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

June 17

1832  The practice of utilizing “surplus” naval officers as officers of the Revenue Marine was discontinued.  Revenue officer vacancies were henceforth filled by promotion from within the service.

1910  An Act of Congress (36 Stat. L., 534) abolished the Lighthouse Board and created the Bureau of Lighthouses to have complete charge of the Lighthouse Service.  This law constituted the organic act under which the Lighthouse Service operated thereafter.

1942  The Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Fleet ordered the organization of coastal pickets to combat the “submarine menace” off the Atlantic Coast.  The hodge-podge fleet of primarily small private recreational craft taken into government service under Coast Guard direction became known as the “Corsair Fleet.” This was in the response to U-boat attacks along the East and Gulf coast that began after the US entered WWII. This period was referred to by the German Navy as the “Second Happy Time.”

The Second Happy Time lasted from January 1942 to about August of that year and involved several German naval operations, including Operation Neuland. German submariners named it the “Happy Time” or the “Golden Time,” as defense measures were weak and disorganized, and the U-boats were able to inflict massive damage with little risk. During this period, Axis submarines sank 609 ships totaling 3.1 million tons, against a loss of only 22 U-boats. This led to the loss of thousands of lives, mainly those of merchant mariners. Although fewer than the losses during the 1917 campaign of the First World War, those of this period equaled roughly one quarter of all ships sunk by U-boats during the entire Second World War.

The Second Happy Time ended primarily because a coastal convoy system was instituted, but there was a rationale for the formation of the Corsair Fleet using sailing vessels. U-boats would stay submerged during the day but surface at night to hunt and recharge their batteries. Because boats under sail would make very little noise, they might escape detection by the U-boat before they surfaced. The Corsair fleet was armed with depth charges and machine guns but they were primarily expected to report sightings.

1983  National Narcotics Border Interdiction System (NNBIS) began operations under the direction of Vice President George Bush and the executive board consisting of Secretaries of State, Transportation and Defense, the Attorney General, the Counselor to the President, the Director of Central Intelligence, and the Director of the White House Drug Abuse Policy Office.  “U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps airborne and seaborne craft, intelligence, technology, surveillance, and manpower now are used to augment operations by the U.S. Coast Guard, Customs Service, the Drug Enforcement Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Border Patrol, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  The system provides a coordinated national and international interagency network for prioritizing interdiction targets, identifying resources, recommending the most effective action, and coordinating joint special actions.

2013  The Coast Guard 13th District and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police “E” Division signed a finalized agreement for the Pacific region Integrated Cross-border Maritime Law Enforcement program, known as “Shiprider,” during a ceremony at the Peace Arch Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada.  Shiprider was a program that enabled specially-trained officials from both nations to pursue or interdict suspected criminals transiting across the shared maritime border.  The concept of Shiprider was first introduced in 2005.  A version of the agreement proved successful during the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2010.

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

June 16

1880  An Act of Congress (21 Stat. L., 259, 263) provided that “masters of light-house tenders shall have police powers in matters pertaining to government property and smuggling.”

The Alva Cape (left) and Texaco Massachusetts afire with rescue craft and a US Coast Guard HH-52 Seaguard overhead. Original pic is courtesy of the NY Daily News

1966  The tanker Alva Cape and tanker Texaco Massachusetts collided in New York Harbor near Third Coast Guard District Headquarters on Governor’s Island.  Thirty-three crewmen perished in the ensuing explosion.  Coast Guard units responded and the rescue effort garnered significant national media attention.

With post-fire inspections revealing that the ships internal structure was severely compromised by heat damage and multiple explosions, the Alva Cape’s owners informed the Captain of the Port of New York on July 1st they were no longer pursuing the salvage of the ship or any cargo remaining on board. With the ship still partially laden with Naptha and now posing a real threat of sinking in the harbor, the ship was ordered towed to sea and scuttled to prevent any further loss of life or damage. Taken under tow by the tug Terry Moran on the morning of June 2nd, the Alva Cape was towed some 110 miles offshore to waters 1,200 fathoms deep and was set adrift in the vicinity of the US Coast Guard Cutter Spencer (WPG-36), which sent over 50 rounds into the derelict tanker and sank her at position 38°55′ N., 72°20.1’W on July 3rd, 1966.

