U.S. Coast Guard commissions Sentinel-class cutter named for enlisted hero, NFL great Emlen Tunnell. Adm. Karl Schultz, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, presided over the ceremony that took place in Philadelphia. Yvonne Gilmore Jordan, Emlen Tunnell’s eldest first cousin, is the ship’s sponsor. The ship will homeport in Manama, Bahrain. The Cutter Emlen Tunnell is the 45th Sentinel-class fast response cutter. Steward’s Mate 1st Class Tunnell served in the Coast Guard from 1943 to 1946. He exhibited bravery in rescuing two shipmates—one who had become engulfed in flame after a Japanese torpedo attack and the other who had fallen overboard in Newfoundland. In both events, Tunnell risked and endured personal injury. He sustained burns in the first rescue and suffered shock in the 32-degree Fahrenheit water in the second. The Coast Guard posthumously awarded Tunnell the Silver Lifesaving Medal for his heroic acts. Tunnell became a professional football player for the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers and the first African American inducted into the Pro-Football Hall of Fame. Additionally, he was the New York Giant’s first African American player, talent scout, and full-time assistant coach. Read more here.
Deadline approaching to participate in the Coast Guard Foundation’s $100,000 Matching Gift Challenge. If you would like to participate in the Coast Guard Foundation’s Matching Gift Challenge, please do so prior to the Oct. 31 deadline. For every dollar contributed up to $100,000, each donation will be tripled. The Coast Guard Foundation provides scholarships to members and families, as well as aid to families of those who die in the line of duty. The Coast Guard Foundation also emphasizes health and wellness, family resilience, and community building. The non-profit organization was founded in 1969 and focuses on making sure that Coast Guard members and families have the resources they need throughout life. You can learn more here.
Special sneak peak of the National Coast Guard Museum. The National Coast Guard Museum (NCGM) and the National Coast Guard Museum Association had a special sneak peek for Coast Guard military members and civilian employees this past week to promote the future museum and exhibitions. The NCGM will serve as a tool for the Coast Guard to tell the story and honor the accomplishments of Coast Guard members past, present, and future. It is slated for historic downtown New London, Conn., along the Thames River waterfront. The museum will feature three main exhibit decks -- Safety, Security, and Stewardship – with six wings: Introduction to the Coast Guard, Lifesaving Around the Globe, Defenders of our Nation, Enforcers of the Sea, Champions of Commerce, and Protectors of the Environment. There will be thousands of images and hundreds of artifacts. The event displayed numerous museum exterior and exhibition points of view renderings, a virtual reality experience of walking through the museum, and a video highlighting the design and themes of the museum.
Thank you to Senior Chief Petty Officer Kristen Santini and Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel Kohner for all the hard work pulling this event together, as well as the NCGM Association and all of the stakeholders that made this event and the exciting progress on the museum happen.
Check out the NCGM website for more information about the museum.