SANDWICH, Mass. – Today, Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod remembered four shipmates who died in 1979. A wreath was dropped into the sea from a Coast Guard HH-60 helicopter in remembrance of the crew of the HH-3F Pelican helicopter, the CG-1432.
The Pelican crew was lost February 18th, 1979 during a rescue attempt 260 miles southeast of Cape Cod. While attempting to perform a medical evacuation from a Japanese fishing vessel, the weather started to deteriorate. The helicopter lost power and was forced to land on the water. The heavy seas quickly overturned the downed aircraft and only one crewmember was able to escape.
Each year, the members of Air Station Cape Cod remember their fellow Coast Guardsmen lost nearly 30 years ago, by laying a wreath at a memorial on the air station or in the sea.
