughland, NorwayJohn Francis Healy, 23, Brooklyn, New YorkWilliam Hickey, 33, Boston, MassachusettsWilliam Holland, 20, Newark, New JerseyHubert Holstein, 19, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaMaurice James Hutton, 35, Washington, DCHarold Benjamin Irsh, 21, Hartford, ConnecticutHans Ivar Johanson, 30, Arslat Tassune, Bohnslan, Sweden*Carl Ivar Johnson, 23, Ragan, Nebraska Edward William Kelleher, 29, Maxwell, Nebraska*Charles Henry Klingelhoefer, 42, Baltimore, MarylandJohn Cieslw Kosinski, 22, Baltimore, MarylandWilhelm Knudsen, 33, Copenhagen, DenmarkBert Hunter Lane, 23, Lakeland, Florida





Scripts Continued on page 22

Ludvig Andres Larsen, 27, Odderns, Kristianssand, Norway*Clement Minor Lawrence, 21, New York, New York Shelby Westen Layman, 25, Rineyville, KentuckyEston Drew Legree, 19, Tampa, FloridaJoseph Lieb, 18, Brooklyn, New YorkAngus Nelson MacLean, 23, Sneads, Florida*John Farrell McGourty, 36, New London, Connecticut*Frederick Mansfield, 23, Tampa, Florida*Percy Mansfield, 19, Tampa, FloridaGerassemos Mehalatos, 36, Agea Efhemea, Chefalonia, Greece*John Fred Miller (Johann Topoloski), 30, Jamaica, New York*Harold George Myers, 18, Tampa, FloridaBen Nelson, 25, Elroy, WisconsinWilliam Foster Newell, 19, Jacksonville, Florida*Jacob Darling Nix, 30, Estelle, South Carolina*Wesley James Nobles, 20, Gasparilla, FloridaRobert Norwood, 18, San Antonio, TexasCharles Walter Parkin, 17, Greystone, Rhode Island*Felix George Poppell, 19, Quay, FloridaAnders Poulsen, 26, Voer, Denmark*Frank Hugh Quigley, 26, Wallingford, ConnecticutWilliam Henry Reynolds, 22, Sanderson, FloridaJohn Irving Richards, 18, Dorchester, MassachusettsPerry Edward Roberts, 40, Key West, FloridaRobert Green Robertson, 18, Birmingham, Alabama*Jimmie Ross (Vincenzo Guerreira), 16, Tampa, FloridaAlexander Louis Saldarini, 20, Union Hill, New JerseyMichael Sarkin, 27, South Framingham, Massachusetts*Charles Satterlee, 43, Gales Ferry, ConnecticutArchibald Howard Scally, 35, Baltimore, MarylandPaul Bartley Schwegler, 25, Washington, District of ColumbiaFrancis Richard Scott, 26, Muskegeon, Michigan*Edward Francis Shanahan, Jr., 21, Jersey City, New Jersey*Irving Slicklen, 15, New York, New YorkJohn Smith (Peter Skelte), 28, Libau, Russia*Homer Sumner, 19, Tampa, Florida*Wamboldt Sumner, 24, Tampa, Florida*John Edgar Talley, 20, Oakhurst, FloridaFrank Joseph Taylor, 25, Cambridge, MassachusettsLouis Avery Thomas, 20, Charleston, South CarolinaCharles Henry Thompson, 19, Key West, FloridaHarald Tonneson, 37, Brooklyn, New YorkJulius Maxim Vallon, 23, New York, New YorkLouis Franklin Vaughan, 18, Tampa, Florida*Norman Stanley Walpole, 20, Weehauken, New JerseyPaul Other Webb, 19, Tampa, FloridaWilliam Weech, 31, Key West, FloridaJustin Plummer Wiley, 23, Dorchester, Massachusetts*Francis LeRoy Wilkes, 21, Nantucket, MassachusettsJames Cristopher Wilkie, 29, Charleston, South Carolina

*William Williams, 24, Calumet, Michigan*Fred Wesley Wyman, 23, Goffstown, New Hampshire

Navy*Carl Lewis Dalton, 21, Gastonia, North Carolina*David A. Hoffman, 22, Boston, Massachusetts*Edward Reavely, 23, Sale Creek, Tennessee*Hadley Howard Teter, 27, Conshocton, Ohio


hoW to get eXpress scrIpts to pay for Va prescrIptIons

Courtesy of CAPT Kirk Greiner, USCG (Ret.)© 2013 Coast Guard Retiree Council Northwest

https://www.cgretirenw.org/cgretire1_017.htm

I use both VA and Tri-care for Life services and had a hard time figuring out how to get Express Scripts to accept VA prescriptions. Once I found out, I thought it might be a good idea to share that information.

