Jan. 8, 2021

The Long Blue Line: So that others might live—Earl Cunningham’s final rescue

In the 1930s, before modern search and rescue systems like the Coast Guard’s Rescue 21 system and ubiquitous marine radios, Coast Guardsmen stood watch on the shore to watch for those in need.

Dec. 31, 2020

The Long Blue Line: USS Wakefield—the Coast Guard’s “B & L Ferry” 75 years ago

In World War II, the USS Wakefield (AP-21) served as a fast troop transport whose role was to deliver military personnel and supplies to the war front.

Dec. 24, 2020

The Long Blue Line: Yuba City—A Christmas rescue that changed aviation history 65 years ago!

Read about a Christmas Eve miracle.

Dec. 18, 2020

The Long Blue Line: “American Healer”—A Coast Guard Corpsman in Vietnam 50 years ago

Here is a first-hand account of Coast Guard operations in Vietnam.

Dec. 11, 2020

The Long Blue Line: “Big Mac” attack--Icebreaker Mackinaw battles Lake Ice 75 years ago!

Normally, lake ice begins thawing at the end of April, but “Big Mac”--as the icebreaker is affectionately called in the Lakes region--has opened shipping lanes as early as the third week in March, thus facilitating the early movement of millions of tons of iron ore, grain, and other vital cargo.    U.S. Coast Guard Public AffairsFor generations,

Dec. 4, 2020

The Long Blue Line: Cutter Daphne and the “North Atlantic Vegetable War”

Read about one of the last incidents of Prohibition...and vegetables.

Nov. 27, 2020

The Long Blue Line: Class of 1980—40 years of women at the Academy

Recognizing 40 years of women at the Coast Guard Academy

Jan. 1, 2018

The Long Blue Line: The Coast Guard fought in the Civil War 160 years ago!

The Civil War operations of the service reinforced the United States Revenue Cutter Service’s reputation as a legitimate branch of the U.S. military.

Jan. 1, 2015

The Long Blue Line: Barbara Mabrity—Long-time Lighthouse Keeper and Hurricane Heroine

Barbara Mabrity, or someone from her family, kept the Key West Light for 82 of its 89 years of manned operation. And, for most of the Mabrity years, a female family member oversaw operation of the light.