STORY BEHIND THE PLAQUE
Service Reflections of CWO4 John Crawford, U.S. Coast Guard (1960-1988)

When I graduated from Rochester (PA) High School in 1960, my opportunities were limited. I could not afford to attend college, and I did not want to become a steelworker or coal miner like the rest of my family. The Army draft was also hanging over my head! I chose the Coast Guard for its humanitarian and peacetime missions.

Many of my high school classmates were enlisting in the Air Force and Navy. I wanted to do something entirely different. Our next-door neighbor encouraged me to check out the Coast Guard. She had served as a SPAR during WWII.

I enlisted in Pittsburgh, PA, on 6 July 1960. Enjoyed my first airplane ride to Philadelphia on a TWA Super Constellation aircraft (now a classic). Recruits were met at the airport and transported to Cape May, NJ, by bus.

Boot camp was 13 weeks long. I was assigned to Company M-43. My RCC was BM1 Loomis P. Gibson (more about him, later).

Early on, I suspected I would become a lifer, even though my starting pay as an E-1 was $78/month before taxes. I figured if I could make E-7 and retire after 20 years (age 38)… I would make more pension than my grandfather did working in the steel mills x 44 years. In the end, I did much-much better than that.

Instead of guaranteed ET/A School (did not want to be an Electronics Technician) …. I took a transfer to the 9th CG District (Great Lakes), for a further (unknown) assignment, where I began my 28-year career:

1960-61 …. SA/SN …….. CG Lifeboat Station – Fairport, OH
1961-62 …. SN/YN3 …… CG Group / Station – Cleveland, OH
1962-64 …. YN3/YN2 …. CG Group / Base – Buffalo, NY
1964 ……… YN2 ………… USN Justice School, Newport, RI
……………………………….. x 7 weeks (Honor Graduate)
……………………………….. for Legal Clerks and Court Reporters
1964-66 …. YN2 ………… CGC WOODBINE – Grand Haven, Michigan
1966-68 …. YN2/YN1 …. O’CCGD9, Cleveland – Legal Office
1968-70 …. YN1/YNC …. O’CCGD17, Juneau, AK – Legal Office
………………………………. Also served ad hoc on the District Inspection Team
1970-73 …. CWO2 …….. CG HQS, Washington, DC – CG Intelligence
1973-76 …. CWO3 …….. O’CCGD13, Seattle, WA – Legal Office
1976-79 …. CWO4 …….. CG ORTC Seattle – Commanding Officer
………………………………. (Organized Reserve Training Center)
………………………………. Also, CG Liaison Officer at USN Station Seattle.
1979-82 …. CWO4 …….. CG HQS (again) …. CWO Detailer
1982-86 …. CWO4 …….. O’CCGD13, Seattle, WA – Legal Office
………………………………. only Seattle billet available during my assignment cycle.
………………………………. And, I didn’t mind doing it again.
………………………………. This was a job and a specialty that I enjoyed.
1986-88 …. CWO4 …….. CG Marine Safety Office, Seattle – Admin / Personnel Officer

1 October 1988:
Retired in Seattle because they wanted me back at CG HQS for my third tour of duty. With kids in college and high school, no way was I moving again. Besides, we fell in love with Seattle, where I considered the rain as self-shoveling snow.

1 October 2025:
Still collecting that retired paycheck x 37 years! Life is good. Retired life is even better.
I have been blessed beyond all measure.

You can’t beat six Saturdays and one Sunday every week!!!

One humanitarian mission remains in my mind to this day …. the crash of a United Airlines 727 into Lake Michigan as it descended into O’Hare / Chicago on 13 August 1965, with 30 souls onboard.

WOODBINE had an emergency crew recall about midnight and came on scene at first light the next morning. The first thing we encountered was the tail section floating on the surface.

For the next several days, we, along with CGC ARUNDEL, recovered several tons of debris (including seats which floated – with victims still seat belted in), bodies, body parts, luggage, clothing, and mail bags.

Strange thought today: we did all of this without rubber or latex gloves.

In my earlier lifeboat station days, before marriage and children, I had helped recover the bodies of several children who had drowned. Sad as that was …. it bothered me even more to recover small children’s clothing from this disaster. That clothing alone haunted me more than the adult bodies and body parts we handled. As a new father, I had a one-year-old daughter back home.

When I enlisted, I had no idea of the places I would go, the things I would do, and the people I would meet. This was most evident in Alaska. My travel with the District Inspection Team and as a court reporter for courts-martial and investigations saw me cover the state from one end to the other, e.g. Ketchikan, Annette Island, Sitka, Anchorage, Kodiak, Port Clarence (above Nome), St. Paul Island in the Pribilofs, Adak, Attu, Shemya, and Cape Sarichef at Unimak Pass (where the inspection team got weathered in x 7 days).