1974 Romana Borrego (Dubinka) became the first known Hispanic-American woman to enlist in the active duty Coast Guard. On 1 Aug 1988 Borrego earned promotion to YNC, becoming first Hispanic-American woman service member to advance to E-7. And on 1 Oct 1998, Borrego earned promotion to YNCS and was the first Hispanic-American woman to reach E8.

Coast Guard Cutter Spencer approaches the pier at Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore. Spencer was scheduled to spend fifteen months in SLEP but in the event spent twenty months, leaving the Coast Guard Yard on March 8, 2025 U.S. Coast Guard photo.

2015 CGC Spencer returned to Boston after a 55-day patrol in the North Atlantic.  While conducting a law enforcement inspection aboard the commercial F/V Heritage, on June 6, Spencer’s rescue and assistance team fought and helped extinguish a fire ablaze in their galley.  Also during the patrol, Spencer responded to a distress call from the S/V Alien I, 300 nautical miles offshore.  After steaming through the night, Spencer arrived on scene, rescued the couple onboard, and placed the vessel in tow.  Spencer towed the vessel for 300 miles and delivered Alien I and her passengers safely to Coast Guard Station Woods Hole three days later.  After breaking the tow, Spencer resumed normal operations in the North Atlantic which is primarily living marine resource protection.  During its patrol, the cutter’s crew conducted law enforcement operations including 51 commercial fishing vessel inspections, day and night time helicopter operations, and live gunnery fire.  The crew conducted hours of training in damage control, weapons handling, navigation and seamanship, medical casualty, and engineering casualty response.  Additionally, Spencer was the Coast Guard’s flag ship and largest cutter participant in New York Fleet Week 2015, giving tours to more than 4,800 people and supporting 13 Fleet Week community events.  This patrol directly followed an 89-day dry-dock at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Maryland.

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

June 15

Steamboat General Slocum

1904  Nearly 1,000 lives were lost when the steamboat General Slocum caught fire in the East River in New York.  The disaster led to improved safety regulations and life-saving equipment.

Victims of General Slocum washed ashore at North Brother Island

1917  Congress passed and President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Espionage Act, authorizing the Treasury Secretary to assume control of U.S. ports, control ship movements, establish anchorages, and supervise the loading and storage of explosive cargoes.  The authority was immediately delegated to the Coast Guard and formed the basis for the formation of the Coast Guard’s Captain of the Ports and the Port Security Program.

USS Cambria (APA-36) at anchor, date and location unknown. Her camouflage is Measure 32 Design 3D. US Navy photo. Navsource from Michael Marzolla for his father, Lt. Anthony Mario Marzolla USCG, USS Cambria

1944  Coast Guardsmen participated in the invasion of Saipan, Marianas.  The Coast Guard-manned transports that took part in the invasion included the USS Cambria, Arthur Middleton, Callaway, Leonard Wood, LST-19, LST-23, LST-166, and LST-169.

USS Arthur Middleton (AP-55) undergoing conversion from a Maritime Commission Passenger and Cargo liner to an Attack Transport in drydock at San Francisco Navy Yard, Hunters Point, circa 1942. Photographs show how much had to be added to a cargo liner to convert her into an attack transport. She needed heavier booms to handle landing craft (note the boat chocks atop the hatch in the photo of the ship’s after end). Note also the catwalk to assist in handling personnel boats launched from the new triple Welin davits, and the boat chocks positioned under the davits. The small lattice mast ultimately carried a radar antenna. Mare Island Navy Yard photos from “U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History” by Norman Friedman.

The U.S.S. Serpens Monument is dedicated to those who lost their lives when the U.S.S. Serpens was destroyed. The 14,250-ton ammunition ship exploded off Lunga Baech, Guadacanal, British Solomon Islands on the night of Jan. 29, 1945 and was the largest single disaster suffered by the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II. (U.S. Army photo by Rachel Larue/released)

1949  Two hundred and forty-eight unidentified victims of the 1945 explosion of the U.S. Coast Guard-manned Serpens at Guadalcanal were buried in Arlington National Cemetery in what was described as the largest recommittal on record.

