• 2016
    • Having sold out all copies of our previous editions of The Coast Guard, our signature coffee table book, and copies going for more than $300 on Amazon.com, we printed a third edition. Updated with a chapter USCG Commandant Admiral Paul Zukunft, our editor LCDR Tom Beard, USCG (Ret.) once again produced an exceptional book.
    • Joining forces with the National Coast Guard Museum Association (NCGMA) in their effort to establish a National Coast  Guard Museum, a founding goal of the Foundation, the Foundation co-sponsored the establishment of the Museum Exhibit Advisory Panel or MEAP. The goal of the MEAP is to gain input from those organizations that have been working to preserve, show, and educate the publish about the United States Coast Guard and her predecessor services, and their contribution to the Nation.

    Purpose and Function

    The Museum Exhibit Advisory Panel (MEAP) is responsible for providing input and offering recommendations regarding the exhibition design for the future National Coast Guard Museum.

    Primary Responsibilities

    The Museum Exhibit Advisory Panel (MEAP) will:

    • ?  Identify potential exhibit themes that best represent the Coast Guard past, present, and future.
    • ?  Respond to requests for architectural input and review of exhibit space design, use of technology, and traffic flow in order to maximize the museum visitor experience.
    • ?  Serve as active sponsors and advocates for promoting the museum within each member’s respective organization.
     Panel Composition

    The Museum Exhibit Advisory Panel (MEAP) is comprised of representatives of interested non-profit organizations and CG representatives who aspire to preserve and promote the culture and traditions of the United States Coast Guard.

    Additionally, the Panel will include museum subject matter experts and an active Coast Guard historian(s) and curator(s). The following organizations have been participating since January 2016.

    Association for Rescue at Sea Commandant’s National Coast Guard Retiree Council
    Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association Coast Guard Auxiliary Association
    Coast Guard Auxiliary Coast Guard Aviation Association
    Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association Coast Guard Combat Veterans Association
    Coast Guard Cuttermen Association Coast Guard Women’s Leadership Initiative
    USCG Lightship Sailors International Association, Inc. National Council of Coast Guard Spouses’ Councils
    Regional Maritime Museum Director United States Life-Saving Service Heritage Association
    United States Lighthouse Society United States Navy Memorial
    United States Coast Guard Academy United States Coast Guard Research & Development Center
    Naval Order of the United States
    • Purchased for the USCG Historian’s Office historic items that belonged to RADM Randolph Ridgely, Jr., who retired as a Rear Admiral in 1935. RADM Ridgely had entered the service through the Revenue Cutter Service. As the US Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association notes, “RADM Ridgely was awarded the Navy Cross in 1918 for his performance “in the important, exacting and hazardous duty of transporting and escorting troops and supplies through waters infested with enemy submarines and mines” during WWI. He later went on to serve as superintendent of the Academy (1932-1935) immediately following its move to its current location.” The building that houses the USCG Maritime Force Protection Unit Kings Bay is named for him.

    RADM R Ridgely Collection

    • In conjunction with with the USCG, the Foundation revised the Annual Unit and Individual Awards program, making the submission process easier and clarifying the criteria, categories and awards.
    • Participated in the filming of a TV short history about VADM James A. Hirshfield and his WWII heroics. CAPT FredHerzberg, USCG (Ret.) was the “talking head” that put each part of the story in perspective.
    • Provided speaker for the breakfast honoring Coast Guard Spouses in Sturgeon Bay, WI. This breakfast was co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Navy League and Roen Salvage Company.
    • CDR Paul Fawcett relieved CAPT Rick Batson as Treasurer.
    • Continued sponsorship of Coast Guard History Award to Honor Graduate of each Chief Warrant Officer Professional Development Class.
    • Published two editions of The Cutter, FCGH’s magazine.
  • 2015
    • Starting in 2008, John Longnecker, Captain (ret) Carl Zellner, USCGR, and Captain (ret) Fred Herzberg urged the U.S. Postal Service to issue a sheet of stamps depicting the history and missions of the Coast Guard. Each of the other services has at least several stamps, but the CG had only a series of 35 about lighthouses, only one of which had any visible Coast Guard connection. On 4 August, in Washington D.C. at CG Headquarters, John and Fred participated in the first-day-of-issue ceremonies (Carl had passed away without knowing of his success).

    stamp_coastguard_gallery

    • Facilitated the permanent loan of the last operational 41′ UTB to the Door County (WI) Maritime Museum for a static display honoring all who served in these tough response boats. Helped developed an informational reader board to be included in the display.
    • Assisted in the design and installation of a fun and educational exhibit titled “Sea Dogs” at the Door County (WI) Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Exhibit features “Sinbad”, the mascot dog on USCGC Campbell during WWII, the WWII Beach Patrol, modern day CG working dogs, and other CG history elements.
    • The Foundation recognized the outstanding efforts of BM1 Mike Jenkins of Port Angeles Station who singlehandedly created a major exhibit in the Clallam County Historical Society Museum depicting the history of the Coast Guard and each of the three Stations in Clallam County.