As a history buff, the most memorable was Attu, the last island in the Aleutian Chain. It was the site of a famous WWII battle. Looking up behind the Loran Station at Fishhook Ridge, where the Japanese put on a last-ditch banzai attack, gave me goosebumps. It was the face of real, not too distant, history …. as my father served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII.

Again, while eating breakfast on the mess deck, looking out the window at Casco Cove where most of the American invasion force came ashore… I could just imagine the fleet of ships offshore (D-Day-like). The only other place that gave me goosebumps like that was the site of Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg.

Only regret – wish I had taken some photographs.

Yes. My first boat call out of boot camp in 1960, on a 36-foot motor lifeboat, was a near tragedy. We went out on a SAR call but had to be rescued ourselves 20 hours later after we lost our engine and radio in a snowstorm with gale-force winds and monstrous seas (yes, on Lake Erie). We were rescued by a 36-footer from Ashtabula Lifeboat Station. At Ashtabula, they had to help us off the boat …. bruised, exhausted, hungry, and shivering cold. I do believe this changed my mind about being a coxswain!

Also times on the WOODBINE (Lake Michigan) when I wondered if we would make it – especially when we took an unannounced 45-degree roll, and counter-roll, during evening chow. Tables came out of their brackets, and everyone was tossed to and fro. Every shipmate was bruised and sore. One mess cook suffered a broken arm. It took (all hands) hours to clean up and put everything back together again …. while the ship continued to pitch and roll. Memories (sea stories) I can never forget. Call me a happy and lucky survivor.

Tough question. I actually liked them all, but:

CGC WOODBINE (YN2) was my all-time favorite. I loved the ship, the crew, the experiences, and the City of Grand Haven, MI.

CG ORTC Seattle, as Commanding Officer, was also a fun and rewarding tour of duty. The ORTC was a large multi-purpose command that served both reserve and active duty missions.

Located at the USN Station, Seattle (former Air Station / Sand Point), Hangar 2 had 52,000 sq ft of floor space that included offices, classrooms, a machine shop, a drill deck, and an indoor pistol range. We also maintained the covered boathouse near the seaplane ramp on Lake Washington.

Besides support for five reserve units and two group commands, we hosted many activities and programs, including the POLAR STAR and POLAR SEA Pre-commissioning Details, 13th CG District Boating Safety Detachment, the CG’s initial EMT School (pioneered by LCDR [later RADM] Al Steinman, USPHS), and West Coast SAR School – to name a few.

Thanks to the Navy’s excess availability, we also coordinated berthing and messing facilities for reservists, students, crews displaced while undergoing extensive shipyard work, and the district’s transient and administrative personnel.

The station keepers took great pride in maintaining the facility in spit-shine condition. So much so that the Navy and Marine Corps used our hangar for their change of command and retirement ceremonies, and we loved it – because every time they snapped a photo, something CG was in the background!!!

During annual Seafair Week (hydroplane races), the ORTC was used as the CG’s command and logistics center. Two 40-footers, the reservists restored, were used for patrol duty, and we housed a CG helo from Port Angeles overnight inside the hangar.

Great memories, and I met some wonderful reservists – three of whom I later worked with at Foss Maritime.

Least favorite: CWO Detailer / Assignment Officer at CG HQS (1979-82). It was difficult to balance #1 needs of the service, #2 assignment cycles, and #3 personal choices.

Sadly, some members had unrealistic expectations, and others had legitimate family concerns to consider. You could not appease everyone.

Favorite dream sheet/assignment requests:

(1) My seabag is packed, and I’m ready to go, anywhere you need me.
(2) Anywhere south of Interstate 10.

(1) My first wardroom meal as a CWO …. CGC NORTHWIND, 1973.

Several legal office staff members sailed aboard the icebreakers for their 1-2 day shakedown cruise, and/or refueling at the Navy Fuel Depot in Manchester, before deploying to Antarctica. During this time, we provided legal advice and prepared wills and powers of attorney for the crew.

Truthfully, I was excited about eating lunch in the wardroom. The setting was everything I expected. The stewards had a beautifully set table …. white tablecloth, with all the fancy plates, silverware, etc.

Imagine my shock and surprise when the food was set on the table. A tray of lunch meat, bread, and all the fixings. This was mid-rats (midnight rations) on the WOODBINE.

That afternoon, I expressed my surprise and disappointment to the YNC, who was my former neighbor and carpool partner in Juneau. He laughed and invited me to the chief’s mess for the evening meal: much better food, and easy-going company.

