This Day in Coast Guard History – August 9
1942- The Coast Guard-manned transport USS Hunter Liggett rescued the survivors of the heavy cruisers USS Vincennes, Astoria, and Quincy and the Australian cruiser HMAS Canberra that had been sunk the preceding night by Imperial Japanese Navy warships during the Battle of Savo Island. The night battle, also known as the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, was one of the worst defeats ever suffered by the U.S. Navy. 1950- Congress enacted Public Law 679, which charged the Coast Guard with the function of port security. 1982- Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger approved the use of Coast Guard law enforcement detachments on board Navy vessels during peace-time. The teams conducted law enforcement boardings from Navy vessels for the first time in history.
This Day in Coast Guard History – June 3
1882-At 8 in the morning the three-masted schooner, J.P. Decamdres, bound for Milwaukee with a cargo of cord-wood and railroad ties, stranded about one mile north of the life-saving station at the entrance to Milwaukee Harbor (No. 15, Eleventh District) and became a total wreck. Her crew of six men and a passenger were rescued by the lifesaving crew. 1941-President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order making 2,100 US Coast Guard officers and men available to man four transports, USS Leonard Wood, Hunter Liggett, Joseph T. Dickman, and Wakefield along with 22 other ships manned by US Navy personnel. 1982- The USS Farragut towed two vessels seized by the Coast Guard to San Juan…