USS Serpens (AK-97)

1986  Upon assuming the office of Commandant on May 30, 1986, ADM Paul Yost banned the wearing of beards by Coast Guard personnel, to be effective on June 15, 1986.

25 June 2009: The Pacific Ocean – A U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point C-130 crew flies over USS Crommelin (FFG 37), homeported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the FSS Independence, a patrol boat from the Federated States of Micronesia, patrolling the Western Pacific Ocean. 
(U.S. Coast Guard photo #090625-G-0314D-002 by PO3 Michael De Nyse from the Navy Newstand)

2009  Law Enforcement officers from the 14th Coast Guard District reported aboard the USS Crommelin (FFG-37) to support U.S. Coast Guard fisheries enforcement in Oceania in an operation called the “Fight for Fish” mission.  It marked the first time a Navy warship was utilized “to transit the Western Pacific enforcing fishing regulations in a joint effort with the Coast Guard to stop illegal fishing in this region.”

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

June 14

1775  The official birthday of the U.S. Army: it was on this date in 1775 that the Continental Congress adopted “the American continental army.”  The Army’s motto is: “This We’ll Defend.”

1906  Congress passed the first regulatory fishing law for Alaska.  The new law was enforced by the Revenue Cutter Service.

USCGC Duane (WPG-33) in Godthaab Fjord, Greenland in the Spring of 1941. Her mission was to survey the east coast of Greenland in order to identify sites for airfields. Note the SOC-4 seaplane amidships.
Photo courtesy of A. D. Baker III from “U.S. Coast Guard Cutters and Craft of World War II” by Robert L. Scheina.

1941  CGC Duane rescued 46 survivors from the torpedoed SS Tresillian.

British Merchant Ship Tresillian sunk by U-77, 13 June 1941. Entire crew of 46 rescued by USCGC Duane.

1979  The Coast Guard announced the award of a $215 million contract for 90 Short Range Recovery (SRR) helicopters to Aerospatiale Helicopter Corporation of Grand Prairie, Texas.

Admiral Arciszewski was a B89 type, built in 1977 in the Komuniy Paryskiej yard in Gdynia. At 2620 grt it was among the largest Polish vessels, classed as a factory freezer stern trawler with reefer capacity and ice strengthened. It was renamed Queen Lydia in 2002 and broken up in Alang 2004-06-09.

1996  CGC Mellon seized the Polish fishing vessel Admiral Arciszewski after it was found to be illegally fishing in U.S. waters 385 miles northwest of Dutch Harbor.  CGC Steadfast escorted the fishing vessel into Kodiak.

United States Coast Guard Cutter Mellon (WHEC-717) makes way through the Bering Sea while acting as search and rescue standby cutter for the Bering Sea Opilio Crab fishery. U.S. Coast Guard photograph 010209-C-6130A-500, PA1 Keith Alholm

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

June 13

“SQUAN BEACH”; no date/photo number; photographer unknown. Probably 1927.

1903  A Gold Lifesaving medal was awarded to Captain Robert F. Longstreet “for heroic conduct at Squan Beach, New Jersey,” for his efforts to rescue five fishermen from their capsized vessel on June 13, 1903. The heavily – laden vessel was observed to capsize in “heavy breaking surf caused the heavy ground swell and strong southerly wind, following a storm which had just passed along the coast.”  Observers went to the Squan Beach life – saving station for help, but because it was the inactive season, only Captain Longstreet was present.  Nevertheless, he launched a small skiff with the help of a fisherman and rowed out the fishing vessel.

Loening OL-5, “Radio operator, holding mouthpiece of transmitter – wearing ear-phone helmet. Aviation Unit, Gloucester, Mass.; 8 March 1929; Photo Number 3-8-29

1929  Coast Guard Radio Technician A. G. Descoteaux became the first person to broadcast from an aircraft.  In a Loening amphibian, he reported the takeoff of a French aircraft on a trans-Atlantic flight at Old Orchard Beach, Maine.  The account was relayed by ground equipment to an extensive national hookup and was received by U.S. and foreign listeners.

