President George Washington and the First Congress created the Revenue Cutter Service in 1790. In 1915 it merged with the US Lifesaving Service and was christened the Coast Guard. In 1939 the US Lighthouse Service was added and the Steamboat Inspection service in 1946. In 1967 the service was transferred from the department of treasury to the Department of Transportation, and in 2003 it move to the Department of Homeland Security.
While that outlines a long history intertwined with the growth of our nation; what that doesn't tell you is the daily heroics and around the clock vigilance that marks the Coast Guard's contribution to boaters and mariners in US waters. I grew up in Newport, Oregon's fishing community where tales of the local commander who only took his cigar out of his mouth if the surf boat was about to roll, were a staple. We watched from the cliff side while they raced boats across an impossible bar to pluck the crew off a sailboat just before it drifted into the surf and disintegrated. When a faulty diesel injector turned the exhaust system of our fishing boat into a blast furnace, they saved family and friends that were aboard and helped recover the vessel and on more than one occasion, they have evacuated friends with life threatening injuries. These are the smaller stories that mean everything in the world to those involved.
Happy 220th Coast Guard, We're glad you're here.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment