|
Those familiar with Coast Guard history know that the service’s
development has been shaped in response to the nation’s natural and
man-made disasters. Nowhere is that clearer than the Coast Guard’s
search and rescue mission (SAR).
Beginning in 1790, the Coast Guard’s predecessor, Revenue Cutter
Service, assisted mariners at sea. At the time, this was a custom of
the sea, but this tradition received official sanction in 1837. That
year, the bark Mexico came ashore near New York Harbor with the loss
of over 100 passengers and crew. In response to this tragedy,
federal officials recognized the need for government assistance for
ships in distress. In December 1837, Congress passed legislation
assigning cutters responsibility for aiding vessels requiring
assistance.
|
February 18, 1952 - U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Bernard
Webber’s motor lifeboat, CG-36500, returns to Chatham, Mass., after
rescuing 32 crewmen from a sinking tanker. This rescue was
dramatized in the feature film “The Finest Hours” in 2016. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)
|
The year 1837 also saw the construction of the
three-masted ship Powhatan, another vessel that played a
role in spurring federal lifesaving legislation. In 1854,
two major maritime disasters took place in New Jersey. In
April, more than 200 lives were lost when the Powhatan
wrecked on the New Jersey shore. In November, another 220
lives were lost when the ship New Era also came ashore in
New Jersey.
In response to this horrific loss of life, Congress passed the
Act of Dec. 15, 1854. This legislation proved the most sweeping bill
in U.S. Lifesaving Service history, greatly expanding the federal
government’s ability to support lifesaving efforts.
The late summer and early winter of 1870 proved another deadly
shipwreck season. That summer, numerous ships wrecked on U.S.
shores, raising awareness of the nation’s inadequate lifesaving
capability. George Boutwell, secretary of the Department of Treasury
under President Ulysses Grant, responded by establishing a
superintendent’s position to direct the department’s Revenue Marine
Division, which oversaw steamboat inspection, marine hospitals and
lifesaving stations. In February 1871, Boutwell appointed
Superintendent Sumner Kimball, who initiated the rapid expansion of
U.S. lifesaving operations. In 1878, Kimball formally established
the United States Life-Saving Service.
The late 1800s and
early 1900s saw hundreds of Life-Saving Service surfmen go in harm’s
way to save the victims of maritime disasters. These heroic
individuals included Capt. Joshua James, who served as a lifesaver
for 60 years. During his career, he earned almost every medal
bestowed on surfmen for maritime rescues. James’s medals included
the prestigious Gold Lifesaving Medal, which he received in 1888 for
rescuing survivors from five different shipwrecks during a severe
two-day winter storm. Kimball believed James to be the most
important lifesaver in the history of the service.
|
U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Joshua James is credited with saving hundreds
of lives while on duty with the U.S. Life-Saving Servicei the lat
1800s and early 1900s. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)
|
During James’s lengthy career, the Life-Saving Service saw the
development of improved lifesaving technology, including new rescue
devices, improved flares and personal floatation devices,
tractor-pulled beach equipment and motorized lifeboats.
In 1915, Congress passed important lifesaving legislation once
again. This time, the bill merged the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service
and U.S. Life-Saving Service. In so doing, this act combined the
federal government’s two agencies responsible for maritime safety –
one on land and the other at sea. This merger formed the modern
United States Coast Guard.
Not long after formation of the
Coast Guard, rapid advances took place in seaborne aviation
technology. The service soon added an amphibian fixed-wing aircraft
capability to the fleet of lifesaving boats and Coast Guard cutters
already supporting the search and rescue mission. These Coast Guard
aircraft provided rapid response assets for over-the-horizon rescues
and served in numerous high-profile cases, including Gold Lifesaving
Medal rescues in 1929, 1933 and 1937. During the 1930s, the service
continued to perfect the use of amphibian aircraft for SAR cases.
In World War II, the Coast Guard developed the helicopter as a
search and rescue asset, a new form of aviation technology that has
since become synonymous with the service’s SAR mission. Coast Guard
helicopters and their associated rescue hoist devices improved in
the decades following the war, and rotary-wing assets gradually
supplanted fixed-wing amphibian aircraft as the service’s primary
aviation asset. In 1983, the tragic loss of the SS Marine Electric
and most of its crew spurred Congress to pass legislation
establishing the Coast Guard’s rescue swimmer program. This bill
added yet another valuable piece to the service’s modern search and
rescue system.
|
An early version of the search and rescue helicopter developed in
World War II. These helicopters were tested and developed for
life-saving missions. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)
|
Marine accidents and changing technology have shaped the
service’s SAR mission. Shipwrecks and maritime disasters
raised awareness of the dangers inherent in the marine
environment and spurred governmental establishment of a
federal maritime lifesaving capability.
However, new technology, such as motorized lifesaving boats,
amphibious aircraft and helicopters, provided the service with the
technology necessary for a robust response capability. Major
response efforts and evolving technology continue to influence the
U.S. Coast Guard’s development as the world’s premier search and
rescue organization.
By William H. Thiesen, Atlantic Area Historian, USCG
Provided
through
Coast
Guard
Copyright 2017
Comment on this article |