If you are retired and use Tricare for Life’s Express Scripts, and also use VA medical services, you may find that the VA will charge you a Copay for medicine. Under Tricare for Life you are entitled to free medicine. It was difficult to find out how to get VA prescriptions to Express Scripts but after 11 phone calls I got the answer.

On the Internet, go to:https://www.express-scripts.com/medco/consumer/clients/printCarryGSWHD.jsp?article=EasyRXFaxForm&ltSess=y.

Express scripts New Prescription form will pop up. You should fill in sections #2 and #3 so the doctor won’t have to do it. Since the form will not let you do it online there are two ways to do this.

Print it out, fill in the information in sections #2 and #3 by hand, then scan it back into your computer so you will have it for future use.

The second way is more difficult but gives you a type written result. I printed it to pdf and then imported the pdf version into Adobe Acrobat and using the Adobe icon to input



text, filled in sections #2 and #3. Then save it where you can find it later, and print it out each time you go to the VA or a private physician. Give it to the doctor to complete sections #1 and #4 then he/she will fax it from the medical office to the fax number in section #5. Section #5 requires it to be faxed from the medical office.

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hell roarIng mIke-MST1 Cody Robinson, USCG

During the month of February, we take pause to pointedly recognize the contributions of African-American service members and their service in the United States Coast Guard.

Although he never self-identified as an

African American during his lifetime, Captain Michael A. Healy aka “Hell Roaring Mike” is now more commonly recognized as an African American descendant who achieved many remarkable things while serving in the United States Revenue Cutter Service.

The controversy surrounding his race identity originates from the time period and circumstance in which he lived. Healy was born in Macon, Georgia on September 22, 1839, the fifth of 10 children. His father was an Irish-born planter and his mother was an African American mixed slave, to which he had a common law marriage. She was one of the 49 slaves on his father’s plantation. Because of the slave laws during this time, and because Healy’s mother was enslaved, he and all of his siblings

were also considered to be slaves. This required him and his siblings to be sent North to receive their education.

Healy went on to accomplish many notable things in the Revenue Cutter Service after being commissioned as a Third Lieutenant by Abraham Lincoln in 1865, the first African American Commissioned in the Revenue Cutter service. He also went on to become the first African American to command a vessel of the United States government. Healy is most well-known for his outstanding achievements while patrolling the Alaskan Coastline for over 20 years after the Alaskan Purchase. Some of his work there included: enforcing liquor laws, delivering supplies, conducting weather research, search and rescue, and the protection of natural resources.

Captain Healy’s distinguished legacy still echoes on throughout our time, as the well-known research icebreaker USCGC Healy (WAGB-20) was named in honor of his exceptional talents and his inspirational service to the United States Coast Guard.

Captain Michael A. Healy aka “Hell Roaring Mike”, USCG Photo

USCGC Healy (WAGB-20), USCG Photo

Capt Michael A Healy and wife



all coast guarD reunIon to take place In reno may 2019

Registration Form

The reunion starting on Sunday May 12, 2019 is identified as the “ALL COAST GUARD REUNION” and is open to all Coast Guard units. We hope you can locate your fellow Coasties while sharing this information so we can all meet in Reno.

All Coast Guard ReunionLand – Sea – AirMay 12-15 2019

When making room reservations at Circus Circus Hotel Reno call 1-800-648-5010 and identify your group with code ICASR19.

Room rates are as follows:

Wednesday 8 May & Thursday 9 May $56.13.

Friday 10 May & Saturday 11 May $95.86.

Reunion days.

Sunday 12 May through Thursday 16 May the rate is $56.13.

On Sunday May 12th at 0800 The Hospitality Room and Registration starts in the Casino Ballroom located on the Casino floor. Sunday will be a meet and greet day and hookup with old friends.

Monday May 13th 0800 AM to 3:00 PM Fallon

Naval Air Station Tour $56.00 per person. Guest will visit the Naval Aviation War Fighter Development Center, go to the Observation Flight Deck and have time to view the Air Power Park. Lunch will be served in Silver State or the Officers Club and guest will be able to stop at the Silver State Bar. There is a possibility will be able to view the DEBRIEF SYSTEM. Guest will need to supply the last 4 digits of their social security number, full names and date of birth for clearance 10 days in advance. (Note) This information can be put on your registration form and I will inform the proper people at the Naval Station.