    • The Foundation, along with our peer historical foundations from the DoD services, co-sponsored and participated in the “Violent Skies” symposium at the National Defense Univeristy. This event, commemorating the role of aviation in the Viet Nam War, was attended by several hundred people.
    • Conducted comprehensive overhaul of the FCGH’s website with the help of Jim Muller of Kainalu Designs.
    • Continued sponsorship of Coast Guard History Award to Honor Graduate of each Chief Warrant Officer Professional Development Class.
    • Published three editions of The Cutter, FCGH’s magazine.
  • 2014
    • Worked with Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs on development of a large bronze plaque honoring the service of the Coast Guard and its predecessor services along Wisconsin’s three “coasts”: Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, and the Mississippi River. Regent Bob Desh was the MC at dedication ceremony.
    • Continued sponsorship of Coast Guard History Award to Honor Graduate of each Chief Warrant Officer Professional Development Class.
    • Published three editions of The Cutter, FCGH’s magazine.
  • 2013
    • Announced Annual Awards:
      • Large Unit History Award Winner: Air? Station Houston. In preparation for the 50th anniversary of Air?Station Houston, staff contacted more than 12,000 people to ?participate in, attend, or contribute to the celebration?commemorating the semi-centennial celebration of the commissioning of Ellington Field. Air station members spent the year of 2013 working with the Coast Guard Aviation Association to contact former commanding officers, pilots, and aircrew to collect air station?history and memorabilia that reached all the way back to the opening of the air station on December 23, 1963. The crew developed storyboards for use during the ceremony, and then installed them in passageways. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the air station, Air Station Houston redesigned the unit patch to reflect its date of establishment and commissioned a new painting from artist Bryan Snuffer that was unveiled during the ceremony.
      • Small Unit History Award Winner: Station Quillayute River. The crew of Station Quillayute River excelled in? the presentation of two segments of the unit’s history. First, the? unit forged and held a long relationship with the Quileute Nation, on whose land the station was first built in 1929. Secondly, through its history, the unit has witnessed two major casualties involving Coast Guard fatalities that had profound impacts on the Coast Guard. Through recent preservation efforts, the station has sought to shed light on the factual events of these tragedies through the exhibition and interpretation of artifacts telling their stories. The year was emotionally punctuated by a unit morale kayak trip to the site of the 44363 disaster of February 13, 1997, during which the station’s crew found the 44-foot MLB mast protruding from sand. The unit extracted it from the sand, returned it to the station, restored it, and put it on display. This singular action personifies the connection to? the past, with current unit members paying homage and respect to past unit members they never knew.
      • Book awards.
        • Coast Guard Heritage: Steve and Grace?Truman, Storms And Sand: A Story Of Shipwrecks And The Big Sable Point Coast Guard Station
        • Lighthouses: Merita S. Whatley, Images of America: Point Arena Lighthouse
      • Heritage awards.
        • LCDR Kenneth Sieg, USCGR, Sector Hampton Roads. LCDR Sieg processed more than 50 oral histories and associated artifacts ?collected in the field during travels to U.S. Central Command area of operations including Afghanistan, during operations of Patrol Forces Southwest Asia and the Redevelopment Assistance and Inspection Detachment. He also led the charge to bring the in-country Coast? Guard Humvee ELEANOR II back from Afghanistan for preservation and display at the Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum. LCDR Sieg also deeply researched the previously unexplored history of the Coast Guard’s signals intelligence efforts, and assisted in a wide-ranging documentary declassification that shed new light on Coast Guard intelligence activities during World War II. For these reasons and? many others, the Foundation for Coast Guard History owes a great debt of gratitude to LCDR Sieg for his actions in support of the Service’s history.
        • Tracey Mertens, USCG Auxiliary, Flotilla 23 Kodiak, AK. Auxiliarist Mertens worked with ten active duty Coast Guard units in Alaska to preserve and present the story of the Coast Guard. Over the course of 17 months, Ms. Mertens volunteered more than 2500 hours under the direction of the D17 public affairs staff and Air Station Kodiak. During that period, she took more than 3000 photographs that have been used by local units and the D17 Public Affairs Detachment.
        • Lennis B. McFadden, USCG Auxiliary, Flotilla 0920-04-02, Rochester, NY. Auxiliarist McFadden dedicated more than 575 hours to the digitization and organization of his flotilla’s historical ?archives, ranging from 1939 to 2012, scanning and cataloguing more than 3500 pages of documents and over 650 photographs. Due to his work, all flotilla members have access to all historical materials? without the need to disturb the originals. This project led to the? creation of an exhibit at the Central Library of Rochester and ?Monroe Counties, and the 2015 celebration of 75 years as a unit for? the flotilla.
    • Continued sponsorship of Coast Guard History Award to Honor Graduate of each Chief Warrant Officer Professional Development Class.
    • Published three editions of The Cutter, FCGH’s magazine.
  • 2012
    • Announced Annual Awards:
      • Large Unit History Award Winner (with dedicated Public Affairs Staff): Commander, First Coast Guard District. The First District compiled an impressive array of accomplishments in remembrance of the history of the units that comprise the district. Aside from creating a District History and Heritage Plan, the staff hosted multiple outreach events, created multimedia projects for sharing online, and contributed significantly to the national campaign for the War of 1812 Bicentennial. Most importantly for the judges, they focused heavily on internal audiences, sharing their history with their shipmates throughout the region.
