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Show Coast Guard's i54th Birthday Finds It Fighting Axis On Seven Seas, in Addition to Peacetime Duties i Service Originated As Arm of Treasury To Check Smuggling Soon after he took over direction di-rection of the treasury in George Washington's cabinet, Alexander Hamilton discovered discov-ered that the government was losing a lot of sorely needed revenue because of the brisk smuggling that was going on along the coast. Accordingly, he told the President that something would have to be done. Washington brought the matter to the attention of congress, and that body, acting act-ing with remarkable celerity, provided funds for the establishment estab-lishment of the Revenue Cutter Cut-ter Service. So it was that on August 4, 1790, the U. S. coast guard was born. The service is celebrating its 154th anniversary anni-versary this year. It has the longest record of all the nation's na-tion's sea forces, having taken tak-en part in every war since the Revolution. From post - Revolutionary days when it operated a handful of tiny 48-foot cutters concentrating on the collection of import duties for the infant republic, the coast guard has expanded in scope of its activities and in size until today it has more than 200,000 officers and enlisted men, and is fighting the Axis all over the world. Actually, the Tariff Act of 1790 merely authorized the building of six revenue cutters to insure the collection of customs. . But our founding fathers realized that this little fleet might prove valuable as a defense unit. So it was decided to organize the men and ships on a military basis. President Washington Washing-ton commissioned Hopley Heaton of New Hampshire "to command a cut ter in the service of the United ,! States." One hundred and fifty-four years later coast guard vessels are operating operat-ing as part of the navy, sweeping the seas of enemy subs, and coast guard landing craft are spear-heading invasions, putting marines ashore in the South Pacific and the j army in France. The coast guard i has fulfilled the fondest hopes of its founders. I But the military usefulness of the coast guard, which has reached a peak in this war, was apparent soon after its organization. In 1797, American ships bound for England were seized and boarded by privateering priva-teering French vessels, operating with tacit blessing of the Revolutionary Revolution-ary government of France. ' Fought French Privateers. When in 1799, the U. S. navy was finally organized and new ships were sent out to aid the cutters in their battle against the French. But it is interesting to note that of the 22 ships Captured, 18 were taken by the coast guard, which also assisted in the capture of two more. The undeclared war against France saw the establishment of the precedent of transferring the coast guard from the treasury department to the navy in time of war. Ever since this date, the alert, trim, fighting fight-ing coast guard cutters and men have joined the navy by presidential presiden-tial proclamation on the outbreak of hostilities. When peace with France was restored re-stored in 1801, the cutters were returned re-turned to the treasury department and in an economy measure by the hard-pressed government several y EXPERTLY handling their landing land-ing craft, coast guardsmen bring a barge loaded with soldiers to shore through the treacherous surf of the South Pacific. This boat was swamped, but the crew managed to land the troops entrusted to their care. were decommissioned. But when, during the coming years, fears of a war with England caused anxious naval authorities to survey our naval strength, additional cutters were authorized and built, all of which served with distinction in the War of 1812. The Civil war wrought havoc with the revenue cutter service, although all its vessels fought on the side of the Union. Trained crews and officers, of-ficers, torn between divided loyalties, loyal-ties, left the service to join their respective sides. To fill the places of these men, having decades of service and experience, relaxed standards made possible the admission admis-sion of some unfit, morally and mentally, men-tally, and soon after the war a complete com-plete reorganization of the service was necessary. And this reorganization reorgani-zation was thorough. New ships were constructed and in 1876 an academy was established to train officers. Although at first the academy was merely a barken-tine, barken-tine, "The Dobbin," anchored off New Bedford and later the "Chase" at Baltimore, nn mnvp did mnrp tn establish the "esprit de corps" of the coast guard, retain and pass on its traditions and raise the service to the high standards of unity that it has achieved today. The present coast guard academy at New London, Lon-don, Conn., compares favorably with Annapolis and West Point. Fplige Duty in Alaska. Meanwhile the service was entrusted en-trusted with new duties, while its old functions were enlarged with the growth of the nation. The acquisition acquisi-tion of Alaska was an important event for the coast guard, for to it