Tuesday May 14th - Open for shopping or viewing the different sites in Reno via the circulator bus for the downtown Reno area, the Sierra Spirit features all-electric buses that operate each day from 7am to 7pm. Regular fare is 25 cents; the reduced fare, for seniors and youths, is only 10 cents.. Bus stops in front of Circus Circus every 15 minutes and it stops at such places as National Bowling Stadium, National Auto Museum, Nevada Museum of Art, River Walk, Shops & Restaurants and the Nevada Historical Society.

Tuesday evening is the free slots tournament with many good prizes all are welcome to play.

Wednesday May 15th if enough people sign up we will have a mini golf tournament.

The banquet will be held in the Mandalay Ballroom with cocktails at 6:00 pm and buffet dinner at 7:00pm to 10:00pm.

Thursday May 15th 0800-0900 Farewell breakfast brunch for those wishing to stay. The cost is $25.00 per person.

May 12-15 2019

Reno, Nevada



coast guarD commanDant boosts plan to outfIt cutters WIth Drones

Military.com | By Richard Sisk

All Coast Guard National Security Cutters should have ScanEagle drones aboard and available for launch to boost high seas surveillance and aid in drug interdictions and arrests, according to Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz.

Commanders who have used the ScanEagle Unmanned Aerial System, or UAS, have told him, " 'I don't ever want to sail without ScanEagle again,' " Schultz said Dec. 7 at the National Press Club. "I'd like to see every national security cutter have one on the back.”

For the past 17 years, the Coast Guard Research and Development Center has experimented with various types of UAS,

including a helicopter drone and MQ-1 Predator, for cutters but found them unsuited for the Coast Guard's dual mission of national security and law enforcement.

Last year, the Coast Guard tested a ScanEagle aboard the cutter Stratton on a six-week deployment to the Eastern Pacific. By the end of the deployment, the drone had flown 39 sorties for a total of 279 hours and assisted the crew in seizing 1,676 kilograms of contraband, valued at $55 million. It also aided in the arrests of 10 alleged drug traffickers, according to the service.

The ScanEagle, made by Insitu, a Boeing subsidiary, was developed from a commercial version designed to collect weather data and scan the ocean for schools of fish. The Coast Guard version is about 8 feet long, with a wingspan of 16 feet. The drone is sent aloft by a pneumatic launcher and recovered using a hook and arresting wire.

In June, Insitu announced the signing of a $117 million contract with the Coast Guard for the installation of ScanEagles aboard cutters. In a statement, Don Williamson, vice president and general manager of Insitu Defense, said when ScanEagle initially deployed with the Stratton, "We recognized what an incredible opportunity we had to partner with the U.S. Coast Guard to bring dynamic improvements to mission effectiveness and change aviation history."

The contract was "an incredibly important first step in realizing the Coast Guard's vision of fleet-wide UAS implementation," said Cmdr. Daniel Broadhurst, who has served as unmanned aircraft systems division chief in the Coast Guard's Office of Aviation Forces.

The fate of the UAS plan and other Coast Guard projects largely will depend on the outcome of the upcoming budget battles in the new Congress, Schultz said Friday.

Currently, "we're faced with more demands for Coast Guard services than fiscal resources," he said.

A ScanEagle is launched during a Strait of Hormuz transit aboard USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3), Feb. 26, 2018. (U.S. Navy/Chief Logistics Specialist Brandon Cummings)



Desegregation Continued on page 26

coast guarD “rIVer cutter” pIoneereD DesegregatIon 100

years agoWritten by William H. Thiesen USCG Atlantic Area Historian

Throughout the history of the U.S. Coast Guard, the nation has tasked the service with new missions to respond to all sorts of maritime threats and crisis. Such was the case with the Great Flood of 1913, considered by many as the most devastating flood in U.S. history.

In the list of deadly American floods, the Great 1913 Flood ranks only second in number of lives lost. The 1889 Johnstown Flood distinguished itself as the deadliest with approximately 2,200 victims killed in the small city of Johnston, Pennsylvania. However, the 1913 Flood affected over a dozen states, killed between 600 and 900 civilians, caused hundreds of millions in damage and left homeless 250,000 Americans.

