Coast Guard at War Main Index

The Coast Guard at War

National Security & Military Preparedness

Training for duty in World War I

General Information:

A painting of the cutter Vigilant in combat with the British Dart during the War of 1812.

 

General Overview:

An illustrated history of the Coast Guard's role in defending the nation.

 

Quasi-War (1798-1800)

War of 1812 (1812-1815)

Seminole Wars (1817-1818; 1835-1842):

Mexican War (1846-1848):

Civil War Service Ribbon   Civil War (1861-1865):

Spanish War Service Ribbon   Spanish-American War (1898):

World War I Victory Ribbon   World War I (1914-1918):

World War II Victory Ribbon   World War II (1939-1945):

General World War II History &  Domestic / Homeland Issues:

  • The Development of the Helicopter as an Anti-Submarine Weapon (asp) (pdf)
  • The oral history of Radarman Second Class Collingwood Harris.  RM2/c Harris served aboard the Coast Guard-manned destroyer escort USS Peterson during World War II and saw action in the convoy battles of the North Atlantic, including the loss of the Coast Guard-manned USS Leopold and the sinking of the U-550!
  • The oral history of Chief Damage Controlman Clyde Allen, USCG (Ret.). Chief Allen served during World War II and retired from active duty in 1965.  He had a variety of duty posts during his Coast Guard career, including the service with the Beach Patrol, the troop transports USS General Hugh L. Scott and the USS General H. F. Hodges.  He is the father of Vice Admiral Thad Allen, USCG.
  • Captain David W. Sinclair's memoir.  CAPT Sinclair has provided us with his memoir of his Coast Guard career that stretched from 1935 through his retirement in 1969.  He describes life as a cadet in the Coast Guard Academy's Class of 1939, life aboard a Treasury Class cutter just prior to the U.S. entering World War II, his service in World War II, including the Greenland Patrol, flight training, and aerial patrol duties.  He then goes on to describe his post-war Coast Guard career.  
  • Illustrated memoir of Signalman Third Class William L. Sprague, who describes his World War II experiences, including  Basic Training at Curtis Bay, Maryland, service in the Captain of the Port Office and on a patrol boat in Newport, Rhode Island, travel across the U.S. by train and plane, Signalman School in California, and service on board the USS Corpus Christi in the Pacific Theatre. 
  • Illustrated memoir of Coast Guard veteran Norman Taylor, who describes his World War II experiences, including  Basic Training at the Manhattan Beach Training Station, service on the Beach Patrol, "EM" school, and service on the USS FS-396 in the Pacific Theatre. ("pdf" file)

Coast Guard-Manned U.S. Navy and Army Warships, Vessels, Landing Craft & associated oral histories:

  • The oral history of Chief Damage Controlman Clyde Allen, USCG (Ret.). Chief Allen served during World War II and retired from active duty in 1965.  He had a variety of duty posts during his Coast Guard career, including the service with the Beach Patrol, the troop transports USS General Hugh L. Scott and the USS General H. F. Hodges.  He is the father of Vice Admiral Thad Allen, USCG.
  • Cliff Beasley recounts a few humorous World War II stories regarding OCS training, the atomic bomb, and duty aboard an Army "FS" vessel in the Pacific.
  • Illustrated memoir of Signalman Third Class William L. Sprague, who describes his World War II experiences, including  Basic Training at Curtis Bay, Maryland, service in the Captain of the Port Office and on a patrol boat in Newport, Rhode Island, travel across the U.S. by train and plane, Signalman School in California, and service on board the USS Corpus Christi in the Pacific Theatre. 
  • Illustrated memoir of Coast Guard veteran Norman Taylor, who describes his World War II experiences, including  Basic Training at the Manhattan Beach Training Station, service on the Beach Patrol, "EM" school, and service on the USS FS-396 in the Pacific Theatre. ("pdf" file)

A Coast Guard Arctic Service ribbon  The Coast Guard and the Greenland Patrol:

  • Captain David W. Sinclair's memoir.  CAPT Sinclair has provided us with his memoir of his Coast Guard career that stretched from 1935 through his retirement in 1969.  He describes life as a cadet in the Coast Guard Academy's Class of 1939, life aboard a Treasury Class cutter just prior to the U.S. entering World War II, his service in World War II, including the Greenland Patrol, flight training, and aerial patrol duties.  He then goes on to describe his post-war Coast Guard career.  

American Theatre Service Ribbon   The Coast Guard in the Atlantic Theatre:

  • An account of the relief of convoy SC-177 that was taken from an unpublished book, Bloody Winter -- The Lighter Side, by the late CAPT John M. Waters, Jr., the first President of the Ingham Association.  
  • Scrapbook photographs from the collection of CAPT Eliot Winslow, who commanded the USCGC Argo in May, 1945.  The scrapbook covers the Argo's role in the surrender of three German U-boats: U-234, U-805, and the U-873.  

European African Mediterranean Theatre Service Ribbon   The Coast Guard and the European Theatre:

Pacific Theatre Service Ribbon   The Coast Guard in the Pacific Theatre:

A photo of Marines holding a sign thanking the Coast Guard for the efforts in the invasion of Guam.

  • Illustrated memoir of Signalman Third Class William L. Sprague, who describes his World War II experiences, including  Basic Training at Curtis Bay, Maryland, service in the Captain of the Port Office and on a patrol boat in Newport, Rhode Island, travel across the U.S. by train and plane, Signalman School in California, and service on board the USS Corpus Christi in the Pacific Theatre.
  • Sea 1/c Wilbur Selbrede, a member of a special amphibious beach party, describes duty aboard the USS Joseph T. Dickman, including returning American and Allied POWs to the U.S.
  • Invasion of Iwo Jima diary: Coast Guard veteran GM1 Robert Mullins wrote a detailed diary during the bloody assault on Iwo Jima in 1945.  GM1 Mullins served aboard a Coast Guard-manned LST. (pdf file)
  • Cliff Beasley recounts a few humorous World War II stories regarding OCS training, the atomic bomb, and duty aboard an Army "FS" vessel in the Pacific.

   Korean Conflict (1950-1953):

   Vietnam Conflict (1964-1975):

A photo of the Half Moon firing her main battery.

Southwest Asia Theatre Service Ribbon   Post-Vietnam Era (1975-1999):

  • Mayagüez Incident (1975)
  • Grenada: Operation Urgent Fury (1983)
  • Panama: Operation Just Cause (1989)

  • PSC Sandy "Grandma Gunner" Mitten's Oral History: PSC Mitten was a Coast Guard veteran of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm who served with PSU-303.  She describes her experiences in the Coast Guard Reserve and her time in Saudi Arabia as a patrol boat coxswain.

Kosovo Campaign ribbon Kosovo (1999)

  • Federal Republic of Yugoslavia-Kosovo War: Operation Allied Force (1999)

A PSU patrol boat underway in the Persian GulfTwenty-First Century and Beyond:

Last Modified 9/17/2008