And, the final disappointment …. the Wardroom Mess Treasurer charged me $1.45 for lunch, before I departed the ship late that evening at Pier 90-91.

Truthfully, I fared much better in the future… either in the wardroom or the chief’s mess. But that first time, disappointment remains.

(2) Unforgettable …. RADM Richmond’s retirement ceremony, 1977.

The CGC POLAR STAR was the newest thing in town, so they decided to hold his retirement and CCGD13 change of command aboard the STAR at Pier 36 in Seattle.

Because of limited space on the ship’s fantail, they selected an honor guard of 12 officers and 12 enlisted personnel to muster for inspection. Somehow, I was selected. This would be just my second time in seven years wearing my sword… in full dress blues (not whites).

So far, so good. But, who knew that day would be blazing (unseasonably) hot in Seattle …. like the low-90s. Imagine standing on a steel deck, with Corfam shoes, full dress blues, in the blazing sun.

And, to make the ceremony even longer, RADM Richmond was passing his Ancient Albatross title and paraphernalia to Master Chief Greathouse, the last enlisted pilot in the entire U. S. military. That, alone, was a huge PR occasion.

Things started going downhill before the ceremony began. A freight train was blocking Alaskan Way …. and the official party could not get to Pier 36 from the District Office. Nor could many other attendees get across the tracks. If I remember correctly, we were more than an hour late in starting.

Next, you have to picture the scene. The STAR was moored between Piers 36 and 37. Pier 37 was an old warehouse, ready for demolition. Many of the windows were broken out.

At the start of the ceremony, the HARRIET LANE Civil War re-enactment crew fired an old cannon at the end of Pier 36. Suddenly, hundreds of pigeons took flight from the inside and the roof of Pier 37. It seemed like something out of the Birds movie. As the birds circled overhead, I cringed, thinking… I hope they don’t leave any calling cards. The swarm was so large and obvious that it momentarily delayed the next step in the program.

As the ceremony dragged on and on, in 90+ degree heat, on a steel deck, about 6 or 7 of the 24 mustered officers and enlisted personnel began to drop and required medical attention. I managed to stay upright, but I was soaked with perspiration – and my feet felt like they were being cooked.

I was honored to participate in this tradition for my boss and to meet Master Chief Greathouse (a living legend), but I was never so happy for this ceremony to end. Of all the retirement and change of command events that I mustered for during my 28-year career, this had to be the absolute worst …. and most memorable.

Three of my yeoman strikers retired as a CWO.

Proud of each.

With a busy CG and family life, it took me five colleges and 27 years to complete my BS degree in Business Administration. What a relief that was!

Still amazed at my rapid advancement, from E-1 to E-7, and appointment as a CWO one month before I completed 10 years of active duty.

Bonus memory:
During my 28-year career, I served with four father-son combinations.

Command Ashore Insignia, as Commanding Officer at CG ORTC Seattle. This made me one of the few CWO’s in my specialty (PERS) authorized to wear this insignia.

However, more than any medals and awards I received …. the most rewarding aspect of my career centered around the people I served with, and the lasting friendships I created.

Oh, and I forgot …. that retirement paycheck became the most meaningful !!! And, it keeps giving today. 🙂

I was blessed to serve with so many mentors and role models during my 28-year career. I regret that there are just far too many to mention here. Instead, I will focus on my first and last ones….

BMC John W. Evans – my first Officer in Charge at Fairport Lifeboat Station. He brought me into the office part-time to type his monthly reports because he saw that I had one year of typing in high school. He disliked typing because he had to use the “hunt and peck” method.

To his credit, except for typing, he would have made a good Yeoman. He knew the ins and outs of CG administration. With his tutoring and encouragement, I was soon spending more time in the office – and I loved it. I found my niche in life and my future career.

It didn’t take long before I was not just typing, but also preparing, many reports for his signature, e.g., the monthly commissary report and SAR incident reports.

This got me noticed, and moved to the Group Office in Cleveland, where I could continue to strike for yeoman. It was an excellent learning platform for personnel record-keeping.

Thanks, Chief Evans!

Captain John R. Felton was my last Commanding Officer at the CG Marine Safety Office in Seattle, where I served as his Admin Personnel Officer.

He retired after me and went to work at Foss Maritime (tug and barge) Company in Seattle.

My first job, after retirement, was as the Clerk of the King County (Seattle) Council – a job I thought was perfect, based on my prior CG legal office experience. The novelty wore off fast, and I was not particularly happy working around politicians.

That’s when John Felton called me and gave me new life. He asked: “How’d you like to come work with me at Foss and write a contingency plan?”

I replied: “What’s a contingency plan?”