      • Large Unit History Award Winner (without dedicated Public Affairs Staff): Commander, Sector Buffalo. Sector Buffalo worked with the Buffalo Lighthouse Association and local congressional staff to renovate and open public access to the 1833 Buffalo Lighthouse, while still maintaining an effective security perimeter. Additionally, Sector Buffalo, in cooperation with the Sector Buffalo Chiefs’ Mess and Lightship Sailors Association, funded and dedicated a memorial site for the wreck of the U.S. Lightship Service LV-82 at Point Albino, Ontario, Canada. Sector Buffalo also played a major role in celebrating U.S. Coast Guard history and promoting current missions at the war of 1812 Bicentennial commemoration in Cleveland, Ohio, and Buffalo, New York.
      • Small Unit History Award Winner: USCGC Richard Etheridge. The crew of the newly commissioned fast response cutter shared the story of the hero for whom their cutter was named through more than 20 print, radio, and television availabilities. They hosted a two-day event bringing together authors and documentarians who have told the Etheridge story, and worked with several museums on the outer banks of North Carolina, where Etheridge served with the U.S. Life-Saving Service. The crew also worked with the cutter’s sponsor to obtain floorboards from the home of Adam Etheridge, where Richard lived as a young slave; those floorboards were converted to port and starboard name boards now used on the cutter.
      • Book awards.
        • Coast Guard Heritage: Dr. Dennis L. Noble, USCG (ret.) for his book The U.S. Coast Guards War on Human Smuggling. The judges described his book as an innovative, intensive look at one of the Coast Guards newest missions, a book on which all future titles on the subject will stand. They also cited his unprecedented contribution to the field of Coast Guard history.
        • Alan Giagnocavos: A Close up Look: A Tour of Americas Iconic Architecture Through Historic Photos and Detailed Drawings. The judges called this book a clear winner, offering a universal perspective in its review of 18 lighthouses through the use of Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) files.
      • Heritage Award:
        • Jennifer Gaudio, curator of the U.S. Coast Guard Museum, located at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Ms. Gaudio led a $450,000 year-long redesign and renovation of the Coast Guard Museum. Apart from the tasks of designing and installing exhibits, Ms. Gaudio ensured that the exhibits were not only appealing, interesting, and effective, but also portable, for potential future use in a new National Coast Guard Museum. To effect this change, Ms. Gaudio worked with a private design firm, cadets, staff, alumni, and Auxiliary, and encouraged an increased visitorship to the museum upon completion of the exhibits.
        • William J. Nelson, USCG Auxiliary. Auxilarist Nelson, assigned to the Atlantic Area staff, served as the principal War of 1812 historical research specialist detailed to the Atlantic Area Historian’s office and independently began research on the travails of Revenue Cutter Service prisoners of war taken during that war. Among his many accomplishments during the extended period of research was the innovative design of a portable exhibit carried onboard USCGC Eagle during its 2012 port calls.
        • LT Galen Varon, USCG. During off-duty time, LT Varon codified the history of the 15 cutters that have historically been called Queen of the Fleet since 1896. He has developed individual websites for each one, and brought them together under a common website, http:www.the-royal-court.info. He has also written a 191-page manuscript on one of these cutters, USCGC Storis.
    • Supported the CG Public Affairs Program and the Historian’s Office by chairing a meeting held to evaluate and baseline the current historical program, identify any shortcomings in the program, and offer suggestions for improvement. In attendance and providing input were CG history stakeholders including professional historians, leaders of non-governmental USCG-related historical organizations, authors of USCG-related publications, and governmental and non-governmental museum professionals. The group compiled a detailed description of the characteristics of the desired CG history program and developed a list of ten goals to achieve the desired end state. The goals were categorized into 1, 2, and 5-year groups. Broadly grouped, they focus on using non-appropriated support, increasing visibility of the program, and updating/developing new policy in support of the program.
    • Worked with City of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, to develop three USCG-specific informational reader boards highlighting local CG history. Boards are part of a series installed in two waterfront parks. Regent CAPT Bob Desh, USCG (Ret.) researched historic photos and authored all text.
    • Continued sponsorship of Coast Guard History Award to Honor Graduate of each Chief Warrant Officer Professional Development Class.
    • Published three editions of The Cutter, FCGH’s magazine.
  • 2011
    • Announced Annual Awards:
      • Large Unit History Award Winner: USCG Air Station Clearwater. The volunteers at air station Clearwater restored HU-16e “Goat” CGNR 1023 after rescuing it from the now closed Pate Aviation Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. The restoration coincided with the 60th anniversary of the introduction of the Grumman HU-16 Albatross into the Coast Guard fleet and the 35th anniversary of the unit’s move from St. Petersburg to Clearwater, as well as the centennial of naval aviation. CG-1023 now commemorates the crew of the CG 1240, lost in the fog on a rescue attempt on 6 March 1967.
