Rip tips
Sunny days, fresh water, sandy beaches; all of these could be used to describe summer on the water. It’s the time of year when the snowsuits go into storage and the swimsuits come out. Every year, however, rip currents continue to claim lives on America’s beaches.
In remembrance: Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg
It was noon formation aboard Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk. The crew stood at attention as the ship’s bell rang eight times, signifying the end of watch and the passing of a sailor. On that day, as the crew mustered, they were honoring the late Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg. Lautenberg’s connection with the ship and its crew started in 1989 when his wife, Bonnie, and several members of his family christened the newly commissioned medium-endurance Cutter Mohawk in Rhode Island.
Shipmate of the Week – LCDR Anthony Owens
The standard picture of a military leader is the person leading the charge, directing the battlefield, commanding the ship, and making the decisions. A leader is ever-present and sets the tone for his or her unit. But a leader doesn’t have to be at that unit to have an impact. Throughout his military career, first as an enlisted aviator in the Navy and later as a Coast Guard judge advocate, retired Lt. Cmdr. Anthony R. Owens always strived for the best. If it was worth doing, it was worth giving his all.
Introducing ‘Coast Guard Boot Camp’
Coast Guard Training Center Cape May is the nation’s only Coast Guard enlisted accession point and recruit training center. On average, 3,500 of the Coast Guard’s finest arrive in Cape May for the first chapter of their Coast Guard career, and now you have a chance to be part of their transformation! We are proud to introduce “Coast Guard Boot Camp” – a blog devoted to the home of the Coast Guard’s enlisted corps.
Strength & resilience
One person who could be counted on in the months of rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy was Casey Van Huysen. Van Huysen, a native of Mobile, Ala., is the ombudsman at Sector New York. Van Huysen worked with other military spouses after Hurricane Sandy hit to collect more than $235,000 worth of donations including food, clothing and toys. The spouses received and organized the generous amount of items donated to give to military families who were uprooted during the storm.
Living your creed
A call came in from cruise ship, 150 miles east of Cape Lookout, N.C. A 50-year-old man suffered a heart attack and needed to get to a hospital. It was operations normal for most; another chance to save a life. However, for one junior petty officer, this case was far from the norm. He would be setting out on his first rescue since earning his spot as the Coast Guard rescue swimmer No. 830.
A second chance at life
After losing his grandfather to cancer in 2001, Brooklyn, N.Y., native Michael Franco, looked for a greater way in which he could help others. Already a contributor to the annual blood drives at the police academy, Franco learned of becoming a bone marrow donor. This decision would lead Franco to save a woman’s life.
Shipmate of the Week – MKC Shawn Vaupel
From our maritime borders to the U.S Exclusive Economic Zone to our ports and inland waterways, the men and women of the Coast Guard are sentinels in preventing threats from reaching the United States. In the fight to secure the homeland, Coast Guard units often deploy overseas. On this leading edge to strengthen global capacities in fighting international drug trafficking and crime is Chief Petty Officer Shawn Vaupel.
Coast Guard WWII hero laid to rest
Retired Coast Guard Cmdr. Ray Evans, 92, was laid to rest June 5, with full military honors. Evans, who passed away May 30, was the final survivor of a dramatic rescue of a group of Marines pinned down by machine gun fire during the battle of Guadalcanal, September 1942 where he earned the Navy Cross.
Into the jaws of death: U.S. Coast Guard-manned landing craft at Normandy
Among the many historical items kept by the Coast Guard Historian’s Office is a copy of one of the most reproduced photographs to come out of June 6, 1944 – D-Day. The photograph was captured by Coast Guard Chief Photographer’s Mate Robert F. Sargent, and entitled “Into the jaws of death.” Sargent, a veteran of the invasions of Sicily and Salerno, took the photo from his landing craft at sector “Easy Red” of Omaha Beach around 7:40 a.m. local time.