Meanwhile, the 1925 addition of aircraft to the Coast Guard’s inventory created a new challenge for communications. Early aircraft had not been designed or constructed with radios in mind. Luckily, Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Elmer Stone, a pioneer in maritime aviation, devised specifications for an aviation radio set. With those specifications in mind, Radio Electrician A.G. Descoteaux and Chief Radioman R.H. Salvas exercised field-level initiative to develop a 90-pound battery-operated radio set. This set enabled Coast Guard aircraft to report vessel sightings in real time to nearby cutters and shore stations. This capability proved critical to successful surface vessel interdictions and, later, aviation rescues and interdictions.

Loening OL-5, “Machine gun and ring mount ready for action – showing magazine and shell catcher in place. Gloucester, Mass.”; 8 March 1929; Photo Number 3-8-29 (14).

Loening OL-5, waterborne take-off, OL-5 No. 1(?), no caption/date/photo number.

https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Portals/10/CG-1/leadership/docs/pdf/ELN/burke.pdf?ver=2017-03-01-092950-090

1933  LT Richard L. Burke piloted a seaplane from AIRSTA Cape May to rescue an ill seaman from the fishing trawler Shawmut 130 miles offshore.  He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for this rescue.

Seaman John Cullen, left, received the Legion of Merit from Rear Adm. Stanley V. Parker for his service in World War II. Credit…The New York Times

1942  Coast Guardsman John C. Cullen (Seaman 2/c) discovered Nazi saboteurs landing on beach at Amagansett, Long Island.  He reported this to his superiors.  The FBI later captured the Nazis and Cullen was awarded the Legion of Merit.

USCGC Thetis (WPC-115)

1942  CGC Thetis sank the German U-boat U-157 off the Florida Keys.  There were no survivors.

Escanaba rescuing survivors from USAT Dorchester. USCG Image.

1943  CGC Escanaba exploded and sank off Ivigtut, Greenland, with only two survivors.  The cause for the loss has never been confirmed.

(original USCG caption) USS Escanaba, CG; “All hands at Quarters on deck.”; circa-late 1942; photo is from Roll No. 4; photo by Ray Platnick, P.M.1c.

2023  The Navy organized Coast Guard Port Security Unit (PSU) 305 members conducted a casing of the colors ceremony at Naval Base Guantanamo Bay Tuesday, marking the end of the Coast Guard’s 21-year mission supporting Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO).  Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan presided over the historical ceremony and presented a Coast Guard Unit Commendation award to the men and women of PSU 305. Port Security Units are part of the Coast Guard’s deployable specialized forces and have served JTF-GTMO as the Maritime Security Detachment (MARSECDET) for over 21 years. The Virginia-based PSU 305 was the first PSU deployed to Guantanamo Bay in 2002 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and this tour completes their fifth unit eployment. “Thanks to the quiet resolve and careful watch of our Port Security Units for the past 21 years, the work our Nation has conducted here has been done safely and securely,” said Fagan during the ceremony. Coast Guard PSUs and Maritime Safety and Security Teams have provided maritime anti-terrorism force protection for JTF-GTMO since 2002. There have been 39 unit rotations to Guantanamo Bay since the Coast Guard began supporting the mission. The men and women assigned to the MARSECDET collectively provided over 200,000 underway hours conducting around-the-clock waterside patrols and over 50,000 hours of shoreside anti-terrorism and force protection defense security to Department of Defense assets and personnel at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. Upon the conclusion of the JTF-GTMO mission, PSUs will continue to remain an agile expeditionary force provider, playing a critical role in protecting strategic maritime operations in an environment of increasing global competition. In addition, PSUs will participate in national level joint and combined exercises to enhance readiness and proficiency for the full spectrum of PSU capabilities. “This is an exciting time for the PSU community” said Capt. Matthew Michaelis, Pacific Area deputy chief of operations. “As the focus shifts from a long-standing enduring mission, we look forward to supporting future missions that align with their diverse set of capabilities. Our PSUs recently completed three joint DoD exercises and are preparing for additional exercises overseas with DoD and some of our trusted partners. The increased focus on interoperability will better prepare our PSUs to deploy in a joint or multi-lateral environment as they were designed, while also creating opportunities to evolve and uncover new and novel ways for their employment.”