Because of this natural disaster, Congress voted to fund federal flood relief and rescue work on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. On Aug. 29, 1916, it passed a naval appropriations bill that included money for the construction of three “light-draft river steamboats” for the Coast Guard. Their mission was to “give relief, succor, and assistance to victims of

floods” on the two major river systems. In addition to their specialized riverine duty, the cutters would support the usual Coast Guard missions of “rendering assistance to vessels in distress, saving life and property, protecting the revenue, enforcing the navigation and motor-boat laws, and prosecuting such other work as properly may come with the purview of the service.”

Of the three “river cutters” funded by Congress, only two were completed. These were the cutters Yocona and Kankakee, constructed in Dubuque, Iowa. The service commissioned them both on Oct. 19, 1919, and stationed the Kankakee on the Ohio River at Evansville, Indiana; and the Yocona on the

A rare image of Yocona’s crew in 1925 shows the black enlisted men, and white officers and non-commissioned officers posed on board the cutter. Photo courtesy USCG

Photograph of a man and wife in Dayton, Ohio, stranded on top of their front porch during

the Great Flood of 1913. Photo courtesy of Wright State University.

Picture of a flotilla of Coast Guard 23-foot patrol boats rafted next to a Coast Guard river cutter.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard.



Desegregation Continued from page 25

Desegregation Continued on page 27

Mississippi River at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Kankakee took up its station on March 20, 1920, and Yocona took up its station earlier that year, on Jan. 18. As the earliest river cutter to carry out its duties, Yocona became the first Coast Guard cutter of any kind to operate on the nation’s inland rivers.

Designed as flood-response command ships, Yocona and Kankakee incorporated the latest riverine technology. These 182-foot steel-hulled riverboats were powered by stern paddlewheels designed for river navigation and they carried a complement of 35 officers and men. Drawing only 3 1/2 feet when fully loaded, Yocona’s flat hull was ideal for shallow waters. The cutters were also equipped with dual searchlights, powerful water pumps, advanced radio equipment and spacious cabins to house flood victims. In the event of a flood, they could serve as a command vessel supporting a flotilla of smallboats and river craft used to rescue and transport disaster victims.

In addition to Yocona’s specialized design, the cutter proved unique in the nation’s history of racial desegregation. Within a year of Yocona’s commissioning, it received an entirely black enlisted force while Kankakee’s crew was composed of only white officers and men. With the exception of officers and non-commissioned officers, Yocona’s enlisted crew was entirely African-American, including petty officers in every rating.

By recruiting an all-black enlisted force of petty officers, Yocona’s officers had set a precedent for desegregating the nation’s sea service vessels. While Yocona may be the first desegregated federal ship in American history, the service never publicly recognized the groundbreaking cutter as such. More than likely, the Coast Guard recruited the best-qualified watermen near Yocona’s homeport of Vicksburg. The fact that the Coast Guard operated a cutter with an integrated crew

nearly 100 years ago is history making in itself. However, the fact that Yocona was homeported in a state that held the nation’s worst record of discrimination and violence toward blacks makes this achievement all the more remarkable.

Desegregation of U.S. Navy ships came over 20 years later. In the spring of 1944, the Navy desegregated its first ship using Yocona’s system of black enlisted men with white officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs). On the other hand, the Coast Guard’s wartime desegregated cutters, such as the USS Sea Cloud, assigned African-American men to every level of command, including officers and NCOs. Moreover, the Coast Guard’s wartime desegregated cutters began operating a year earlier than the Navy’s first integrated warships, such as the Destroyer Escort USS Mason, which was made famous through books and movies.

The Coast Guard stationed cutter Yocona at Vicksburg through 1925 to provide flood assistance during the seasonal floods that historically plagued the Mississippi. Yocona proved a pioneering cutter in three ways. In a service known to adopt new kinds of ship hulls and propulsion, the river cutter was the Coast Guard’s first stern paddlewheeler. Yocona was also the first Coast Guard cutter stationed on the nation’s rivers. More importantly, Yocona proved the first federal vessel in peacetime manned by a racially integrated crew.

Cutter Sea Cloud earned greater fame as the first officially desegregated federal ship, with African-

Americans serving not only as ordinary petty officers but also as officers and non-commissioned officers.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard.



Asbestos Continued on page 28

Desegregation Continued from page 26

Ironically, this desegregated cutter’s homeport was located in the Deep South 100 years ago. Yocona’s achievement remains an important chapter in American minority history and the story of the long blue line.

