Let it fly!: Coast Guard Day

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Armed Forces Day: Freedom Is Never Free

Courage to Stand, is a tribute to U.S. Armed Forces.

(Produced by Canadian Trooper Matthew Worth)

We chose this video as part of our observance of Armed Forces Day as it expresses not only respect for all branches of the US military, but a point of view we believe is common to all sides of our political spectrum, namely, that our success as a nation is largely due to the freedoms we enjoy as citizens of this nation. The quote below is not an endorsement of any political party or politician. It is just the narration of this video – and a really good quote.

"Humans can not reach their potential, cannot realize their dreams unless they are free. If prosperity were easy, everyone around the world would be prosperous. If freedom were easy, everybody around the world would be free. If security were easy, everybody around the world would be secure. They are not! None of this is going to be easy, but this is the United States of America. It takes an extraordinary effort, it takes extraordinary commitment, it takes extraordinary strength. Valley Forge wasn’t easy. Going to the moon wasn’t easy. Settling the West wasn’t easy. We are the American people. We have seen difficulties before and we always overcome them. This is about rolling up our sleeves [despite our] differences as Americans and putting our head down, and getting it done."

~ former Wisconsin Governor Tim Pawlenty

Official Armed Forces Day poster, 2012

In the beginning, there was the Army

The U.S. Army been around since ... well, since the very beginning and it was created out of the idea of a voluntary force.

The US Army, however, didn't celebrate an official anniversary until 1924 on National Defense Test Day, not a popular holiday.

In 1928, the anniversary was moved to May 1, May Day, otherwise known as World Communism Day.

That didn't make much sense either.

Then in 1936, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt chose April 6, the anniversary of our entry into World War I, as a good date to represent the anniversary of the U.S. Army. This time, the date stuck.

Official US Navy flag

Then the Navy...

From 1922-1950, Navy Day was celebrated on October 27 for two main reasons: In 1775, the Continental Congress decided to re-outfit merchant ships as warships, hence the idea of a naval corps was born. The other reason is that October 27 is the birthday of a former Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt.

Flag of the US Marine Corps

... and the Marine Corps

Ah, the Marines. They date to the Revolution, too. And like much about our Revolution, they find their way back to Philadelphia.

Created on November 19, 1775, the Marines received a fare-thee-well after the Revolution. Apparently, the new government thought funding the Marines too costly. But in 1798, they were back and under the jurisdiction of the Navy. Marine Corps Day traditionally was celebrated on the Marine Corps' birthday, November 10.

The flag of the US Coast Guard

The Coast Guard is born

As Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton created the first Coast Guard in 1790 for the express purpose of collecting US tariffs.

Coast Guard Day traditionally was celebrated on August 4.

The official Air Force flag

With the Air Force, a new age

Air Force Day was a completely different holiday. Plus, the Air Force was newer than any other military branch.

On August 1 in 1907, the Army created an aeronautical division.

On August 1 in 1947, President Truman recognized this branch of the military with an official Air Force Day, a part of the US Army. Now the Air Force is its own division of the military, the US Air Force.

US Army official flag

One Department of Defense

In 1947, the Department of Defense was created to act as a governing body for all the branches of the U.S. military.

One holiday for all military branches

In 1950, under President Harry Truman, all the military holidays were officially consolidated into Armed Forces Day so that one day could be a day to celebrate all of our military. Within the separate branches, some of the original holidays are still celebrated.

President Truman makes Armed Forces Day official.

The original Armed Forces Day proclamation.

Let it fly!

partial list of sources:
American Presidency Project (presidency.ucsb.edu)
Department of Defense (defense.gov)
NYTimes archives
Timeanddate.com
Truman Library (Trumanlibrary.org)

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Ahoy, Maties! It's Coast Guard Day!

As I write this blog, the night is cool. The air is scented with pine. The ocean is gently lapping against the shore. Boats rock and creak.

The day was sunny and warm – not hot, not humid – just sunny and warm. It was pretty perfect. But it could have been chilly, or rainy, or foggy. It could, in fact, have been all three at once. This is, of course, the great state of Maine in the summertime. More specifically, I am on a little island outside of Rockland, Maine, one of the nation's few "Coast Guard Cities".

Until recently, I never knew Rockland was a Coast Guard City, an official "second home" to its local Coast Guard members and their families. All I knew was that the Coast Guard licenses all these ferries, their captains and their crew; the Coast Guard is responsible for running emergency medical evacuations off of any one of Maine's hundreds of islands; and all too frequently, the Coast Guard gets those calls about sailors who are in trouble.

If you live on any coastline long enough, the truth is that you eventually will have your own Coast Guard story. If you are lucky, it will only be a tale to "dine out on."

Rockland: A Coast Guard City (Photo: Bob Trapani, Jr.)

To see what the designation "Coast Guard City" can mean to a community, watch this video of Rockland, Maine celebrating its designation as an official Coast Guard City:

Rockland becomes a Coast Guard City!

The best Coast Guard Day in the country ...

The USCGC Mackinaw, August 2, 2011

There are a total of 12 official Coast Guard Cities (the full list is below) but the most famous of them all is Grand Haven, Michigan.

Grand Haven is the very first Coast Guard City and home to the biggest Coast Guard Day festival in the country. In fact, Coast Guard Day in Grand Haven does not just last one day. It lasts several days!

Invariably, Coast Guard Day begins with a parade of ships. For this year's inside tour, the USCGC icebreaker Mackinaw was docking in Grand Haven.

Check out this video tour. It's hot off the deck!

USRC McClane, c. 1832, by James Guy Evans (USCG images)

A brief history of the Coast Guard ...
It's August 4, 1790. The Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, orders 10 cutters to be built. Their job will be to patrol and collect the new nation's tariffs or taxes on the high seas.

With that first order of 10 swift cutters, the United States Coast Guard was born!

In 1790, the Coast Guard was called the Revenue Cutter Service. It also was known as the Revenue Marine Service and was the nation's only Navy until 1798. The Coast Guard didn't become the U.S. Coast Guard until 1915.

For over 150 years, it stayed under the direction of the Treasury Department. In 1967, it moved to the Dept. of Transportation. In times of peace, it is part of Homeland Security. In times of war, it serves under the Navy and at the direction of the President.

No matter its name or department, the U.S. Coast Guard is and always has been an official branch of the U.S. military. According to the U.S. Coast Guard's historian, the Coast Guard holds two simultaneous positions: it is part law enforcement and part of our armed forces. Its job is complex, unusual and probably taken for granted.

According to the Coast Guard historian (www.uscg.mil/history), this is what the Coast Guard does:

The U.S. Coast Guard flag

We save lives. We protect the environment. We defend the homeland. We enforce Federal laws on the high seas, the nation's coastal waters and its inland waterways. We are unique in the Nation and the world.

We ... served proudly in every one of the nation's conflicts. Our national defense responsibilities remain one of our most important functions ... [We also serve] as the nation's front-line agency for enforcing the nation's laws at sea, protecting the marine environment and the nation's vast coastline and ports, and saving life.

You are so busted!