From http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/Chronology_Feb.html DAILY CHRONOLOGY OF COAST GUARD HISTORY: FEBRUARY DAILY CHRONOLOGY of COAST GUARD HISTORY FEBRUARY 1 February 1871- Using his administrative authority, Secretary of the Treasury George S. Boutwell re-established a Revenue Marine Bureau and assigned Sumner I. Kimball as the civilian Chief with the duty of administering both the revenue cutters and the life-saving stations. 1938- The Lighthouse Service Radio Laboratory was moved from the shops of the lighthouse depot in Detroit, MI, "to the Lazaretto Lighthouse Depot in Baltimore, Md., where a building had been constructed providing more adequately for this Important branch of the work of the Service." 1942- Enlistees after this date were restricted to enlistment in the USCG Reserve. This was done to prevent having too many enlistees in the service at war’s end. 1944- Namur Island, Kwajalein Atoll Invasion. 2 February 1944- Saldor, New Guinea landings. 3 February 1801- Treaty of peace with France ratified ending Quasi War with France, in which Revenue Marine had rendered outstanding service. 1880- Date of a terrific gale on the NJ coast. Six vessels came ashore with 47 persons on board all but 2 survived. Nineteen USLSS crewmen won Gold Life-Saving Medals during the wreck of George Taulane. 1943- The torpedoing of the transport Dorchester saw USCGC Comanche and Escanaba respond. The crew of Escanaba used a new rescue technique when pulling survivors from the water. This "retriever" technique used swimmers clad in wet suits to swim to victims in the water and secure a line to them so they could be hauled onto the ship. Although Escanaba saved 133 men (one died later) and Comanche saved 97, over 600 men were lost, including the Four Chaplains. A Lockheed Electra, with 67 passengers and 5 crew members, crashed in the East River about midnight, while making its final approach for landing at La Guardia Airport. Two Coast Guard helicopters, three vessels, and thirteen small craft assisted throughout that night in rescuing nine survivors and recovering twenty-two bodies. 4 February 1859- U.S. signs "Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation" with Paraguay at Asuncion after the revenue cutter Harriet Lane, as part of a US Navy expedition, forces the opening of the Paraguay and Parana Rivers. 1863- Commissioned officers of the Revenue Cutter Service to be appointed by President by and with advice and consent of the Senate. This act contains first statutory use of term "Revenue Cutter Service." Previous laws referred only to "revenue cutters". 1982- The Attorney General, William Smith, declared at a press conference that Operation Tiburon was "the most successful international marijuana interdiction effort to date." The operation began in November, 1980, and accounted for the seizure of 95 vessels. It was a combined operation that included elements of the Coast Guard, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Customs Service and various state and local law enforcement agencies. 5 February 1882- The schooner Mary L. Vankirk, bound for Philadelphian from South Creek, Pamlico Sound, NC. carrying a crew of five men, encountered heavy weather. She lost sails and sprung a leak, so that before long she became water-logged and almost unmanageable. In this condition it was determined to run to leeward and seek refuge in Hatteras Inlet. Matters, however, became worse and it was decided to beach the vessel. She was discovered heading for the land by the crew of Station No. 18, Sixth District (Chicamicomico, NC. The surfboat was run out, but the life-saving crew returned to the station for the breeches-buoy apparatus. The latter arrived abreast of the schooner at 8:15, fifteen minutes after she struck the bar about half a mile north of the station. The schooner was so close that the keeper was able to wade out into the water and cast a heaving-line to those huddled in the rigging. As quickly as possible, the men in the rigging hauled off the whip-line. The breeches-buoy was soon rigged and went spinning out to the vessel. All five men were safely landed. 1946- Four Coast Guardsmen from Willapa Harbor Lifeboat Station perish while searching for two crab fishermen feared lost in Williapa Bay. The men were: BMC Joseph W. Miller, USCG; MM 1/c Geloyd J. Simmons, USCG; Coxswain James R. Graves, USCG; S 1/c Howard W. Hampton, USCG. 6 February 1893- Secretary of Treasury authorized to define and establish anchorage grounds for vessels in harbor of Chicago and adjacent waters of Lake Michigan. 1942- USCGC Nike rescued 38 persons from China Arrow off Ocean City, Maryland. 1996- Alas Airlines Flight 301 crashes off the Dominican Republic and Coast Guard units conduct search and rescue operations. 1996- Coast Guard units respond to calls of assistance due to severe flooding throughout the Pacific Northwest. 7 February 1942- Presidential order creates the War Shipping Administration which assumed control over all phases of merchant marine activities. 