Oct. 5, 2021

The Long Blue Line: USS Durant—Coast Guard and Navy warship of World War II and Cold War

Surprisingly, in the Coast Guard’s 230-year history, the service has operated very few purpose-built naval warships. However, during World War II, Coast Guardsmen operated a number of smaller classes of warships, including sub chasers, patrol gunboats, patrol craft, patrol frigates, and destroyer escorts. The USS Durant (DE-389) was one of several

Sept. 24, 2021

The Long Blue Line: Cesar Romero—a Hollywood star, but just another guy in the Coast Guard

From Hollywood Star to Coast Guard war hero - the story of Cesar Romero.

Sept. 17, 2021

The Long Blue Line: Hispanic American history of the Coast Guard—200 years of service!

Celebrating Hispanic American history

Sept. 10, 2021

The Long Blue Line: Vincent Danz—9/11 hero and FRC namesake

Others lived due to his heroic efforts. Here's the story of PS2 Vincent G. Danz.

Sept. 10, 2021

The Long Blue Line: 20 years after 9/11—a day that changed the Coast Guard forever

How the Coast Guard has evolved over the past 20 year

Sept. 2, 2021

The Long Blue Line: “Hot Rocks”—a Coast Guardsman on the beach at Iwo Jima

[This essay was excerpted from the book chapter of the same name: “Hot Rocks,” Sea, Surf and Hell: The U.S. Coast Guard in World War II (New York: Prentice-Hall, 1945), 276-79.]Because of the concentrated mortar fire, which the Japanese are laying down on this landing area, it is one of the bloodiest of all the assault beaches in the Pacific War to

Aug. 27, 2021

The Long Blue Line: Coast Guard’s Ninth District--Guardians of the Great Lakes!

Within an area occupied by the states bordering the Great Lakes is located the U.S. Coast Guard’s Ninth District. The service’s presence on the Great Lakes began in the 19th century with the appearance of four Coast Guard predecessor agencies. These included the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, U.S. Lighthouse Service, Steamboat Inspection Service and

Aug. 20, 2021

The Long Blue Line: A Coast Guard scientist, maritime war hero, and polar icebreaker skipper

Tommy Thomas patrolled cutters on the top of the world, on the bottom of the world, while also studying the contents of the world. 

Aug. 13, 2021

The Long Blue Line: Rasmus gets the Gold for individual heroism in a hurricane rescue!

A heroic rescue adapted from the U.S. Life-Saving Service Annual Report of the U.S. Life-Saving Service, 1900, pp. 25-28.

Aug. 4, 2021

The Long Blue Line: Coast Guard Day edition

How Alexander Hamilton's cutters are moving into the future, 231 years after we became "America's "first fleet"