InformatIon for coast guarD Veterans anD retIrees

fIlIng for Veterans affaIrs DIsabIlIty compensatIon

Due to asbestos- anD leaD-relateD health effects

Exposure

If you were assigned to Coast Guard cutters that were constructed prior to 1991, you may have been exposed to very low levels of asbestos and lead. Recorded levels of exposure were well below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) levels that require medical surveillance examinations.

Routine exposure for asbestos and lead would include working on and berthing in a Coast Guard cutter where there may be small exposed areas of asbestos-containing thermal insulation, a number of torn asbestos-containing floor tiles, and lead dust from lead ballast ingots and lead-containing paint.

Exceptional exposures may have occurred during certain maintenance procedures (e.g. tearing up entire floor surfaces of asbestos-containing floor tiles and torching or sanding surfaces painted with lead-containing paint) without the use of personal protective equipment.

Asbestos- and Lead Related Health Effects

It is very difficult to link lead-related health effects to low level exposures on Coast Guard cutters. Routine exposures to asbestos on Coast Guard cutters could possibly be linked to the following medical conditions:

• Mesothelioma

• Asbestos-related cancers (lung, larynx, and ovary). (Note – the linkage for very low levels of exposure for these cancers is not clear.)

VA Disability Compensation Process

The VA has a mechanism for veterans to apply for compensation due to a disability that is the result of an injury, disease or an event in military service. If you experience a health effect believed to be due to exposure to asbestos or lead during military service and you desire to apply for VA disability compensation, you will need to provide evidence that supports the following:

• There was an event in service that caused the injury or disease;

• You have a current physical or mental disability; and

• There is a relationship between your current disability and an event in service.

• Additional assistance may be obtained through a VA employee at a VA National Facility or a Veteran Service Organization (VSO).

• A list of VA Regional Offices is available at https://www.va.gov/directory/.

• A list of VSOs is available at https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits/vso-search.

You should also look at https://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/apply.asp.

Documentation of Exposure

Veterans and Retirees may document their exposure due to a permanent duty assignment on a Coast Guard cutter constructed prior to 1991 by providing the VA with the following information:

• Orders for a permanent duty assignment on a Coast Guard cutter.



OR

A Career Summary list of all of permanent duty assignments (if you printed this out from Direct Access prior to separation).

OR

Documentation in your Coast Guard Service Treatment Records (medical records) which states that you had a permanent duty assignment on a specific Coast Guard cutter (if this was recorded).

OR

Military Service Records from the National Archives in St. Louis, Missouri (if you have separated from the Coast Guard prior to 10/1/2006). See https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records for additional information. Under Information and/or Documents Requested, you should request your entire Official Military Personnel File. The DD-214 will not include information on your permanent duty assignments.

OR

Military Service Records from the Coast Guard Military Records Section/ Personnel Service Center (if you have separated from the Coast Guard on or after 10/1/2006). See http://www.dcms.uscg.mil/PSC/BOPS/PSC-BOPS-C/PSC-BOPS-C-MR/PSC-BOPS-C-MR_PDR/ for additional information. In Section II “Information and/or Documents Requested” of the SF-180 you should request your entire Official Military Personnel File. The DD-214 will not include information on your permanent duty assignments.

If you were on a Coast Guard cutter after 1991 (i.e. from 1991 to present), then you must also provide a copy of the list labeled “Coast Guard Cutters Constructed Prior to 1991 and in Service from 1987 to 2017".

Asbestos Continued from page 27 four hunDreD tWenty-one enlIsteD anD 17 offIcers of

u s naVy rescueD by the humbolDt bay lIfe-saVIng

statIon

January13, 1917 -- Surfmen from U.S. Coast Guard Station Humboldt Bay rescued the 430-person crew of the U.S. Navy cruiser U.S.S. Milwaukee after it ran aground...

The USS Milwaukee (C-21) was laid down on 30 July 1902 by Union Iron Works, San Francisco, California and launched on 10 September 1904, sponsored by Miss Janet Mitchell, daughter of U.S. Senator John L. Mitchell of Wisconsin. The cruiser was commissioned on 10 December 1906, Commander Charles Augustus Gove in command.