      • Small Unit History Award Winner: Station Hatteras Inlet. Station Hatteras Inlet has helped reinstitute an American pastime, the beach cart drill as conducted by the crews of the United States Life-Saving Service in the years preceding the creation of the Coast Guard. The all-volunteer crew works in conjunction with the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Museum to present the drill twice per week, using only tools available to 19th-century lifesaving crews. The unit also works in conjunction with the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teachers in presenting an annual one-week “Guardians of the Sea” seminar for visiting teachers from throughout the state, and participates in the Chicamacomico lLife-Saving Museum’s annual Heroes Day celebration, among other ongoing projects dedicated to the heritage of the service both locally and nationally.
      • Book awards.
        • Coast Guard Heritage: Dr. C. Douglas Kroll’s book, A Coast Guardsman’s history of the U.S. Coast Guard. The award committee found his book to be a unique exploration of era-specific heroes, well-researched, an easy read, and an unprecedented contribution to the field of Coast Guard history.
        • Steve Murray: Guardians of the Hereford Inlet. The award committee described his book as a prime example of how an American lighthouse history book should be written, detailing both sides of the maritime disaster prevention and search and rescue response story.
      • Heritage Award: Robert M. Green, USCG auxiliary. Mr. Green, the graphics branch chief of the USCG Auxiliary National staff, took it upon himself to create a Coast Guard heraldry manual. His work is comprehensive, professionally written, and the first attempt at the establishment of Coast Guard-wide standards of heraldry guidelines to be adhered to in all situations, including use by the media.
    • Continued sponsorship of Coast Guard History Award to Honor Graduate of each Chief Warrant Officer Professional Development Class.
    • Published three editions of The Cutter, FCGH’s magazine.
  • 2010
    • Announced Annual Awards:
      • Large Unit History Award Winner: USCGC Acushnet (WMEC 167). Among its accomplishments, the crew of USCGC Acushnet made a concerted effort to preserve the cutters history during 2009 as the sole remaining World War II era cutter on active duty in the U.S. fleet prior to her decommissioning on March 11, 2011. Preservation efforts included: the compilation of images and documents dating back to world war ii when USCGC Acushnet served as USS Shackle (ARS-9), the inclusion of history articles in the unit’s quarterly newsletter – The Shackle, the encouragement of visitation by local school groups, the writing of and supervision of content for website pages on the unit’s homepage, Wikipedia and Facebook, and more.
      • Small Unit History Award Winner: USCG Headquarters Office of Aviation Forces. Among their accomplishments was the continued quest to locate, document, and possibly recover the remains of LT John Pritchard, RM1 Ben Bottoms, and CPL Loren Howarth, lost during a search and rescue effort on Greenland on 29 November 1942. The efforts thus far have included the gathering of key research details from the National Archives, museums and active units across the United States, ice-penetrating radar sweeps of suspected areas where the J-2F4 Grumman “Duck” supposedly went down, and more.
      • Book Awards.
        • Coast Guard Heritage: Wilkinson, William D. and CDR Timothy R. Dring, USNR (Ret.), American Coastal Rescue Craft: A Design History of Coastal Rescue Craft Used by the United States Life-Saving Service and the United States Coast Guard.  Our judges described the book as “an invaluable resource that will be maintained for decades to come.”
        • Henry Osmers, Living on the Edge: Life at Montauk Lighthouse, 1930-1945.” Described by one reviewer as “full of original material, capturing two important oral histories and fusing them, relating the dire days of the Depression and World War II as they played out at the light.”
      • Heritage Award: LCDR Michael Bennett. LCDR Bennett has brought great recognition to the Coast Guard through his in-depth research on Coast Guard intelligence history. His accomplishments include publication of the article entitled “Guardian Spies: The U.S. Coast Guard and O.S.S. Maritime Operations in World War II, in the Central Intelligence Agency publication Studies Intelligence, December 2008, Volume 52, Number 4; publication of the same article in American Intelligence Journal, Fall 2009 and Summer 2010; design, development, writing, editing, and publication of the website guardianspies.com on Coast Guard intelligence history in World War II; discovery of Coast Guard Unit 387, the small cryptologic unit responsible for all Western Hemisphere clandestine traffic during World War II; and a presentation on the topic for the Center for Cryptology’s October 2009 Cryptologic History Symposium.
    • Worked with Atlantic Area CG Historian, Dr. William Thiesen, and Buffalo Veterans Park to establish a memorial honoring LT John Crotty, USCG for his distinguished WWII service. Purchased large bronze plaque, participated in dedication ceremony.
    • Crotty_Plaque
    • Continued sponsorship of Coast Guard History Award to Honor Graduate of each Chief Warrant Officer Professional Development Class.
    • Published three editions of The Cutter, FCGH’s magazine.
  • 2009
    • Announced Annual Awards:
      • Large Unit History Award Winner: Sector Northern New England. Among its accomplishments, it implemented an aggressive sector history and heritage preservation program, inventoried artifacts at units, and displayed them for public viewing, collected oral histories, and collaborated with the city of Rockland, Maine, on celebrating it becoming a Coast Guard City.
