Coast Guard Warriors
Updated July 25, 2005

William R. Wells, II 258 Meadowlake Drive Martinez, GA 30907 wrw2@earthlink.net See published works below.
EDUCATION:	1986-1989 Bachelor of Arts (History), Augusta College, Augusta, GA. 1989-1990 Masters of Education (Secondary Education, Social Sciences), Augusta College
Some History.	The U. S. Coast Guard is the nation's longest serving naval service. Beginning federal service in 1790, it has served as a military force in nearly every conflict in which the United States has participated. Although largely overlooked by military and naval historians, the Coast Guard continues to contribute to the national defence. The Coast Guard is also legislatively charged with civil law enforcement, regulatory, and humanitarian duties. Even though its naval character is its most consistent factor, its ancillary missions of regulatory enforcement and life-saving receives, and continues to receive, larger notoriety and acclaim. For this reason the Coast Guard's law enforcement, humanitarian and regulatory roles will not be a part of this homepage. These are amply represented in other sources.
Purpose.	The purpose of this page is to put faces and scenes with the Coast Guard's involvement in all its wars and conflicts. Placing a human identity to these combat and combat support operations will make these events a greater part of the historical record.
Contributing Images and Information.	This is an ever beginning project, therefore, I ask all Coast Guard veterans to contribute their photographs and stories for placement on this homepage. I anticipate, and hope, that many will contribute items for this page. When emailing scanned photographs, unit patches, or other items please send individual images using .jpg or .gif format and of about 1500 pixels in size. This size will make for better presentation editing of the images. If sending by CD-ROM, please make individual scans of about 1500 pixels and at least 300 dpi in TIF format. If scanning facilities are not available just mail the photos or slides to me and I'll mail them back.

Published Works on U. S. Revenue Cutter Service and Coast Guard topics.

Presentations:
Vietnam and CGC Point Welcome Incident. U. S. Coast Guard Training Center, Petaluma, CA.
On the occasion of the dedication of the BMC Richard H. Patterson (BMC, USCG (RET)) Recreation Center, Petaluma, CA. November 19, 2002,

Monograph:
Shots That Hit: A Study of U. S. Coast Guard Marksmanship 1790-1985. U. S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, GPO, Washington, DC, 1993. [Favorably reviewed by Gary Pedersen, The Northern Mariner: Journal of the Canadian Nautical Research Society. V:3 (July 1995): 121.]

Book Article:
"The Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer," Susan MacDonald, ed. The History of the United States Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Association. Taylor Publishing Co., Dallas, Texas, 1993. 15-29.
Full text online: Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers

Electronic Articles:
I have created this space to self-publish articles that have not been accepted for publication elsewhere, but have relevance to the Coast Guard and its history. Further publication may only be done with the express permission of the author.

Semper Paratus: The Meaning (n. p. 2006)
“Pluck and Dash”: The Revenue Cutter Morrill's Inland Passage.(n. p. 2001)
RE-Figuring the Figs (FFGs) -- for the Coast Guard. (n. p. 1998)
Five Faces of Training Development Distortion as Applied to Small Arms Training in the United States Coast Guard. (n. p. 1997)
Training Treasury (n. p. 1994). Old Guard Small Arms Instructors.
Is the Coast Guard Culturally Overboard? (n. p. 1994)

Journal Articles:(Listed chronologically)
"Flamin' Thing!" Commandant's Bulletin 10-83 (May 9, 1983): 8. (Flare safety article).

"Two in the Belt" Commandant's Bulletin 25-83 (December 9, 1983): 14-15

"Commerce ruled in the "Old Guard " Commandant's Bulletin 4-84 (February 17, 1984): 16-17.

"Life Below Decks" Commandant's Bulletin 16-84 (August 3, 1984): 14-15.

" 'Vietnamization' sounded good, but turning over Coast Guard cutters was not an easy task," Vietnam, 6:5 (Feburary 1994): 8, 67-71.

"The Perception of Naval Protection: The Southern Galleys, 1798-1800," The Georgia Historical Quarterly, LXXX (Winter 1996): 737-758.

