Feb. 4, 2022

The Long Blue Line: Captain Garcia/Garfield—modern Coast Guard’s 1st minority officer

Photo of Midshipman Henry Frederick Garcia in the yearbook of the United States Naval Academy. (U.S. Navy)Born in Morro Castle, Puerto Rico, on February 17, 1903, Henry Frederick Garcia would become a trailblazer in the history of the Coast Guard.Garcia came from a prominent military family. His father had a career in the U.S. Army and his younger

Feb. 4, 2022

The Long Blue Line: Domingo Suarez y Rosa—Towerman of Puerto Rico

Domingo Suarez y Rosas circa early 1920’s. (Photo courtesy Florencia Lemmer Suarez)Born in the Canary Islands in 1862, Don (Mr.) Domingo Suarez y Rosa was part of the largest migratory wave of immigrants from the Canaries to Puerto Rico in the late 19th century.On March 6, 1887, after completing a rigorous entrance process and examination, Suarez

Feb. 4, 2022

The Long Blue Line: Rescue Swimmer Milam’s fight for survivors and survival in the frigid Bering Sea

[Editor’s note: This article by PA1 Kurt Fredrickson originally appeared in a 2007 issue of Coast Guard Magazine. It has been updated for re-publication by PACAREA Historian, Dr. David Rosen]Aviation Survival Technician First Class (AST1) Willard Milam in full rescue swimmer suit. (U.S. Coast Guard)Our crew saved four people that night . . . and

Feb. 4, 2022

The Long Blue Line: Hamilton’s grand experiment—230 years of the U.S. Coast Guard!

A few armed vessels, judiciously stationed at the entrances of our ports, might at a small expense be made useful sentinels of the laws.                                    Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Paper #12 (November 27, 1787)Alexander Hamilton portrait painted in 1880 by Caroline Ormes Ransom for the Department of Treasury (Treasury

Feb. 4, 2022

The Long Blue Line: 1942—Coast Guard’s history making year 80 years ago!

Remembering events from 1942

Feb. 1, 2022

The Long Blue Line: The Ensign—Coast Guard’s brand identity since 1799!

Depiction of the War of 1812 Battle of Gloucester Point showing the ensign flying from the mizzen of Revenue Cutter Surveyor on June 12, 1813. (Coast Guard Collection)When Alexander Hamilton established the “system of cutters” in 1790, the fleet was charged with enforcing U.S. customs laws, requiring revenue cutters to stop ships and board them.

Feb. 1, 2022

The Long Blue Line: Keeper Miles—working with a disability in the 1800s

Illustration of a man with prosthetic leg climbing a ladder. (A.A. Marks Company 1888)It is a sad fact of medical history from the 1880’s that many people who suffered from broken arms or legs were treated with amputation. At the time, there simply were no antibiotics or complex surgeries that could save a limb and, as a consequence, the injured

Feb. 1, 2022

The Long Blue Line: Operation “Jester”–Coast Guard counterdrug ops in Peru

In 1980, cocaine was not yet on the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) radar screen. At the time, the DEA focused on heroin. This focus changed quickly. During the mid-1980s and 1990s, 60 percent of the world’s coca crop was grown in Peru. Most of that coca was processed into a cocaine base and flown to Colombia to make cocaine for shipment to the

Feb. 1, 2022

The Long Blue Line: A Coastie’s best friend—80 years of Coast Guard canines!

The United States Coast Guard has a long history of military working animals. During World War II, horses and dogs were used operationally. Early in the war, German spies landed on East Coast beaches and enemy subs were sighted on East and West coasts. These incidents led to the establishment of Coast Guard beach patrols and, by August 1942, the

Feb. 1, 2022

The Long Blue Line: Native Americans in the Coast Guard—Semper Paratus since 1815

In 1815, the lighthouse keeper at Gay Head Light, Martha’s Vineyard, hired members of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe as assistants. The keeper recommended these men as the best workers available to support lighthouse operations. Since then, Native Americans from a variety of tribal nations have participated in the Coast Guard and its predecessor