      • Small Unit History Award Winner: International Ice Patrol. The International Ice Patrol saved artifacts from scheduled disposal, including several hundred glass lantern slides with imagery of USRC Bear, USRC Thetis, and USRC Itasca. They also provided critical assistance to  the Coast Guard quest to find the wreckage of J2F-4 aircraft lost in Greenland during a rescue attempt in 1942, continued digitizing annual reports dating to 1913 and preserved thousands of negatives found in storage.
      • Book Awards.
        • Coast Guard Heritage: Mr. George Buker, The Metal Life Car: The Inventor, The Impostor, and The Business Of Lifesaving
        • Douglas Bostick, The Morris Island Lighthouse: Charleston’s Maritime Beacon
        • For the first time, FCGH awarded recognition in the category of video and film. The winner was A and E television networks, produced by the Lone Wolf documentary group, for the documentary “Deep Sea Detectives.”
      • Heritage Awards.
        • BM2 James Abel. Nominated by USCGC Forward, citing his broad range of volunteer work, including: forming a WWII maritime living history group, creating exhibits for a salute to WWII veterans, and a “Coast Guard At War” museum program.
        • LTjg Jennifer Osetek. Nominated for her initiative, creativity, and perseverance in bringing a new history and leadership program to fruition. At her suggestion, the new command building was named after captain Quentin R. Walsh, a true Coast Guard WWII hero. LTjg Osetek located and included relatives of Captain Walsh in an impressive ceremony.
        • Captain William R. (Russ) Webster, USCG (ret.). For more than thirty years, Captain Webster has been a strong proponent of capturing and interpreting service history. He has authored many articles and papers in prestigious maritime publications. He is also a talented motivational speaker who incorporates the rich lessons of service traditions in presentations to the public as well as the future leaders of the Coast Guard.
    • Co-Sponsored, with Navy League of the U.S., the visit of the Coast Guard Band to Seattle on its tour to Japan.
    • Provided funding for summer intern in CG Historian’s Office.
    • Continued sponsorship of Coast Guard History Award to Honor Graduate of each Chief Warrant Officer Professional Development Class.
    • Published three editions of The Cutter, FCGH’s magazine.
  • 2008
    • Announced Annual Awards:
      • Large Unit History Award Winner: USCGC Campbell (WMEC 909). The cutter crew completed and dedicated the Campbell Heritage Project, which includes 44 artifacts displayed in an on-board museum, including medals awarded to former crewmen, four period models, five uniforms ranging from World War II to Vietnam, and paintings. In the view of the judges, “This simply is what this competition is all about.”
      • Small Unit History Award Winner: Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 3-5 in San Pedro, California. This is the first time an Auxiliary unit has won this award. The members worked alongside Aids to Navigation Team LA/LB to renovate Point Vicente Lighthouse, incorporating an interpretive museum covering Coast Guard and Auxiliary activities and displaying historic artifacts. More than 350,000 visitors have viewed this museum since 1992. While maintaining that presence, the team turned its attention to Point Hueneme Lighthouse in 2002, creating exhibits and displays telling the stories of the Coast Guard, Reserve, and Auxiliary team.
      • Book Awards:
        • Lighthouses and Aids to Navigation: Neil E. Hurley, Florida Lighthouses in the Civil War
        • Coast Guard Heritage: Ken Wiley, Lucky Thirteen: D-Days in the Pacific with the U. S. Coast Guard in World War II
      • ?Special Recognition: To Rear Admiral Joel Whitehead, Commander Eighth Coast Guard District, for his leadership in establishing the BM2 Marvin J. Perrett Award, to encourage district units to raise the public awareness of the challenges, accomplishments, and character of the men and women who have contributed to the proud heritage of the service.
    • Received grant of $25,000 from Tawani Foundation for research by LCDR Mike Bennett on the clandestine role of the Coast Guard with the Office of Strategic Services during World War II.
    • Supported publication of a major research volume on the evolution of all small rescue craft and surf boats ever employed by the USLSS and USCG.
    • Sponsored Captain C. C. VonPaulsen (CGA Class of 1913) for induction into the Hall of Heroes at CGA and participated in the induction ceremony.
    • Completed successful nomination package for RADM Edward “Iceberg” Smith (also class of 1913) for 2009 induction.
    • Supported LT Amy Florentino, Commanding Officer of the USCGC Katherine Walker, and her efforts to raise the visibility and recognition of Katherine Walker’s final resting place.
    • Together with the Central Jersey Navy League, provided a plaque to mark the grave of the Keeper of Robbin’s Reef Light from 1886 to 1919.
    • With the State of Rhode Island Historical Preservation Office and the family of Keeper Walter B. Eberle, supported installation of a Memorial Plaque at Whale Rock Light, Rhode Island. Keeper Eberle kept at his station during the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 until he and his light were washed into the sea on September 21, 1938.
    • ?Commissioned an original oil painting of the earliest Coast Guard aircraft, the Curtiss F-Boat, and presented reproductions to VADM Vivian Crea, Vice Commandant, and to AMTCS Peter G. MacDougall, Gold and Silver Ancient Albatrosses, respectively.
    • Continued sponsorship of Coast Guard History Award to Honor Graduate of each Chief Warrant Officer Professional Development Class.
