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The Coast Guard at War

National Security & Military Preparedness

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General Information:

• In What Wars Did the Coast Guard Serve and What Were the Casualties in Each?

• The Coast Guard's Battle & Campaign Streamers

• A list of Coast Guard Memorials Around the World

• The Coast Guard and National Security: A Bibliography

•  1922: Brief Sketch of the Naval History of the United States Coast Guard with Citations of Various Statutes Defining Its Military Status from 1790-1922:  (Washington, DC: Press of Byron S. Adams, 1922).

• Shots That Hit: A Study of U.S. Coast Guard Marksmanship, 1790-1985, by Master Chief Gunner's Mate William R. Wells, II, USCG (Ret).

• A History of the Coast Guard's PACAREA Intelligence Division

• A Center for Naval Analysis (CNA) Power Point presentation covering the Coast Guard's relationship with the U.S. Navy, 1970-2009, courtesy of the CNA.

• "The U.S. Coast Guard: A Unique National Security Instrument," June, 1993, U.S. Naval War College Report.

• "The Coast Guard at Camp Lejeune: A Brief History," an article on the history of the Coast Guard's training programs at Camp Lejeune, which began during World War II and continues to this day.  Written by Lieutenant Colonel L. J. Kimball, USMC (Ret.).

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General Overviews:

• The Coast Guard at War: An illustrated history of the Coast Guard's role in defending the nation since 1790.

• History of Coast Guard Combat Operations, 1790-2010 (Power Point)

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Quasi-War (1798-1800):

• The "system of cutters" and the Quasi-War with France

• "Benjamin Hiller & the Cutter Pickering in the Quasi-War with France." William Thiesen, Sea History 122 (Spring, 2008), pp. 24-27; published here with the permission of the National Maritime Historical Society. (pdf file)

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War of 1812 (1812-1815):

• War of 1812 Index

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

• The Revenue Marine and the Second Seminole War (1835-1842)

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Mexican War (1846-1848):

• The Revenue Marine and the War with Mexico

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   Civil War (1861-1865):

• Historical Chronology of the Revenue Marine and Lighthouse Service during the Civil War.

• The Revenue Marine and the Civil War (Overview)

• The United States Revenue Cutters in the Civil War, a detailed narrative by noted Coast Guard Historian Florence Kern, published during the Coast Guard's Bicentennial commemoration in 1989.

• A presentation on the history of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service & U.S. Lighthouse Service in the Civil War: (PowerPoint) (PDF).

• "Reminiscenses of the Harriet Lane"; an article by Captain of Engineers F. H. Pulsifer, the Chief Engineer of Harriet Lane regarding his experiences on board one of the Revenue Cutter Service's most famous cutters.  First published in the Journal of the United States Coast Guard Association I, No. 1 (January, February, March, 1917), pp. 28-34.

• "The USRMCS Harriet Lane": a scholarly history of the cutter written by Robert Anderson and published by the White House Historical Association's White House History periodical (No. 12, Winter, 2003), pp. 39-51.

• "Revenue Cutter Service Gunboat E. A. Stevens: The Stevens Family's Civil War Experiment in Modern Naval Technology"; an article on the unique RCS gunboat Naugatuck/E.A. Stevens, by William H. Thiesen as published in Nautical Research Journal 54, No. 3 (Fall 2009), pp. 141-154.

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   Spanish-American War (1898):

• The United States Revenue Cutter Service in the War With Spain, 1898: the official history.

• USRC McCulloch

• USRC Hudson

• War Diary: "Operation of the Coast Guard Cutter Hudson in the Spanish American War," a first-hand report written by Hudson's Second Assistant Engineer T. G. Lewton.

• "The Fighting Captain of the United States Revenue Cutter Service: The Career of Commodore Frank Hamilton Newcomb, USRCS."  Commodore Newcomb commanded Hudson during the war.

