Known as “Coast Guard Day,” August 4th is celebrated annually at U.S. Coast Guard units worldwide, and this past August 4th, the Coast Guard celebrated its 222nd birthday. It marks the date on which the Tariff Act of 1790 authorized, at the suggestion of Alexander Hamilton, the building of ten cutters to assist in the collection of tariffs, which became the Revenue Cutter Service and renamed the Coast Guard in 1915.
1. The first CG aviator was Lt. Elmer Stone. He was one of the pilots on the first trans-Atlantic in May 1919 in what type of aircraft? Hall PH-3 flying boat; Curtiss HS-2L flying boat; Curtiss NC-4 seaplane; General Aviation PJ-1 seaplane.
2. The first Coast Guard helicopter mercy mission was flown in what year? 1950; 1939; 1944; 1949.
3. The oldest reliable records of women associated in an official capacity in the Coast Guard show them as _____ . Coxswain; ship’s cook; lighthouse keeper; station records keeper (yeoman).
4. In 1973, the Coast Guard began accepting women into active duty and was the first of branch of the US Armed Forces to accept women into their military academy. Which year did the first female officer graduate from the Coast Guard Academy? 1977; 1985; 1983; 1980.
5. The Gold Lifesaving Medal is one of the most important and lauded medals the Coast Guard can award. The first female recipient was Ida Lewis. She was a ________ . Surfman; yeomanette; lighthouse keeper; corpsman.
6. What ship fired the first naval shot of the American Civil War? Housatonic; Eagle; Nashville; Harriet Lane.
7. What was the last ship to be decommissioned that fought at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941? Nevada; Indianapolis; Bear; Taney.
8. If a cutter has a red painted hull, what is its PRIMARY mission? Maritime defense; Law enforcement; Icebreaking; Buoy tending.
ANSWERS
1. Curtiss NC-4 seaplane. LT Stone was the only non-Navy man in the six man crew. 2. 1944. The first mercy mission was flown on January 3, 1944, when two cases of blood plasma were taken from The Battery, New York City, to a hospital at Sandy Hook, N.J. 3. The modern day Coast Guard is an amalgamation of several independent services such as the Lighthouse Service. Women worked as lighthouse keepers, with the first documented case in Old Field Point, N.Y. (1826 - 1827). 4. 1980. The first woman graduate from the Coast Guard Academy was Jean M. Butler. 5. Lighthouse keeper. Ida Lewis (1842-1911) was appointed a keeper in 1879. Starting in 1872, she stood station at Lime Rock for 39 years, and during her tenure she saved 18 people. The station was renamed Ida Lewis Light; even to this date, a very rare honor, and the first time it had been done in U.S. history. 6. Harriet Lane. Fort Sumter was besieged by the Confederates. The steamer Nashville approached. To prevent her capture, the Harriet Lane fired across the Nashville’s bow. 7. Taney. The Taney was ready to return fire within four minutes on December 7, 1941. She was decommissioned on December 7, 1986 after 50 years of active service in the Coast Guard. 8. Icebreaking. The two 399 foot polar icebreakers, Polar Sea and Polar Star, the 420 foot polar icebreaker Healy and the 290 foot Great Lakes icebreaker Mackinaw have red hulls. Law enforcement and maritime defense may be the missions of all cutters, red hulls are built specifically for icebreaking.