    • Delivered Coast Guard related presentations and key-note speeches at a variety of events, including the Great Lakes Coast Guard Reunion ?Awards.
    • Co-sponsored, with Navy League of the U.S., the annual Coast Guard Ball in Seattle.
    • Co-sponsored the visit of USCGC Eagle to Tacoma, WA, and its participation in the Tall Ships Festival.
    • Provided funding for summer intern in CG Historian’s Office.
    • Published three editions of The Cutter, FCGH’s magazine.
  • 2007
    • ???Announced Annual Awards:
      • ?Large Unit History Award Winner: Sector, Charleston, SC
      • Small Unit History Award Winner: Light Station, Boston, MA? researched and selected the events to be honored, one National and one local, participated in dedicating the second of a series of plaques in Grand Haven Michigan commemorating the Coast Guard and its history on the Great Lakes.
      • Best Book on Coast Guard History:
        • Martha Laguardia-Kotite, So Others May Live: Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers: Saving Lives, Defying Death.
        • Special Mention. Juliana Fern Patten, Another Side of World War II: A Coast Guard Lieutenant in the South Pacific.
      • Best Book on Lighthouses/Aids to Navigation: Cheryl Shelton Roberts and Bruce Roberts, Lighthouse Families.
      • Heritage Awards. Captain Eugene Davis, USCG, Ret., for his thirty years of tireless work as curator/director of the Coast Guard Museum/Northwest, the source of research materials for dozens of books, for his countless tours for over a quarter million visitors, and for sharing his unparalleled knowledge of Coast Guard history.
      • Special Recognition: Rear Admiral John Crowley, USCG, for his enthusiastic support of the preservation of Coast Guard history. One of the cornerstones of his “District Commander’s Intent” is to “know and embrace Coast Guard history.” He supported the purchase and distribution of the book The Coast Guard to every unit in the Great Lakes District. After significant Great Lakes search and rescue cases, he sends copies of Dennis Noble’s book to the involved air and boat crew members. The awards given to civilians, federal and state personl, or Coast Guardsmen for extraordinary effort on rescue cases are now named the Dobbins Awards in commemoration of the inventor of the Dobbins lifeboat. Many other initiatives have been taken as a result of his leadership in preserving our heritage.
    • Learned of discovery of a Coast Guard amphibian Albatross aircraft, missing after a SAR mission in the Gulf of Mexico nearly forty years ago. Invitation to join in establishing a memorial to the crew (three of the six never found) made to and eagerly accepted by The Coast Guard Aviation Organization (also known as The Ancient Order of the Pterodactyl). In less than three months, with full participation and support of the Coast Guard, participated in an impressive ceremony placing a bronze plaque in a memorial site at Air Station Clearwater, Fl. A duplicate plaque is being placed at the site of the wreckage, in 60 feet of water; in keeping with the status of missing crewmen, the site has been designated a sanctuary, and the plaque will forever inform future divers of the circumstances surrounding the wreckage and ensure proper respect for the site.
    • Together with the Association of Coast Guard Aviators (formerly Pterodactyls), provided plaques to commemorate the loss of CG 1240, one plaque at Clearwater Air Station, Florida, and one at the underwater crash site.
    • With the involvement of many units and state and federal agencies, provided a plaque to commemorate the loss of the Minot’s Ledge light and its crew. The plaque was placed underwater for the edification of divers at Minot’s Ledge, Mass.
    • Provided funding for summer intern in CG Historian’s Office.
    • Commissioned an original oil painting and presented reproductions of USCGC Northland to ?Silver Ancient Mariners Master Chief Damage Controlman Amritt Villa and Senior Chief Gunners Mate Chris Kukla?, and Gold Ancient Mariner toVADM Robert J. Papp.
    • Filmed oral history of WW II SPAR Marge Floyd.
    • Change of Watch for Foundation for Coast Guard History?. Captain Robert L. Desh relieved Captain Fred F. Herzberg as Executive Director and ?Lieutenant Commander Rick Batson relieved Commander Dean Greenough as Treasurer?. Increased Board of Regents membership to 10:? VADM Howard Thorsen, Chairman?; Captain Robert L. Desh, Co-Chairman,? Executive Director; Regents – Captain Rob Ayer?, Commander Donna Cottrell?, Professor C. Doug Kroll?, Captain Jim McEntire, ?Lieutenant Neil Ruenzel, ?Chief Warrant Officer Sandy Schwaab, ?Captain Phil Volk, ?Captain Fred Herzberg, Founder and Executive Director Emeritus.
    • Published three editions of The Cutter, FCGH’s magazine.
  • 2006
    • ???Announced Annual Awards:
      • ?Large Unit History Award Winner: USCG Training Center, Yorktown, VA.
      • Small Unit History Award Winner: Station Merrimack River, Newburyport, MA?.
      • Best Book on Coast Guard History: Thaddeus D. Novak, edited by P. J. Capelotti, Life and Death on the Greenland Patrol
      • Best Book on Lighthouses/Aids to Navigation: Carol O’Neil, Images of America: Point Sur
      • Heritage Awards:
        • CDR Maurice Gibbs, USN, Ret., for his work for the United States Lifesaving Heritage Association, the Nantucket Life-Saving Museum, and the Nantucket Historical Association.
