This Day in Coast Guard History
- 1789-An Act of Congress (1 Stat. L., 53), only the ninth law passed by the newly-created Congress of the United States, was the first act to make any provisions for public works. It created the Lighthouse Establishment as an administrative unit of the Federal Government when it accepted title to, and joined jurisdiction over, the 12 lighthouses then in existence, and provided that “the necessary support, maintenance and repairs of all lighthouses, beacons, buoys and public piers erected, placed, or sunk before the passing of this act, at the entrance of, or within any bay, inlet, harbor, or port of the United States, for rendering the navigation thereof easy and safe, shall be defrayed out of the treasury of the United States.” Prior to this time the lighthouses had been paid for, built and administered first by the colonies and then the states.
- 1882-An Act of Congress (22 Stat. L., 301, 309) required all parties owning, occupying, or operating bridges over any navigable river to maintain at their own expense, from sunset to sunrise, throughout the year, such lights as may be required by the Lighthouse Service.
- 1927-Horace Alderman, a rumrunner, murdered two Coast Guardsmen, Warrant Officer (Boatswain) Sidney Sanderlin and MoMM1/c Victor A. Lamby, and Secret Service agent Robert K. Webster after Alderman’s vessel was stopped by patrol boat CG-249 off the coast of Florida. Alderman was eventually subdued by the remaining crew of CG-249 and arrested. He was later tried, convicted, and hung at Coast Guard Base 10 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
- 1939-“Suitable observance of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Lighthouse Service was called for by a joint resolution of Congress, signed by the President on May 15, which was known as Public Resolution No. 16. By this resolution the week of August 7, 1939, was designated lighthouse week.”
- 1942-The landings at Tulagi and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands commenced. This first Allied invasion in the Pacific proved to be a critical battle. Coast Guard manned transports, including the USS Hunter Liggett, participated in the invasion. Many of the landing craft were crewed by Coast Guardsmen. A Coast Guard officer, LCDR Dwight H. Dexter, and 25 Coast Guardsmen went ashore from the Liggett with their landing craft to set up a naval operating base on Lunga Point. Signalman 1/c Douglas Munro, later killed at Guadalcanal, was a member of Dexter’s command. The Liggett rescued 686 survivors of the Navy cruisers USS Vincennes, Astoria, and Quincy and the Australian cruiser HMAS Canberra after they were sunk in the Battle of Savo Island on the night of 9 August 1942.
- 1958-A collision of the merchant tankers Golfoil and Graham in heavy fog in the entrance to Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island set fire to both vessels. U.S. Coast Guard, Navy, and commercial units fought the fires for three days, searched for missing crewmen, and assisted in directing traffic through the area. The CGC Laurel directed the on-scene operations.
Federal prosecutors won’t seek death penalty for Kodiak Coast Guard killings – The Alaska Dispatch reports that the U.S. District Attorney’s office will not seek the death penalty against James Michael Wells, charged with murdering Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Richard Belisle, retired and Petty Officer 1st Class Jim Hopkins April 12, 2012, shortly after their shift began at 7 a.m. at the “rigger shop,” where they worked alongside Wells at Coast Guard Communication Station Kodiak.
Coast Guard, agency partners hold mass rescue operation workshop and exercise in Kotzebue, Alaska – Coast Guard Alaska
Vast distances, limited response resources, severe weather and frigid water combine to make search and rescue along the Northwest coast of Alaska extremely challenging. With that thought in mind, the Coast Guard and 12 federal, state, local and tribal partners held a mass rescue operation workshop to discuss how they can best work together to respond to a mass rescue need in the region.
Artist’s sketchbook: Just below freezing – Coast Guard Compass
Crewmembers aboard Coast Guard Cutter Healy are currently supporting scientific research in the dynamic waters of the north on their Arctic West Summer 2013 deployment. As watchstsanders and scientists alike collaborate to collect vital scientific data, they are joined by artist Bob Selby.
Recruit Journal November 188 Week: 05 – Coast Guard Boot Camp
Today began week 05. Week 05 is known as SAR (search and rescue) week because learning about the life saving aspect of the Coast Guard is the main focal point this week. Also, Reveille is at 0530 and our breakfast is at 0545. This gives our company of 70+ people 15 minutes to get up, take muster, get into our uniforms, shave, brush teeth, make racks, and get to chow.
Tuition Assistance: Expanded eligibility through Sept. 30 – Coast Guard All Hands
Effective immediately, the Coast Guard Tuition Assistance program is now open to all active duty members, including E-7 and above, officers, and Reserve members on long-term active duty orders issued for over 180 days, for programs at all degree levels, until Sept. 30. Further changes to the tuition assistance program can be expected in the coming fiscal year, as the Coast Guard prioritizes increasingly limited training dollars to provide the greatest service-wide benefits.
SPAR Operation Arctic Shield 2013: Week 3 – Coast Guard Alaska
The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter SPAR stayed as busy as usual during the third week of their Arctic Shield 2013 deployment. Operations ranged from safety boardings on makeshift dredging vessels in Nome, Alaska, to damage control drills and a joint oil spill response exercise with the Canadian coast guard ship Sir Wilfrid Laurier in the Bering Sea. Throughout the varied missions, one theme held true all week: a positive Coast Guard presence in the increasingly busy Arctic region.
SPAR Operation Arctic Shield 2013: Week 4 – Coast Guard Alaska
Week four of SPAR’s Arctic trip is winding down after a successful few weeks of servicing aids to navigation, law enforcement boardings, homeland secruity patrols, an international exercise with the Candaian coast guard, and a historic transit with the Coast Guard Cutter Naushon to Nome.