Under the temporary command of Lieutenant William F. Newton acting as Coast Torpedo Force Commander, Milwaukee sailed on 5 January 1917 for Eureka, California, to assist in salvaging the U.S. Navy submarine H-3 which had run aground off Humboldt Bay on 14 December 1916. On 13 January 1917, while attempting to float the submarine and disregarding the recommendations of local mariners, the cruiser stranded in the first line of breakers at Samoa, California, off Eureka. Four hundred twenty-one enlisted and 17 officers were rescued safely by the Humboldt

Milwaukee Continued on page 29



Milwaukee Continued on page 30

Bay Life-Saving Station and local volunteers but attempts to salvage the ship were unsuccessful. submarine H-3 was ultimately salvaged and returned to service.

By the evening of 12 January 1917 preparations were in place for the big cruiser Milwaukee's attempt to pull the stranded submarine H-3 free of the grip of Samoa Beach. Unfortunately, in the fog and darkness, things quickly went very wrong. One of the two restraining lines, running from the monitor Cheyenne to Milwaukee's starboard bow, parted. In the grip of the powerful Pacific coast currents, the cruiser began to swing southwards. Tug Iroquois, not powerful enough by herself to resist the movement, had to cut her self free of the other restraining line.

The cruiser's crew tried to cut the steel cable between her stern and the H-3, but it was too heavy for the hacksaw work required. It formed an inescapable leash, at the outer end of which the current and waves moved Milwaukee inexorably southwards and toward shore. Her engines, some twenty-one-thousand horsepower, were helpless against the sideways force of the current and the cable's backwards pull. Anchors dropped from her bow were too close to the ship to have any meaningful effect. By about 4am. on 13 January 1917 Milwaukee was hard aground, broadside to the beach. The pounding surf rolled her hull, which gradually opened, letting in the sea, extinguishing the fires under the ship's boilers and dismounting some of her machinery. Milwaukee was now beyond saving and seemingly in danger of breaking up. Her endangered crew, some 450 men, had to be rescued .

The stranding of USS Milwaukee, not unexpected by those familar with local conditions, brought a large crowd to Samoa Beach, both to spectate and to help. As the fog lifted in mid-morning on 13 January 1917, it was clear that extensive work would be needed to rescue the cruiser's crew. Initially,

a line rigged from ship to shore brought men ashore by breeches buoy -- a slow process that subjected its passengers to frequent dunkings as the ship's rolling tightened and loosened the line. Two surfboats were then put to use, manned by volunteers from among the onlookers. Assisted by gradually moderating surf, work continued until evening, when all on board the Milwaukee were safely ashore.

Decommissioning and fate

Milwaukee was decommissioned on 6 March 1917 and a storm in November 1918 broke the ship in two. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register 23 June 1919 and her hulk was sold on 5 August 1919.

Most of the survivors (there were no lives lost, and few injuries) were sent by train to the Mare Island Navy Yard within a few days, while others remained behind to begin the long task of salvaging equipment and stores from Milwaukee's wreck. Upon due reflection, the Navy turned back to the private sector to recover the H-3, whose stranding a month earlier had begun the whole affair.

Some fifty years later, in the February 1967 issue of the "U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings"

Milwaukee Continued from page 28

Surfboat from Humboldt Bay Life Boat Station with a load of survivors. United States Life-Saving Service

became a part of the U S Coast Guard when President Woodrow Wilson signed the “Act to Create the Coast

Guard,” merging the Life-Saving Service with the Revenue Cutter Service to create the United States Coast Guard.

USCG Photo



Milwaukee Continued from page 29

(pages 34-49), Captain Harvey Haislip, USN (Retired), who was intimately familiar with the affair, related the whole tale. His title, "The Valor of Inexperience", elegantly summarizes cause and effect of a costly encounter with the dangers of the Pacific Coast and the inherent risks of marine salvage work.

Humboldt Bay Life Boat Station riggs a line from ship to shore and brought men ashore by breeches buoy, a very

slow process. USCG Photo

1935 – coast guarD aIr statIon port angeles

establIsheD

Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles — prior to World War II. USCG Photo

Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles was commissioned on 1 June 1935. It is located on Ediz Hook, a level sand spit extending from the mainland north and east into the Straits of Juan de Fuca. The location, originally chosen for its strategic defense location, became the first Coast Guard Air station on the Pacific Coast. The first aircraft, a Douglas RD-4 Dolphin amphibian, arrived on 11 June. The air station also had two 75 foot patrol boats assigned. Established to aid in law enforcement and anti smuggling operations, the station almost immediately became involved in what is today its primary mission: protection of life and property at sea.