1969- USCGC Tern, commissioned on this date and stationed in New York, embodied an advanced concept in servicing aids to navigation. Her over-the-stern gantry system of handling buoys is unique. The automation and modernization of over-age, isolated lighthouses and light stations showed significant progress this year. A new, more effective version of the LAMP (Lighthouse Automation and Modernization Project) plan was promulgated in this year. 1980- The CGC Cape Horn saves all six crewmen of the F/V Hattie Rose in a dramatic night-time rescue. The crew was forced to abandon their 75-foot fishing vessel in 25-foot seas and 45-knot winds, 15 miles east of Provincetown. The fishing vessel Paul and Dominic also aided in the rescue by directing the Cape Horn to the men in the water. 8 February 1958-A U.S. Navy P5M aircraft enroute from San Juan to Norfolk lost one engine and changed course to the island of San Salvador, British West Indies, to attempt a night ditching. AIRSTA Miami sent up a Coast Guard UF amphibian plane, later reinforced by a second amphibian. After contacting the disabled US Navy plane, the pilot of the first amphibian talked the Navy pilot out of attempting to ditch without benefit of illumination and alerted the commanding officer of the Coast Guard LORAN station on San Salvador for assistance after ditching. Through the use of a borrowed truck and an 18-foot boat, the commanding officer managed to be on the scene 1 1/2 miles offshore, when the US Navy plane landed with two minutes of fuel remaining. While one of the amphibian provided additional illumination, the US Navy plane was guided through a dangerous reef to a mooring, using her operative port engine. There were no casualties. 9 February 1965-A commercial CD-7 with 84 persons on board exploded in midair off Jones Beach, Long Island. Despite an extensive search by 7 Coast Guard cutters, 6 Coast Guard aircraft, and a US Navy tug, no survivors were located. Only 9 bodies and various pieces of debris were located and recovered. 1968-USCG vessels helped thwart a Communist attempt to run four trawlers through the Market Time blockade. The defeat of this attempted re-supply was hailed as "the most significant naval victory of the Vietnam campaign." (Robert E. Johnson, Guardians of the Sea: History of the United States Coast Guard, 1915 to the Present. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987, p. 336). 10 February 1940-USCGC Bibb and Duane make first transmissions as weather stations. 1992- Retired Coast Guard Chief Journalist Alex Haley, internationally noted author and the first person to ever hold that rate in the Coast Guard, dies of a heart attack. 11 February 1973-Due to "Vietnamization" the post of Senior Coast Guard Officer, Vietnam was discontinued. 12 February 1802- Revenue Marine (Revenue Cutter Service) has 38 commissioned officers in service, 9 captains, 10 first mates, 9 second mates and 10 third mates. 1986- Rains begin in northern California that last for a week, causing severe flooding. Coast Guard units participate in rescue and relief operations. 1997- Three of four crewmembers of MLB 44363 out of the Quillayute River Motor Lifeboat Station were lost when responding to a distress call from the sailing vessel Gale Runner. 13 February 1960- A Coast Guard RSD aircraft from Honolulu dropped a pump to the Japanese training vessel Toyama Maru, which had radioed that it was taking on water and was in danger of sinking off Palmyra Island. The pump controlled flooding until the arrival of USCGC Bering Strait, whose crew made repairs to the Japanese vessel, using 2,500 pounds of sand and cement parachuted by a Honolulu-based SC-130B plane. 1969- The National Transportation Safety Board issued its "Study of Recreational Boat Accidents, Boating Safety Programs, and Preventive Recommendations". 1991- Two HU-25A Falcon jets from Air Station Cape Cod, equipped with Aireye technology depart for Saudi Arabia for the Inter-agency oil spill assessment team use. They were accompanied in flight by two C-130 aircraft from Air Station Clearwater carrying parts and deployment packages. 14 February 1903- An Act of Congress (31 Stat. L., 826, 827) that created the Department of Commerce and Labor provided for the transfer of the Lighthouse Service from the Treasury Department. This allowed the Secretary of Commerce and Labor to succeed to the authority vested in the Secretary of the Treasury under the existing legislation. 15 February 1911- Congress transferred Fort Trumbull, New London, CT from War Department to Treasury Department for the use of the USRCS. 1943- USCGC Calypso removed 42 persons from lifeboat of SS Buarque (Brazil) east of Cape Henry. 1980- The 70-foot fishing vessel Donna Catalina sinks 40 miles south of Nantucket Island. After pumps lowered to the four-man crew failed to keep up with the flooding, a Coast Guard helicopter lifted the crew to safety. 16 February 1926- Congress authorized Secretary of Treasury to acquire a site at New London, CT, without cost to United States, and construct thereon buildings for the United States Coast Guard Academy at a total cost not to exceed $1,750,000. 1993- The Haitian passenger ferry Neptune sank, sending 1,215 Haitians to their deaths. Coast Guard units participated in the search and rescue operation but found no survivors. They then assisted in recovering the bodies of those killed. 17 February 1944- Eniwetok and Engebi, Marshall Island Invasion. 