Coast Guardsmen from Port Security Unit 307 conduct seaward security for Department of Defense assets and personnel at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, April 25, 2022. During the nine-month deployment, unit operations focused on maritime defense, providing more than 30,000 hours of around-the-clock waterside and shore side anti-terrorism and force protection. U.S. Coast Guard by photo by Lt. Cmdr. Glenn Sanchez.

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

June 12

Revenue cutter Surveyor, at anchor in the York River, Virginia, was surprised by a three-barge attack force launched from the Royal Navy frigate HMS Narcissus

1813  Revenue cutter Surveyor, at anchor in the York River, Virginia, was surprised by a three-barge attack force launched from the Royal Navy frigate HMS Narcissus.  Outnumbered 50 to 15, the cuttermen wounded seven and killed three of the enemy before the cutter was captured.  The British commanding officer of Narcissus was so impressed by “the determined way in which her deck was disputed, inch by inch,” in hand-to-hand combat, he returned to Revenue Captain William Travis, the commanding officer of Surveyor, “the sword you had so nobly used.”

1917  An Act of Congress appropriated $300,000 to enable the U .S. Coast Guard to extend its telephone system to include all Coast Guard stations not then connected as well as the most important light stations with no means of rapid communication.  The Life-Saving Service had pioneered the use of the telephone beginning in the 1880s, linking the various stations along the nation’s coast with the new communication device.

HURON (lightship) now a museum ship- Port Huron, Michigan, 13 April 2012, photo credit: Notorious4life via Wikipedia

1925  Lake Huron Lightship radio fog signal was placed in commission, being the first signal of this kind on the Great Lakes.

Hyperbolic navigation example (Image: Wikipedia)

1942  The U.S. Navy makes its first operational test with LORAN equipment with a LORAN receiver mounted in a K-2 airship on a flight from Lakehurst Naval Air Station.

USCGC Vigorous

1975  CGC Vigorous seized the Bulgarian F/V Argonaut off the coast of New England.  More than 500 pounds of lobster were reported found aboard the fishing vessel by the Coast Guard boarding party.  Lobster was protected from foreign fishing by the Continental Shelf Fishery Resource Law.

1999  The small cruise vessel Wilderness Adventurer ran aground in Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska.  All passengers and crew were safely evacuated from the stranded vessel.  The responders from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Coast Guard, and Glacier Bay Tours and Cruises (which operated the vessel) then successfully refloated her and towed her to drydock.  Oil containment booms contained the 300 gallons of fuel that leaked from the vessel.  A Coast Guard spokesman later stated “This is the best-run multi-agency operation I’ve seen in my career.  It went well.  We still have a damaged vessel to take care of, but at least it’s not at the bottom of the ocean in a national park.”  The Coast Guard also investigated the accident.

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

June 11

Sandy Hook Lighthouse, National Park Service Photo.

1764  Sandy Hook Lighthouse, at the south point of the entrance to New York Harbor, was first lighted.  Today, its octagonal tower, built by Mr. Isaac Conro of New York City with money collected by a group of New York merchants, is the oldest original light tower still standing and in use in the United States.

USCGC Taney tied up at Pier 4 in Honolulu Harbor, Hawaii, circa 1940
VIRIN: 220509-G-G0000-002.JPG, Photo by: USCG Historian’s Office

1942  After the Battle of Midway (4–7 June), CGC Taney anchored at Midway Island after escorting USS Regulus (AK-14) there.  For the next four days Taney conducted SAR operations in the waters around Midway, the island itself, and then “went out into the Pacific Ocean to look for survivors reported by plane.”  Taney departed Midway Island on June 16 and escorted Regulus back to Honolulu.

Cape Kubugakli, Alaska

1966  Finding itself disabled and adrift two miles from Cape Kubugakli, Alaska, the fishing vessel Katy C radioed for assistance.  A Coast Guard helicopter, after ascertaining that the ship was unable to anchor by herself, took her in tow until she was out of danger.