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   World War I (1914-1918):

• History of USS Tampa, CG, including convoy operations and her loss in action in 1918

• History of USS Seneca, CG, including convoy operations in European waters

• History of USS Ossipee, CG including convoy operations in European waters

• Coast Guard Heroes: Coast Guardsmen decorated for heroism during World War I

• United States Coast Guard Roll of Honor, April 6, 1917 - - November 30, 1918 (a list of officers and men who were killed in action or otherwise perished during the war and those decorated during the war -- a supplement to the Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1919)

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   World War II (1939-1945):

• World War II Index

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   Korean Conflict (1950-1953):

• The United States Coast Guard & the Korean Conflict

• A Chronology of the the Coast Guard & the Korean Conflict

• Coast Guard Units Eligible for the Korean Service Medal
  

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   Vietnam Conflict (1964-1975):

• A Historical Chronology of the Coast Guard's Involvement in the Vietnam Conflict

• The United States Coast Guard in South East Asia During the Vietnam Conflict: A History

• Coast Guard Squadron One in Vietnam: A Gallery of Historic Photographs (in three parts)

• Coast Guard Squadron Three in Vietnam: A Gallery of Historic Photographs (in three parts)

• Coast Guard in Vietnam: The Other Missions: A Gallery of Historic Photographs

• Friendly Fire, Death, and CGC Point Welcome

• List of the Coast Guardsmen Killed in Action during the Vietnam Conflict

• Coast Guardsmen who were awarded the Silver Star during the Vietnam War

• Coast Guard Aviation in Vietnam: Combat Rescue and Recovery.  A "pdf" file provided courtesy of the Ancient Order of the Pterodactyl Association.

• LT Jack Rittichier describes his combat rescue missions while serving with the USAF's 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, just prior to being killed in action in June, 1968.

• Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Jonathan Collom, commanding CGC Point Cypress, describes his Coast Guard career, including his time as a member of the Academy's Class of 1966 and his tour of duty in Vietnam, including the combat action that took the life of one of his crewmen, Fireman Heriberto Hernandez..

• Lieutenant Junior Grade Gordon M. Gillies, executive officer of CGC Point Cypress, describes his Vietnam experiences including the tragic combat action that left him and another officer severely wounded and crewman Heriberto "Eddie" Hernandez dead. 

• Larry Fuchs, Executive Officer of the CGC Point Banks, describes his Vietnam tour on board the WPB assigned to Squadron One, in his article entitled "Squadron One Duty on Board the Point Banks."

• Larry Villareal's oral history. Villareal, awarded the Silver Star for heroism in combat while a crewman of the CGC Point Banks, describes his Coast Guard career, his tour in Vietnam and the action that earned him one of the nation's highest combat awards.

• USCG Aviation During the Vietnam War, by Thomas Kalisz.

• Captain Paul A. Lutz, commanding CGC Sherman, describes his cutter's 1970 Vietnam cruise

• The CGC Campbell's Vietnam tour Cruise Book, 1967-1968 [pdf file]

• A different kind of "boarding" the Coast Guard conducted while in Vietnamese waters

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   Post-Vietnam Era (1975-1999):

• Mayagüez Incident (1975)

• Grenada: Operation Urgent Fury (1983)

• Panama: Operation Just Cause (1989)

• A Chronology of the Coast Guard's Involvement in the Persian Gulf War (1990-1991).

• The Coast Guard Liaison Officer's After-Action Report for Desert Shield & Desert Storm

• 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.

• Haiti: Operation Uphold Democracy (1994)

• USCGC Dallas Med/Black Sea [1995] Deployment: Regional Engagement and USCG-USN Interoperability (Center for Naval Analyses' Report CRM 95-183).

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Kosovo (1999):

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

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Twenty-First Century and Beyond:

• 9/11 & Operation Noble Eagle (2001 - )

• Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003 - 2010)

• Operation New Dawn (2010 - ) (Forthcoming)

• The U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Strategy for Homeland Security (pdf)

• U.S. Coast Guard Contributions to National Defense, a Power Point presentation, December, 2005.

• Maritime and Port Security: DHS's Progress and Challenges

• A CNA PowerPoint presentation covering the Coast Guard's relationship with the U.S. Navy from 1970-2009, courtesy of the Center for Naval Analysis.

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