Based on the Coast Guard Historian’s timeline, https://www.history.uscg.mil/research/chronology/
With inspiration from Mike Kelso

April 30

Oil painting of George Washington’s inauguration as the first President of the United States which took place on April 30, 1789. circa 1899

1789  President George Washington was inaugurated in New York City as the nation’s first President.  His inauguration marked the beginning of U.S. Constitutional government.

1798  Congress established the Department of the Navy on this date.  Nevertheless, the United States Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which the Continental Congress established on October 13, 1775 by authorizing the procurement, fitting out, manning, and dispatch of two armed vessels to cruise in search of munitions ships supplying the British Army in America.  In 1972, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt authorized the recognition of 13 October 13, 1775 as the Navy’s official birthday.

1818  Congress authorized use of “land and naval forces of the United States to compel any foreign ship to depart United States in all cases in which, by the laws of nations or the treaties of the United States, they ought not to remain within the United States.”  This was the basis of neutrality enforcement.

1832  All commissions of naval officers serving in the Revenue Cutter Service were revoked.  All vacancies were then filled by promotion from within the Service for the first time.

BM1 Edgar Culbertson in the yard at the Coast Guard Lifeboat Station in Duluth, Minnesota, circa 1967

1967  BM1 Edgar A. Culbertson gave his life attempting to rescue three boys in Duluth, Minnesota.  BM1 Culbertson, along with two other members of Station Duluth, volunteered to venture out on the North Pier at Duluth to rescue three boys who had been reported to be out on the pier during a severe storm.  Witnesses had seen a wave wash one of the boys away but two were apparently trapped near the lighthouse at the end of the pier.  Culbertson’s Coast Guard Medal citation noted: “Lashing themselves together, the three men proceeded, with hand lanterns as the only illumination, to the end of the breakwater.  Despite the high waves, winds gusting to 40 knots, driving rain and 36 degree water, the rescue party diligently searched the breakwater and light but found no trace of the boys.  While returning to the beach a 20-foot wave swept Petty Officer CULBERTSON off his feet and hurled him up to and over the breakwater parapet into the sea.  Despite the strenuous efforts of his teammates, Petty Officer CULBERTSON perished in this gallant rescue attempt.”  He was posthumously awarded the Coast Guard Medal.  The other two Coast Guardsmen, BM2 Richard R. Callahan and FN Ronald C. Prei, were also awarded the Coast Guard Medal for their heroism.

The Coast Guard Cutter Edgar Culbertson sails into port in Galveston, Texas, March 23, 2020. The Edgar Culbertson is the service’s 37th fast response cutter. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Paige Hause)

2020  The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Midgett concluded a successful 37-day patrol in support of counter-Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing and regional security operations in Oceania, April 30, 2020. Patrolling over 7,118 square nautical miles (8,191 statute miles), Midgett’s law enforcement team boarded seven commercial foreign-flagged fishing vessels. The boardings verified compliance with WCPFC conservation management measures and specifications for the marking and identification of fishing vessels. They conducted 15 additional sightings and vessel queries. Those reports were provided to the FFA Regional Fisheries Surveillance Center in Honiara, Solomon Islands, demonstrating the Coast Guard’s interoperability with its key regional partners. The crew conducted joint operations with crews aboard an HC-130 Hercules long-range surveillance aircraft from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point, who flew several reconnaissance flights to improve maritime domain awareness. Midgett’s crew of 120 departed their homeport of Honolulu in late March, 2020, but returned shortly after to address concerns over possible COVID-19 exposure among the crew. One crew member who did not sail with the cutter for other reasons tested positive for the virus on April 1. Although no one else showed COVID-19 symptoms, the command, in concert with military and state health officials, took immediate and decisive action to quarantine and test those at risk of exposure. No one aboard tested positive, and the ill member ashore made a full recovery. Midgett resumed the patrol on April, 8, 2020.

The crews of the Coast Guard Cutters Midgett (WMSL 757) and Kimball (WMSL 756) transit past Koko Head on Oahu, Hawaii, Aug. 16, 2019. The Kimball and Midgett are both homeported in Honolulu and two of the newest Coast Guard cutters to join the fleet. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew West/Released)