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Frequently Asked Questions

Including Coast Guard "Firsts" & Trivia

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• What's New?

• Is there a bibliography of sources on Coast Guard history?

• When was the Coast Guard (and its forerunners) established and what is its organizational history?

• How do you obtain the service record of someone who served in the Coast Guard and its predecessors (which would contain information about cutter assignments and medals awarded), former lighthouse keepers, and crew lists?

• How do you obtain a copy of a Coast Guard, lighthouse, or life-saving station Logbook?

• How do you obtain Plans and blueprints of lighthouses, stations, cutters and other vessels?

• Who was the first Coast Guardsman to. . .? Coast Guard Firsts, Lasts & Record Setting Achievements.

• So you would like to be a lighthouse keeper or BUY A LIGHTHOUSE?

• What is the Coast Guard's policy regarding Coast Guard ship and aircraft wrecks?

• What is a cutter?

• What were the first ten cutters?

• How do you order copies of Photos from the Historian's Office?

• Who were the Commandants of the Coast Guard?

• Who were the Vice Commandants of the Coast Guard?

• Who were the Master Chief Petty Officers of the Coast Guard?

• Who were the Secretaries of the Treasury Department that were in charge of the Revenue Cutter Service and Coast Guard through 1967?

• Who were the Secretaries of the Department of Transportation that were in charge of the Coast Guard from 1967 to 2003?

• Who were the Secretaries of the Department of Homeland Security that were in charge of the Coast Guard since 2003?

• What were some Coast Guard innovations developed by the service?

• What about the history of women in the Coast Guard?

• What about the history of minorities in the Coast Guard?

• Are there any Coast Guard monuments and memorials?  Where are they located?

• What are the lyrics to Semper Paratus?

• Why is Semper Paratus the Coast Guard's official motto? [Links to a non-government website]

• What are some famous quotations about the Coast Guard?

• Coast Guard Intelligence (CGI)?

• What are the lyrics to the Coast Guard Hymn?

• What are the Coast Guard's Battle Streamers?

• What initial instructions did Alexander Hamilton issue to the Revenue Cutter officers?  Click here to see a PDF copy of the original letter.

• Coast Guard Special Forces?  What was the Coast Guard's Coastal Forces Rating?

• What famous Disney character did Walt Disney use for the logo of the Corsair Fleet in the Second World War?

• What other characters did Walt Disney create for Coast Guard units?

• What was the Coast Guard’s role in the world's first heavier than air flight, made by the Wright Brothers, on 17 December 1903?

• When did the service abolish the rum ration?

• What is the origin of the famous saying "You have to go out but you don't have to come back?"

• When was the rank of chief petty officer authorized for the Coast Guard and who was the first to attain the rank?

• What is the Creed of the United States Coast Guardsman?

• In what wars did the Coast Guard serve and what were the Coast Guard’s casualties in each?

• When did the Coast Guard adopt the "racing stripe" for its cutters, boats, and aircraft?

• Who was the first commissioned officer in the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service?

• What was the first commissioned vessel of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service?

• How many Coast Guard Districts are there?

• Who are some heroes of the Coast Guard?

• How many Coast Guardsmen were killed in action during the Vietnam Conflict and who were they?

• What celebrities & other famous persons once served in the Coast Guard?

• What was the story behind the Coast Guard's championship hockey team, the Coast Guard Cutters?

• What was the most famous dog to ever serve in the Coast Guard?

• The Coast Guard in Film: the Coast Guard appeared in what movies?

• Why was Douglas Munro awarded the Medal of Honor--the only Coast Guardsmen to be awarded this distinguished medal?

• What was the Coast Guard's role in the SS St. Louis affair (otherwise known as the "Voyage of the Damned")?

• Does the Bermuda Triangle really exist?

• What was the Coast Guard’s role in the search for Amelia Earhart?

• What does the "W" in Coast Guard hull designations stand for?  What's a WHEC? WMEC?

• What were the positions of the ocean stations patrolled by the Coast Guard?

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