        • CWO4 Ken Black, USCG, Ret., for his decades of devotion to saving and displaying lighthouse artifacts. The Maine Lighthouse Museum is a direct result of his work.
    • Provided a plaque and 20,000 brochures for the new USCGC Mackinaw Museum upon the vessel’s decommissioning.

    Mackinaw plaque

    • Provided detailed critique of draft of USCGA Tour Guide
    • Provided funding for filming CDR Stewart Graham, USCG (Ret.) and Sergi Sikorski discussing early development of helicopters. CDR Graham was Helicopter pilot #2.
    • Provided funding for summer intern in CG Historian’s Office.
    • Provided a brick for the Coast Guard Memorial Plaza in Baltimore, MD.? Filmed and edited the life story of YNCM Phil F. Smith, the second MCPO-CG.
    • Provided consulting services and participated in dedication of “Coast Guard Walk of History” at Grand Haven, MI.
    • Provided stipend to Dr. Dennis Noble to assist in research on Captain Cantwell.
    • Provided funding to LT Michael Bennett for research on CG role with Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in WW II.
    • Continued efforts to improve public access to CG Museum/NW, with at least some success in signage to inform the public.
    • With the assistance of Admiral Thad Allen, provided a copy of The Coast Guard to the President.
    • Published three editions of The Cutter, FCGH’s magazine.
  • 2005
    • ?????Announced Annual Awards:
      • Large Unit History Award Winner: USCGC Escanaba.
      • Small Unit History Award Winner: Station Calumet Harbor, Michigan.
      • Best Book on Coast Guard History: P. J. Capelotti, Rogue Wave: The U. S. Coast Guard On and After 9/11.
      • Best Book on Regional History: Margaret Buchholz, New Jersey Shipwrecks: 350 Years in the Graveyard of the Atlantic.
      • Best Book on Lighthouses/Aids to Navigation: Voyageur Press, Series on Regional Lighthouses.
      • Heritage Awards: LCDR Jack A. Eckert, USCG, Ret., for his web site of 1000 sea stories and his books preserving them.
      • Medal Special Award: LCDR Tom Beard, USCG, Ret., for his outstanding efforts as Editor-in-Chief of The Coast Guard.
    • Assisted artist in creating historically accurate renderings for 4th and 5th proposed murals for Academy Library Reading Room.
    • Funded acquisition of 5 WWII journals for the Office of Coast Guard Historian.
    • Continued efforts on many occasions to improve public access to the Coast Guard Museum/NW, which has been greatly restricted due to increased waterfront security.
    • Began filming past and current USCGC Eagle Commanding Officers and Sail Masters, exploring the leadership challenges and opportunities presented by a square-rigged vessel in the 21st Century.
    • Provided stipend to support research on Edwin Emery by CAPT Ayer.
    • Provided stipend to support research on Mike Healey by Dennis Noble.
    • Provided stipend to support research on USRC Caleb Cushing and crew by Michael Strauss.
    • Provided funding for summer intern in Office of CG Historian.
    • Chief Warrant Officer Professional Development Program Awards: started program to recognize the honor graduate of the CWO PD Program.
    • Issued three editions of The Cutter, now achieving 16 to 18 pages.
    • Initiated project to revise/review new edition of USCGA Tour Guide.
    • Initiated project to involve old sea dogs (CGA alums in local residence) in indoctrinating new 4/c cadets on CG history.
    • With RADM and Mrs. Van Sice, initiated project to involve cadets in writing about current heroes.
    • Published three editions of The Cutter, FCGH’s magazine.
  • 2004
    • Announced Annual Awards:
      • Large Unit History Award Winner: USCGC Tampa.
      • Small Unit History Award Winner: Aids to Navigation Team, St. Petersburg, Florida.
      • Best Book on History: Professor Doug Kroll, Commodore Ellsworth Bertholf: First Commandant of the Coast Guard.
      • Heritage Awards: To the “Old Chief,” USCG WW II veteran John Stanford, for his weekly column in the NYC-area paper Harbor Watch and his bi-monthly publication Greenland Patrol Newsletter.
    • Sponsored, prepared, and edited a large-format, profusely-illustrated book The Coast Guard which sold out in 8 weeks.
    • Provided funding to complete the oral history of ADM Merlin O’Neil.
    • Suggested names for new classes of cutters, performing the vetting to ensure that there were no “skeletons” in the closets.
    • Produced visual/oral history of BMCM Tom McAdams.
    • Produced visual/oral history of VADM Thomas R. Sargent III.
    • Produced visual/oral history of Bernard Bailey.
    • Published three editions of The Cutter, FCGH’s magazine.
  • 2003
    • Announced Annual Awards:
      • Large Unit History Award Winner: USCGC Chase.
      • Small Unit History Award Winner: USCGC Monhegan.
      • Best Book on History Awards:
        • Russell Drumm, The Barque of Saviors: Eagle’s Passage from the Nazi Navy to the U. S. Coast Guard
        • Robert Frump, Until the Sea Shall Free Them: Life, Death and Survival in the Merchant Marine.