At the outbreak of World War II, the Air Station had on board a JF-2 Duck, a JRF Goose and a J4F Widgeon. These numbers would increase in 1942 and were supplemented by Curtiss SO3C-1s in the landplane configuration. Port Angeles was given an anti-submarine mission. They patrolled the Straights and off shore areas, escorted convoys and set up detachments at Neah Bay, Washington, Quillayute, Washington, Astoria, Oregon, and North Bend, Oregon. During this period a short runway was added to train Navy pilots for carrier landings and the air station expanded to include a gunnery training school.

In September of 1944 the unit officially became Port Angeles Continued on page 31



Port Angeles Continued from page 30

Coast Guard Group Port Angeles and was the headquarters of the Air Rescue System for the Northwest Sea Frontier. The Air Station was also home of the only Coast Guard Land Rescue Team which proved instrumental in saving lives of many naval pilots who crashed in the mountainous area during the massive training effort during the war.

The first helicopter, a HO3S-1G arrived in 1946. This was replaced by HO4Ss in 1951. The last fixed-wing aircraft to operate from the Port Angeles Air Station was the HU-16E Albatross which left in 1973. Since that time the Air Station has been an all helicopter unit. The HH-52A Seaguard arrived in 1965.

Air Station Port Angeles received the upgraded HH-65C in July 2007 providing a significant improvement in aircraft capability. The HH-65C was replaced by the MH-65C in 2008. The MH-65C, in addition to an upgraded electronics suite, provides hardware required to mount weapons for the Coast Guard’s Airborne Use of Force (AUF) mission. The Air Station completed the AUF transition in November 2008. On 30 July 2010 the unit was reorganized as Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles.

In addition to rescue at sea, CGAS Port Angeles’ proximity to the Olympic Mountains not only diversifies the flight environment, but brought about several unique SAR cases. Of note were the rescues, after extensive planning, of injured mountain climbers hoisted off of Brothers Mountain near Bremerton Washington. The first case occurred in July 2006 at an altitude of 6300 feet MSL. The second case hoisted a 62 year old hiker from the summit at 6900 feet MSL in May 2007. This was not only the highest altitude helicopter of record in the Olympic Mountains, but also the highest HH-65 rescue to date.

During a typical year, Group Port Angeles units carry out over 400 search and rescue missions,

saving 35 lives and assisting over 500 persons. This does not reflect special missions such as the response to devastating flooding that occurred in southern Washington in December 2007 when a winter storm struck the inland communities of Chehalis and Centralia. Many residents became trapped in their homes and required extraction by helicopter. A unified response by Air Stations Port Angeles and Astoria saw the rescue of over 300 persons in less than 48 hours. A Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation was awarded.

Douglas RD-4

Grumman JF-2

JRF Goose

J4F Widgeon



coast guarD’s last heaVy Icebreaker caught on fIre DurIng south pole mIssIon

By: Carl Prine

The crew of the Coast Guard’s last heavy icebreaker battled a nighttime Feb. 10 blaze for almost two hours before it was extinguished, officials announced on February 28th. The fire erupted in

the Polar Star’s garbage incinerator room about 650 miles north of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.

“It’s always a serious matter whenever a shipboard fire breaks out at sea, and it’s even more concerning when that ship is in one of the most remote places on Earth,” said Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Pacific Area, in a written statement emailed to Navy Times. “The crew of the Polar Star did an outstanding job — their expert response and determination ensured the safety of everyone aboard.”

No one was injured and the cause of the blaze remains under investigation but the fire was another mechanical woe stacked atop an aging breaker that’s annually tasked to perform their part of Operation Deep Freeze, a mission by the Air Force, Navy, Army and National Guard to support the National Science Foundation’s Antarctic operations.

After sailing from its Seattle homeport on Nov. 27, the Polar Star began crunching a channel through 17 miles of ice measured at 6- to 10-feet thick to McMurdo Station, the main logistics hub for U.S. personnel in Antarctica, including researchers at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and remote field camps. On Jan. 30, the icebreaker escorted the container ship Ocean Giant, toting 500 containers loaded with 10 million pounds of supplies, to McMurdo Station. The cutter refueled and 11 days later, the incinerator room burst into flames. While the crew contained the fire damage to the incinerator housing, the water used to cool the nearby exhaust pipe flowed into several electrical systems and the insulation.

Officials vowed to have the repairs completed before next year’s 11,200-mile journey to the bottom of the world. When the Polar Star isn’t at sea for Operation Deep Freeze, it’s in dry dock, undergoing repairs.

