--CBM,
Skipper, and CMoMM Lowry of the CG83463/CG42..
Jack wrote, "BM1c Willis--an 'oldtimer' and 'dad' to the rest of us young whippersnappers--a nice, nice guy."
CG83463/CG 42 at Poole quay after invasion of Normandy. Note the 'South Ferry' street sign that found its way on board as a momento of the town.
MoMM1cDick Holtkamp of the CG'83464/CG43 at Portsmouth Royal Naval Shipyard, England in May 1944. The cutters werein drydock for bottom work and shaft/prop check prior to invasion. Noe British destryoer in background.
--(L-R)
Fireman1st Class(F1c) Perez , SO2 senna, SO2 papa on bridge of cg83464/cg43
Resflo1 running in English Channel 1944.
Ltjg John T Morse, USCGR, commanding officer of CG83464/CG43 at Portsmouth, England, in May 1944. He was from Quitman, Texas.
MoMM1 Bob Hambleton, from Independence, Kansas, CG83464 in England 1944. Most of the 83' crews 1had or 2 english bikes that we shared so we could get about the small towns on "liberties."
CBM Polhamus from, possibly from New Jersey, during channel crossing back to england with troopships, Empress of Canada, nearest in background after unloading at Normandy. The Coast Guard Rescue Flotilla 1 cutters crossed the English Channel with convoys as regular routine after the initial landings and rescue work was about finished.
CMoMM Lowry on the CG83463/CG42 in England wearng his Summer Grey Uniform. This uniform was tried but not very popular.
BM2c James Haggerty, CG83464/CG43,at Poole, Engand, base, 1944.
Dedication of plaque honoring the service of the Coast Guardsmen of Rescue Flotilla 1, the "Matchbox Fleet" at Poole, England in 1994.
This Flotilla is credited with the saving more than a thousand lives of Allied servicemen during the first thirty-six hours of the invasion of Normandy. The flotilla was commanded by LCDR Alexander V. Stewart, Jr., USCGR, based at Poole, England. There were sixty 83-footers assigned to the flotilla.