was given the obligation of enforcing enforc-ing law and order in the territory. When the Japs invaded the Aleutian Aleu-tian Islands, the decades of experience experi-ence of the coast guard in the wild unpredictable waters of the Arctic is bearing fruit. In 1915 the coast guard wasmerged with the life saving service and for the first time the name "COAST GUARD" was officially recognized. The merger of these two units was a logical development, for the cutter and life saving units were both branches of the treasury department and had operated closely for many years. The lighthouse division was not made an official member of the coast guard "family" until 1939. World War I found the coast guard, as usual, ready for anything. A terse presidential message "Plan One . . . Acknowledge," transferred trans-ferred the coast guard ships and personnel into the navy for the duration. dura-tion. Coast guard officers were assigned to duty at naval stations and on naval ships throughout the world with many being given command com-mand posts. The cutters as usual Clii-WMEN on a const guard cutter assigned to rescue work in the English channel keep anxious watch as they scan the choppy waters for soldiers who were tossed into the sea when their invasion barge was sunk. This flotilla of cutters saved hundreds of men during the D-Day j period. were placed in convoj and escort service The period following the Armistice saw the construction of the modern coast guard fleet. New Diesel and steam cutters were designed and built. Smaller, fast, patrol , boats were developed. New equipment was installed on shore stations. Air power was made a vital part of the coast guard with the construction of bases on the Atlantic and Pacific. A fleet of planes of the newest design de-sign were assigned to the service and so coast guard aviation, long a cherished dream, was a reality. When the country thinks of coast guard law enforcement, it usually associates it with Prohibition. Although Al-though the coast guard was given the unpopular job of enforcing that unfortunate act it managed to make the best of it. In fact through Prohibition Pro-hibition the coast guard developed a valuable intelligence unit which today serves the cause of national defense as part of the naval intelligence. intelli-gence. But prohibition was only one of the law-enforcing jobs of the versatile coast guard. The Narcotics, Nar-cotics, Oil Pollution, Whaling and Alien Smuggling are just a few of the marine laws enforced by the nation's na-tion's maritime police force. But greatest of all the hundred fifty-four years of the coast guard history has been this great global war that will rid the world of tyr- RELAXING with a bit of nonsense, non-sense, a coast guardsman on Saipan dolls up in Japanese garments, lie is garbed in a silk kimono and brocaded obi. He shades himself with a fancy parasol while he takes aim at a parakeet with a Jap machine ma-chine gun, rany and oppression. Three of the guard's cutters made naval history by signal success against the submarine. sub-marine. First it was the Campbell, which in 12 hours of gruelling action ac-tion depth-bombed five enemy U-boats and shelled, rammed and sank a sixth in a running battle while guarding a convoy. Then followed the Icarus, 165 feet of fighting fight-ing fury, which sank a U-boat off the Carolina coast and took 33 prisoners. pris-oners. The Spencer, sister ship of the Campbell, reached her peak of glory by sinking a sub stalking a convoy. Beach Patrol. The famed beach patrol reached its heights with the capture, conviction convic-tion and elimination of the sub-landed, would-be saboteurs who were trapped by an alert coast guardsman on Long Island's desolate shores. On guard against other landings coast guard dogs and horse patrols now are ready to give any intruder a warm reception. The port security force, a similar unit, protects piers and harbors. This war has seen the full development develop-ment of coast guard aviation. Where once coast guard fliers flew in bad weather on many an errand of mercy, mer-cy, they now skim over the vast expanses of the ocean acting as air umbrellas for victory convoys, on constant alert for lurking subs.' To the fleet of flying boats of peacetime have been added the deadly "Kingfishers," "King-fishers," sleek, trim planes flown by the same experienced men who fly in any weather, under any conditions. condi-tions. One more new branch of the serv-ice serv-ice is the SPARS, the women's reserve re-serve of the coast guard, aimed al replacing coast guardsmen on shore stations throughout the country SPAR officers train at the academy at New London and enlisted personnel person-nel at the new training school at Salm Beach, Fla. Over 7,000 SPARS are now on duty but by 'the end of the year 9,000 will be wearing wear-ing the coast guard blue. So, whether in peace or war the coast guard's greatest pride Is to live faithful to its motto, "Semncr Paratus," "Always Ready " And coast guardsmen are always ready-to ready-to save lives, patrol beaches can ture smugglers, watch for iceberas or fight their country's enemies |
