FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, November 5, 1999
Contact: Jolie Lassahn
Tel.: (202) 267-0933
CG 17-99
After Eight Decades, Coast Guard
Crew
Gets Purple Heart
U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater and Coast Guard Commandant Admiral James M. Loy will present Purple Heart medals on Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery in memory of the 111 Coast Guardsmen who perished in the World War I sinking of the Coast Guard Cutter TAMPA on Sept. 26, 1918.
After laying a wreath to honor all veterans, the Secretary and the Commandant will present a Purple Heart to a daughter of an officer who died and to a relative of one of the seamen who died. A Purple Heart framed for display also will be presented to the officers and crew of the present-day Coast Guard Cutter TAMPA, a 270-foot vessel stationed out of Portsmouth, Va.
"By posthumously awarding these Purple Hearts we not only honor the brave crewmembers of the TAMPA, but also recognize the courage of the women and men of the Coast Guard who over the past two centuries have put themselves at risk in the service of their country," Secretary Slater said.
The Purple Heart is a tradition initiated by George Washington, although it was not used following the Revolutionary War until 1932. In that year, on the 200th anniversary of Washington’s birth, the award was reestablished and made available to those who were wounded or killed as a result of enemy action during any war or campaign. In 1952, President Harry S. Truman signed an executive order that made the award available retroactively to those who served after April 5, 1917 – making eligible for the Purple Heart those who died on the TAMPA.
Despite this executive order, retroactively awarding a Purple Heart for service before the award was revived is an unusual event.
"Usually, awards and medals are retroactively given because of oversights. In wartime, you don’t always recognize people you should – a lot of things fall through the cracks," said Dr. Robert Browning, the Coast Guard’s historian. "Because the Purple Heart was not being used during World War I, giving an award to those who died on the TAMPA is a special recognition for the sacrifice of the crew."
The TAMPA served as a convoy escort protecting ships carrying critical Allied war materiel in European waters. On Sept. 26, 1918, having just completed another successful escort mission from Gibraltar to the United Kingdom, the TAMPA broke off from the convoy to head toward the port of Milford Haven, Wales. At approximately 8:45 p.m., a torpedo from a German U-boat struck the TAMPA and it went down with the loss of all hands.
The ceremony will take place at the Coast Guard World War I Memorial on Coast Guard Hill in Arlington National Cemetery at 12:45 p.m. on Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11.
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