On 27 March in 1943-CG-85006 (ex-Catamount) exploded off Ambrose Light while on Coastal Picket patrol duty. Of a total of ten crew members on board, four drowned while five were reported missing. Only the commanding officer, CBM Garfield L. Beal, USCG, escaped. He was picked up six hours later by a passing merchant ship. The cause of the explosion was never ascertained. 1964-An earthquake which hit 9.2 on the Richter scale and an ensuing tsunami struck Alaska, killing 125 people and causing $311 million in property damage. Coast Guard units responded in what was called Operation Helping Hand. Within two hours of the earthquake, which began at 1732 local time, CGCs Storis, Minnetonka, and Sorrel were ordered to Prince William Sound; Bittersweet to Seward; and Sedge to Valdez. The following morning, three fixed-wing aircraft from Air Detachment Kodiak surveyed the damage while helicopters evacuated those in need. By March 31, most of the direct assistance had been rendered and the task of repair and clean up began. Approximately 360 civilians were evacuated from villages and isolated areas in Kodiak Island and Prince William Sound. Storis was diverted to Cook Inlet for icebreaking duties in the Port of Anchorage until 18 April. [Kenneth Arbogast, et al, The U.S. Coast Guard in Kodiak, Alaska, p. 15.] A number of the Coast Guard stations in the area sustained damage, some of it severe. The only Coast Guard fatality occurred when the tsunami struck the light station at Cape St. Elias and one crewman, EN3 Frank O. Reed, was swept out to sea and perished.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 13:02:21 +0000
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