“Unfortunately, there have been a number of

The 150-member crew of the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star fought a Feb. 10 fire that broke out in the cutter's incinerator room about 650 miles north of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. (Coast Guard)

Fire Continued on page 33



engineering casualties and other problems in recent years. We’re talking about a 43-year-old ship,” said Coast Guard spokesman Senior Chief Public Affairs Specialist Nyx Cangemi.

“Age and the importance of the mission, Operation Deep Freeze, mean that when the Polar Star spends much of its time away from McMurdo Station getting repaired."

A contractor and a Polar Star crew member assess progress being made reassembling the cutter’s port side

hub while the cutter undergoes extensive repairs at a dry dock facility in Vallejo, Calif., on Oct. 3, 2018. When not at sea, the aging Polar Star is mostly in dry dock. (Petty

Officer 1st Class Matthew S. Masaschi/Coast Guard)

Cangemi told Navy Times that the only problem for the crew is that they can’t burn their trash on their way home from a port call in New Zealand. He praised the “time and the dedication they show to keep that ship going.”

While sailing to Antarctica, the crew fixed one of the electrical systems that began to smoke, damaging a switchboard. Two of the cutter’s evaporators that make drinking water failed.

A leak also sprang from the shaft that drives the ship’s screw. After parts arrived during a port call in Wellington, New Zealand, the crew fixed the electrical wires and the evaporator system but they couldn’t resume icebreaking operations until scuba divers could brave the frigid water to mend a seal around the shaft.

A hyperbaric chamber loaned to the Coasties by the U.S. Navy allowed them to make the emergency repairs and inspect the hull at sea.

While breaking ice, all power in the ship cut off

and the crew had to spend nine hours shutting down the power plant and rebooting the electrical system to mend that, officials added.

If the crew couldn’t mend the ship, it might’ve become an international embarrassment. Although the Coast Guard also maintains a medium breaker, Healy, for North Pole patrols, the United States has no self-rescue capabilities for Antarctic ice.

Another nation, maybe a rival such as Russia, would have to rescue the Coast Guard crew. Moscow boasts a fleet of at least 40 icebreakers and plans to add even larger vessels to the frozen flotilla. Commissioned in 1976, the Polar Star is 13 years past its intended service life. A slightly younger sister, Polar Sea, got knocked out of service in 2010, when pistons in five of the six main diesel engines welded to their sleeves.

In early 2017, it was marked by the Coast Guard as a “parts donor” — which means crews began cannibalizing it to keep the Polar Star running.

On Feb. 14, President Donald J. Trump signed a bill that earmarked $655 million for the design and construction of a new icebreaker, plus $20 million for materials necessary to start on a second vessel.

But Coast Guard officials say that they need six new Polar Security Cutters to patrol the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

“While we focus our efforts on creating a peaceful and collaborative environment in the Arctic, we’re also responding to the impacts of increased competition in this strategically important region,” said Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz in a prepared statement.

“Our continued presence will enable us to reinforce positive opportunities and mitigate negative consequences today and tomorrow.”

Fire Continued from page 32



Pacific curreNts Newsletter – A Coast Guard Retiree Council Northwest Publication authorized IAW COMDTINST 1800.5D & COMDTINST M5728.2C. Published at: U. S. Coast Guard Base Seattle, Work-Life Office, Coast Guard Retiree Council Northwest, 1519 Alaskan Way South, Seattle, WA 98134 Phone: (206) 217- 6188. Published four times yearly and circulated to retirees throughout the Pacific Northwest electronically and on web site (www.cgretirenw.org). The Retiree Newsletter contains news of general interest, suggestions, and information for Coast Guard retirees, spouses, annuitants and retired Coast Guard reservists. The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Department of Homeland Security or the U. S. Coast Guard. Material is informational only and not authority for action. Editor - Patrick Wills, CWO (retired), [email protected].

coast guarD retIree councIl northWest USCG Base SeattleWorklife (Retiree Council)1519 Alaskan Way South, Bldg. 1Seattle, Washington 98134 47’ MLB from Cape Disappointment training crews.

USCG Photo

c/o COMMANDING OFFICERUSCG Base SeattleAttn: Work Life (Retiree Council)1519 Alaskan Way South, Bldg. 1Seattle, Washington 98134

Coast Guard Retiree Council Northwest Newsletter Pacific currents

hoW We serVeD...yesterDay In the u. s. coast guarD

Five 378’ cutters tied up in Boston December 25, 1972