1956- The USCGC Casco saved 21 persons from a US Navy seaplane that was forced to ditch 100 miles south of Bermuda and delivered both the survivors and the disabled aircraft to the Naval Air Station at St. Georgia Harbor, Bermuda. 18 February 1842- The House of Representatives passed a resolution requesting the Committee on Commerce to make an inquiry into the expenditures of the Lighthouse Establishment since 1816. This was to explore the possibility of cutting down on expenses, to examine the question of reorganizing the establishment and administration, and also to ascertain whether the establishment should be placed under the Topographical Bureau of the War Department. 1952- During a severe "nor’easter" off the New England coast, the T-2 tankers SS Fort Mercer and SS Pendleton broke in half. U .S. Coast Guard vessels, aircraft, and lifeboat stations, working under severe winter conditions, rescued and removed 62 persons from the foundering ships or from the water with a loss of only five lives. Five Coast Guardsmen earned the Gold Lifesaving Medal, four earned the Silver Lifesaving Medal, and 15 earned the Coast Guard Commendation Medal. 1979- Coast Guard HH-3F helicopter 1432 crashes 180 miles southeast of Cape Cod, killing 4 of its 5 occupants. The helo was preparing to airlift a 47 year old crewman from the Japanese fishing vessel Kaisei Maru #18. 19 February 1845- Lighthouse establishment transferred to Revenue Marine Bureau. Metal buoys were first put into service. They were riveted iron barrels that replaced the older wooden stave construction. 1862 Congress authorized cutters to enforce law forbidding importation of Chinese "coolie" labor. 1941 Coast Guard Reserve established. Auxiliary created from former Reserve. 20 February 1845- President Tyler vetoes bill providing that no cutter be built nor purchased unless appropriation first made by law, on grounds that sanctity of contract of those already contracted for should not be overridden by Congress. Congress overrides veto March 3. 1845. 21 February 1943- The USCGC Spencer received credit from the U.S. Navy for attacking and sinking the U-225 in the North Atlantic. The British have since recorded that the U-225 was actually destroyed by the Liberator "S" of RAF No. 120 Squadron on 15 February and they have changed the official British records to reflect this change. The renowned German historian, Professor/Dr. Jurgen Rohwer states that the Spencer "probably" attacked and sank the U-529 on this date, although the Spencer has not received official credit for this sinking. 22 February 1944- Parry Island (Marshall Islands) invasion. 1943- The USCGC Campbell rammed the U-606 in the North Atlantic after the U-boat was forced to surface after being attacked by the Polish destroyer Burza. The Campbell rescued five of the U-606's crew. 23 February 1822- Congress authorized cutters to prevent unauthorized live oak cutting on Florida public lands. 24 February 1964- A U.S. Coast Guard ice skiff rescued 25 persons from an ice flow that had broken loose from the shore near Camp Perry, Ohio. A similar rescue took place almost simultaneously at St. Clair Shores, Michigan when another Coast Guard ice skiff and a police helicopter removed five more from an ice flow. 1989- Coast Guard units search for survivors of United Airlines Flight 811 after it crashes off the coast of Hawaii. 25 February 1799- President Adams authorized by Congress to place revenue cutters in the naval establishment. 1925- Congress empowers Revenue Marine to enforce state quarantine laws. 1942- Wartime port security delegated to Coast Guard by Executive Order 9074. 26 February 1793- Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of the Treasury, submits to the Senate the first list of cutters with stations, officers names, rank and dates of commission. 27 February 1925- An Act of Congress authorized the purchase of rubber boots, oilskins, etc., for the use of personnel while engaged in lighthouse work requiring such equipment. Actually, this legislation simply confirmed an existing practice. 1925- An Act of Congress repealed the law providing a ration allowance for keepers of lighthouses and increased their salaries correspondingly. This change was not only advantageous to the light keepers, but also simplified office work. 1949-Aerial ice observation flights by long-range aircraft operated from Argentia, Newfoundland. An International Ice Patrol by vessels was neither required nor established during the 1949 season, and it was the first time that aircraft alone conducted the ice observation service. 1953-The USCGC Coos Bay, on Ocean Station Echo, about half-way between Bermuda and the Azores, rescued the entire crew of 10 from the US Navy patrol plane that was forced to ditch in the Atlantic Ocean. 28 February 1867- Each officer of Revenue Cutter Service, while on duty, entitled to one Navy ration per day. 1942- Certain duties of former Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation transferred to Coast Guard temporarily by Executive Order 9083. Made permanent July 16, 1946. 1942- U S. Maritime Service transferred to Coast Guard from War Shipping Administration. 29 February 1944- Los Negros, Admiralty Islands invasion commences. [Daily Chronology] [Historians' Office] [USCG Home Page] Added: January 1998 Updated: January 2002