Coast Guard Memorial
Two tragic episodes in U.S. Coast Guard
history prompted the construction of this memorial, which sits
atop a hill near the southern edge of the cemetery. On Sept.
21, 1918, the cutter Seneca was lost while attempting
to salvage the British steamer, Wellington, which had
been torpedoed in the Bay of Biscay. All officers and crew of
the Seneca were lost. Only five days later, on Sept.
26, 1918, the cutter Tampa was sunk by an enemy submarine
in the British Channel, and all on board that ship were lost
as well.
The names of these vessels and their crewman,
as well as of all Coast Guard personnel who lost their lives
during the Great War, are inscribed on the sides of the monument.
The U.S. Coast Guard Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery
was dedicated May 23, 1928.
The Coast Guard was formed as the successor
to the Revenue Cutter Service and the Life Saving Service June
28, 1915. By law, the Tampa and the Seneca
had been ordered to operate as part of the Navy when the United
States entered World War I April 6, 1918.
In the monument's rock foundation and pyramid
design, architect George Howe and sculptor Gaston Lachaise have
captured the spirit of the Coast Guard's legendary steadfastness.
A bronze seagull, poised with its wings uplifted, alights below
the Coast Guard motto Semper Paratus
(Always Prepared). This bird further symbolizes the tireless
vigil that the U.S. Coast Guard maintains over the nation's
maritime territory.
Peters, James Edward. Arlington National
Cemetery: Shrine to America's Heroes. Woodbine House 1986.
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