One Million Lives Rescued by the United States Coast Guard

By John Konrad On August 1, 2007

USCG Surf Boat on the Oregon coast

While we were celebrating our numbers and sending you to Robin Storm’s post on recent Coast Guard rescues yesterday the saviors of the sea were reaching their own, much larger, milestone; 1,000,000 Rescues!

In a press release today Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff wrote:

“What began as a revenue enforcement agency with a fleet of ten cutters established by Alexander Hamilton more than 200 years ago has evolved into the world’s premiere multi-mission, maritime and military service. It’s fitting that we celebrate the Coast Guard’s 217th birthday this August 4th as we recognize its brave men and women for saving more than 1 million lives over the course of its long and storied history.”

How were the numbers calculated?

The number of lives saved was calculated by the Coast Guard historian’s office through research of logs and records from the Coast Guard, the Revenue Cutter Service, the US Life-Saving Service, the Lighthouse Service and other agencies that eventually became the modern Coast Guard. In addition to tallying the total number of lives saved, the historian’s office has compiled a list of the top ten rescues in the Coast Guard’s history. The list shows the breadth of the Coast Guard’s efforts to save lives in peril on the seas for over 217 years.

Very Impressive, especially considering these heroes do it knowing “Ya gotta go out but nobody said anything about having to come back!”

Links:

USCG photo by BMC Chris S. Sparkman

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About The Author

John Konrad

Captain John Konrad is co-founder of Unofficial Networks, Editor In Chief of this blog and author of the book Fire On The Horizon. He is a USCG licensed Master Mariner of Unlimited Tonnage and, since graduating from SUNY Maritime College, has sailed a variety of ships from ports around the world. John currently lives in Morro Bay, California with his wife and two children.