On this date, 7 August, in 1789-An Act of Congress (1 Stat. L., 53), only the ninth law passed by the newly-created Congress of the United States, was the first act to make any provisions for public works. It created the Lighthouse Establishment as an administrative unit of the Federal Government when it accepted title to, and joined jurisdiction over, the 12 lighthouses then in existence, and provided that the necessary support, maintenance and repairs of all lighthouses, beacons, buoys and public piers erected, placed, or sunk before the passing of this act, at the entrance of, or within any bay, inlet, harbor, or port of the United States, for rendering the navigation thereof easy and safe, shall be defrayed out of the treasury of the United States. The Lighthouse Establishment later became merged with other organizations into the US Coast Guard. 1927-Horace Alderman, a rumrunner, murdered two Coast Guardsmen, Warrant Officer (Boatswain) Sidney Sanderlin and MoMM1/c Victor A. Lamby, and Secret Service agent Robert K. Webster after Aldermans vessel was stopped by patrol boat CG-249 off the coast of Florida. Alderman was eventually subdued by the remaining crew of CG-249 and arrested. He was later tried, convicted, and hung at Coast Guard Base 10 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. More at jacksjoint/hanging.htm 1942-The landings at Tulagi and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands commenced. This first Allied invasion in the Pacific proved to be a critical battle. Coast Guard manned transports, including the USS Hunter Liggett, participated in the invasion. Many of the landing craft were crewed by Coast Guardsmen. A Coast Guard officer, LCDR Dwight H. Dexter, and 25 Coast Guardsmen went ashore from the Liggett with their landing craft to set up a naval operating base on Lunga Point. Signalman 1/c Douglas Munro, later killed at Guadalcanal, was a member of Dexters command.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 11:58:24 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015