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August 04, 2007
U.S.Coast Guard Established Today
U.S.Coast Guard Established today, August 4, 1790
Coast Guard Sikorsky HH-3F "Pelican" Helicopter attempts a daring rescue in high seas.
August 4 is celebrated as Coast Guard Day to honor the establishment on that day in 1790 of the Revenue Cutter Service, forebear of today's Coast Guard, by the Treasury Department. On that date, Congress, guided by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, authorized the building of a fleet of ten cutters, whose responsibility would be enforcement of the first tariff laws enacted by Congress under the Constitution.
The Coast Guard has been continuously at sea since its inception, although the name Coast Guard didn't come about until 1915 when the Revenue Cutter Service was merged with the Lifesaving Service. The Lighthouse Service joined the Coast Guard in 1939, followed in 1946 by the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection.
On November 1, 1941, President Roosevelt signed an order transferring the Coast Guard from the Treasury Department to the Navy Department. A few weeks later the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and the Coast Guard's reserve system was put to the ultimate test. On the night of December 7, amid rumors of Japanese invasion, twenty Coast Guard Auxiliarists from the 13th District took their boats out of Seattle on the service's first wartime patrol cruise. In May, 1942 the Secretary of the Navy authorized uniforms for the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
During the Vietnam conflict several Coast Guard cutters were taken off their normal stations and sent to Southeast Asia. Auxiliarists put their boats to work on patrol duty.
The years 1992 and 1993 saw the Auxiliary's ingenuity and dedication tested by disasters precipitated by weather and international politics. Auxiliarists evacuated hundreds of people from the path of Hurricane Andrew, and from the scenes of devastating floods in the Midwest.
In 1994 a military coup in Haiti released another surge of immigrants heading for Florida. The Coast Guard and the Auxiliary mobilized in the largest search-and-rescue operation since the Second World War.
Coast Guard Day is primarily an internal activity for active duty Coast Guard personnel, civilian members, reservists, retirees, auxiliarists, and dependents, but it does have a significant share of interest outside the Service. Grand Haven, Michigan, also known as Coast Guard City, USA, annually sponsors the Coast Guard Festival around August 4. Typically it is the largest community celebration of a branch of the Armed Forces in the nation.
In addition to celebrating their own day every year, Coast Guard members also participate as equal partners in Armed Forces Day activities.
Posted by Wild Thing at August 4, 2007 12:55 AM
Comments
... your picture reminds me of the Harrison Ford action movie Patriot Games! Happy Birthday USCG!!
Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at August 4, 2007 06:36 AM
The Coast Guard is the best. They constantly put their lives in danger to rescue idiots from the stupidity of their actions. They've got my ultimate respect.
Posted by: BobF at August 4, 2007 07:56 AM
Happy Birthday U.S. Coast Guard. Living near water and the less than bright I get exposed to their exploits at least twice a year when they risk everything to help some thoughtless civilian who thinks they are invincible.
Posted by: Jack at August 4, 2007 10:35 AM
Semper Paratus is there motto, Always Prepared. They always do their job. At Guadalcanal they risked death just to pick up wounded Marines, either on shore or floating in the water, while taking heavy fire from shore and had no Naval Gunfire Support. They are the best.
Posted by: Mark at August 4, 2007 10:41 AM
I worked with coast Guard cutters and patrol boats in Vietnam. They were great. i even spent several days on a cutter, the USCG Androscoggin. They treated this Army guy like royalty.
Happy Birthday and Thanks United States Coast Guard.
Posted by: TomR at August 4, 2007 01:22 PM
Darth, I loved that movie, yes it does it reminds me of it too.
Posted by: Wild Thing at August 5, 2007 12:36 AM
Bob,yes, the first time, many years ago, when I read about the Coast Guard I was very impressed how much they do.
Posted by: Wild Thing at August 5, 2007 12:42 AM
Jack I know what you mean, we had a lot of that too when we lived in Malibu, Calif. for so many year.
Posted by: Wild Thing at August 5, 2007 12:44 AM
Mark, wow amazing and thanks Mark.
Posted by: Wild Thing at August 5, 2007 12:52 AM
Tom thank you so much for sharing about that.
Posted by: Wild Thing at August 5, 2007 12:53 AM
My wife's grandfather served with the USCG during WWII. He and his shipmates did convoy duty in the Atlantic. Told me a story about a time when one of the ships took a torpedo and went down. They had to leave them floating out there so as not to expose another hole in the convoy.
Posted by: raz0r at August 6, 2007 11:00 PM