      • Best Book on Lighthouses/Aids to Navigation: Cheryl Anne Finnerty, Lighthouses of Boston Harbor, Past and Present.
      • Heritage Awards: Wayne C. Wheeler for creating the U.S. Lighthouse Society, and Sloan Wilson for his books on CG activities in WW II.
      • Special Medal Award to MCPO Vince Patton for his strong support of the Foundation during his tour as MCPOCG.
    • Initiated efforts to improve public access to the Coast Guard Museum/NW, which has been greatly restricted due to increased waterfront security.
    • The Foundation, led by VADM H. B. Thorsen and RADM R. L. Johanson, sponsored a pylon at Kitty Hawk, NC, to commemorate a Century of Flight. This pylon is the only one to fully recognize one of our armed forces.
    • Contributed to the dedication of the new Kings Point Station in honor of the only Coast Guardsman lost in the events of 9/11/01.
    • Preserved the oral history of perhaps the oldest living Lighthouse Keeper mere weeks before his passing.
    • Started accepting charge cards instead of only checks “written with a quill.??”
    • Published three editions of The Cutter, FCGH’s magazine.
  • ??2002
    • Announced Annual Awards:
      • Large Unit History Award Winner: Coast Guard Yard.
      • Small Unit History Award Winner: International Ice Patrol.
      • Best Book on History: Eric S. Ensign, Intelligence in the Rum War at Sea 1920-1933.
      • Best Book on Lighthouses/Aids to Navigation: T. Lindsay Baker, Lighthouses of Texas.
      • Heritage Awards:
        • Paul H. Johnson, Academy Librarian, who established the first Coast Guard Museum there.
        • Captain David H. Webb, USCG, Retired, the first volunteer Curator at the Coast Guard Museum/NW, who spent over 25 years volunteering as much as 5 days each week.
        • William D. Wilkinson, Director of the Mariners Museum in Newport News, who created exhibits depicting the unique humanitarian role of the USCG.
      • Special Recognition Award: Columbia River Maritime Museum, Station Tillamook Bay, OR, and instructors at the National Motor Lifeboat School, Ilwaco, WA, for jointly creating a display that can only be described as AWESOME!
    • Non-profit status: After working for 3 years under the auspices of the Coast Guard Museum/NW, the I.R.S. granted the Foundation for Coast Guard History (FCGH) non-profit status in its own right.
    • Initiated web site: fcgh.org
    • Provided funding for visual/oral history of RADM Peter V. Colmar.
    • At the persistent urging of the Foundation, CG HQ provided 3 additional budgeted billets, bringing the total to 9 billets in the History Program. Many more are needed.
  • 2001
    • Announced Annual Awards:
      • Large Unit History Award Winner: Cape May Training Center.
      • Small Unit History Award Winner: Station, Marathon, Florida.
      • Best Book on History: Truman R. Strobridge and Dennis L. Noble, Alaska and the U. S. Revenue Cutter Service, 1867-1915.
      • Best Book on Lighthouses/Aids to Navigation: Doug Peterson, United States Lighthouse Service Tenders, 1840-1939.
      • Heritage Award: Truman R. Strowbridge, Historian of the Coast Guard (1970-1976), author of three books and hundreds of monographs.
    • Provided funds for a summer intern in the office of the Coast Guard Historian.
    • Issued two more editions of The Cutter.
    • Published article “Semper Paratus Simply Forgotus” in US Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association Bulletin.
  • 2000
    • Signed Memorandum of Agreement with U.S. Coast Guard facilitating cooperation between both entities.
    • Issued first newsletter, 2 pages long.
    • Issued second newsletter, now called The Cutter for cutting straight to the point.
    • Created four-color membership brochure.
    • Issued third newsletter, now 5 pages in length.
    • Awarded first grant ($5000) to U. S. Naval Institute to record oral history of ADM Owen Siler, oldest living Commandant. This grant led to 6 more grants from other sources for oral histories of 6 more Commandants.
    • Created Foundation logo incorporating CG Shield, crossed anchors, waves, ropes, and stars signifying CG heritage, and book signifying scholarship and research.
    • Created lapel button and embroidered Life Membership jacket patch.
  • 1999
    • August 4: Press release announcing formation of The Foundation for Coast Guard History.
    • VADM Howard Thorsen joined CAPT Fred Herzberg to make the Foundation happen. LCDR Tom Beard and MSTCS Dennis Noble, Ph.D, were very active supporters.
    • Created By-Laws.
    • Incorporated in Connecticut to ensure future continuity.
    • Presented first awards:
      • Unit Award: USCGC Storis.
      • Book Awards.
        • Best Book on History: Ralph C. Shanks and Wick York, The U.S. Life-Saving Service: Heroes, Rescues, Architecture.
        • Best Book on Lighthouses/Aids to Navigation: Dennis L. Noble, Lighthouses and Keepers: The U.S. Lighthouse Service and Its Legacy.
      • Heritage Award:
        • Robert E. Johnson for his several books on CG heritage and history.
        • Francis Ross Holland Jr. for his several books on lighthouses, U.S. Lighthouse Service, and Coast Guard.
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