"The Coast Guard's piggyback 81mm mortar/.50-caliber machine-gun combination proved its worth in Vietnam," Vietnam 10:2 (August 1997): 10, 54, 56.

"Friendly Target," (Point Welcome incident 1966) Naval History, 12:2 (May/June 1998): 33-36. Also available on-line see Features section Naval History

"Every Protection That Was Asked for. . ." The United States Revenue Cutter Ingham, Texas Independence and New Orleans, 1835." Louisiana History XXXIX , No. 4 (Fall 1998): 457-479.

"US Revenue Cutters Captured in the War of 1812." The American Neptune, 58:3 (Summer 1998)[Printed in Jan. 1999]: 225-241.

"Initiative Creates Opportunity," Naval History, 13:4 (July/August 1999): 46-48. Concerns Alex Haley during WWII.

"Two U. S. Coast Guardsmen risked their lives to rescue nine besieged South Vietnamese soldiers in 1969," Vietnam, 12:2 (August 1999): 18, 20, 72. [About heroism of GM1 Jerry Goff, USCG and EN2 Larry Villarreal, USCG both Silver Star Medal awardees]

"Crisis at Cedar Keys," Naval History, 16:2 (April 2002): 41 - 45.

"History Is Part of Semper Paratus," Proceedings, 128:8 (August 2002): 46 - 49.

"Don't tread on us: Should the Coast Guard be free of its Navy service shackles?" Armed Forces Journal, (February 2004): 52-53.

Book Reviews:
Paul C. Scotti. Coast Guard Action in Vietnam: Stories of Those Who Served.,
(Central Point, Oregon: Hellgate Press, 2000). 236 pp., illus. ISBN 1-55571-528-1 Amazon.com Review.

Christopher T. George, Terror on the Chesapeake: The War of 1812 in the Bay (Shippensburg, Penn.: White Mane Books, 2000). The American Neptune, Vol. 61, no. 4, Fall 2001, pp.470-471

Donald T. Phillips, with James M. Loy. Character in Action: The U.S. Coast Guard on Leadership.152 pages
United States Naval Institute Press. (August 2003) ISBN: 1591146720.
See Amazon.com for review.

Commentary:
"Semper Paratus in the 21st Century." Proceedings (USNI) 124/3 (April 1998): 22.

"Hell-Roaring Mike's a Hero," Proceedings (USNI), 125/10, (October 1999), 14, 16.

"Sea Dog Quiz #3." Proceedings (USNI), 125/12 (December 1999): 16.

"Whither the National Fleet?" Proceedings (USNI), 127/7 (July 2001): 24.

"December Cover" Proceedings (USNI), 129/1 (Jan 2003): 10.

"Winning the War with Don Winslow of the Navy," Naval History, 17/4 (August 2003): 11

'Skimming History," Proceedings (USNI). 130/10 (October 2004), 12-13.

Personal Essays:

The Case of BMCM Jon McManis: A Matter of Core Values.

Volunteer Publications: (The following were transcribed and created and loaned to the Coast Guard Historian's web site to assist in the knowledge of Coast Guard and Revenue Cutter Service History. I encourage everyone to become an electronic volunteer.)

1819 Circular from the Treasury Department to the Commanding Officers of the Revenue Cutters "

Instructions to Officers in the United States Revenue Cutter Service, December 17, 1829.

Instructions to Officers in the United States Revenue Cutter Service, October 3, 1834.

Instructions to Officers in the United States Revenue Cutter Service, November 1, 1841

Regulations of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, 1862

Revised Regulations For the Government of The Revenue Marine of the United States, August, 1871.

Regulations for the Government of the Revenue Cutter Service of the United States, with an Appendix Containing the Laws Relating to That Service, 1894.

General Orders: U.S. Revenue Cutter Service. July, 1895. [Treasury Department, Document No. 2020. Office of Secretary. Division of Revenue Cutter Service.]

1938 Coast Guard Circular from the commandant, RADM R. R. Waesche, entitled "Management of Personnel" which addresses concerns regarding leadership within the service.

Official CGC Point Welcome Investigation, 1966. PDF File.

Return to:
COAST GUARD WARRIORS