He replied: “It’s for the new Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (post EXXON VALDEZ oil spill). You did a great job at the MSO with the Organization Manual. I think you are just the person to put one together for Foss.”

And, so I began a new 18-year career at Foss …. and loved every minute. I began as an hourly, part-time employee and worked my way into a full-time job, first as Manager, Contingency Planning and Regulatory Compliance. This included serving as the Planning Section Chief for the Emergency Response / ICS Team.

After 9/11, I was designated (new collateral duty) as Foss’ Fleet-Wide Company Security Officer. This entailed writing yet another plan (Security) for submission to the CG.

Shortly thereafter, with the implementation of ISM / ISO Standards for the maritime industry, I was trained and certified as a safety/management auditor, both afloat and ashore.

Foss’s tug became my favorite “collateral duty.” It allowed me to get out on the tugs and barges for audits and check-rides.

Foss’ tug fleet included ocean towing, harbor/ship assist, and river tow-boats (pushers). Barges included: tank, deck, rail-car, lighterage, crane, grain, and a refrigerated cargo barge that hauled frozen french fries from Eastern Oregon and Idaho to Portland.

The most unique, however, was the M/V DELTA MARINER, i.e., the Boeing Rocket Ship. It hauled Delta IV rockets from Huntsville, AL, to Cape Canaveral, FL, and Vandenberg AFB, CA.

The technology aboard these vessels, tugs included, was like night and day from when I served aboard a ship. Electronic charts, navigation by GPS, AIS, a radar system that did all the target plotting and alerts (no more need for maneuvering boards), satellite cell phones, etc.

I enjoyed riding the various tugs, and Foss’ pilot boat in Astoria, OR, but my best check ride was taking barges up the Columbia and Snake Rivers, from Portland, Oregon, to Lewiston, Idaho.

Almost 400 miles, through eight sets of locks and dams. My wife said I was still grinning for two weeks after I returned home.

My legacy at Foss: I wrote and maintained so many plans and manuals that I was jokingly called: The King of the Three-Ring Binders. My office bookcase was full …. 20+ plans and manuals, weighing (out of curiosity) a total of 94 pounds.

Thanks, Captain Felton …. and for sharing this wisdom:
“Reality doesn’t matter, it’s the perception that counts.”

This is also a tough one….

There are so many, time and space will not allow. How about I do just a few and skip some interesting details about the others?

LT (CAPT) Gordon D. Hall – Group Commander Buffalo. One of my many, and early, mentors and role models. We became close friends – as did our wives.

We served together again at O’CCGD9 and CG HQS. 
He had a great sense of humor. He got out of the CG after his initial (post OCS) tour – and attended Major League Umpire School in Florida. Worked one Summer in Florida. Hated the heat, humidity, and bugs.

Upon returning home to Maine, he stopped by CG HQS to review his personnel record. Was encouraged and did return to active duty.

While in Buffalo, he ran into his old chums from umpire school, now working in AAA ball in the International League. They were short-handed – could he fill in on occasion? With permission for off-duty (outside) employment, he worked a number of games in Buffalo. He quit when they wanted him for more games in Toledo, Columbus, Syracuse, and Rochester.

Sadly, he crossed the bar in 2025. RIP, old shipmate.

SN “Hoot” Gibson (& wife Kathleen) – Base Buffalo
SK2 (CWO) Bill Kaszubski – CGC WOODBINE
SK2 (CWO) Wes Schallock – CGC WOODBINE
LCDR (CAPT) John H. Byrd, Jr. – Legal Officer D9 and D13
LTJG (CAPT) Jim Cushman – D17 / CO CAPE CORAL
….. Neighbor, fellow D17 softball & basketball teammate
DT3 (PA1) Raymon D. Fullerton III – D17 / Juneau + HQS
LCDR (CAPT) Tom McGrath – Legal Office, D13 x 2 + HQS
….. Today, my occasional ROMEO lunch partner
….. (Retired Old Men Eating Out).
LT (CAPT) Joe Langjahr, USCGR – CG ORTC Seattle
….. Later, one of my bosses at Foss. He was Foss’s Chief Counsel.
CDR (RADM) R. P. Cueroni – HQS + ORTC / P. SEA Pre-com Detail
MU3 (MUCS) Stan Moore, USN – ORTC + HQS / Annapolis
SN (CWO) Christy Hoyt – D13 Legal Office
….. Retired – worked as Executive Assistant to the CFO
….. for a major corporation in Seattle.
YN1 Terry Heistuman – D13 Legal Office
….. Proud of son, Tom, now LTCOL-USAF, B-52 pilot.
CWO(BOSN) Rob Rhoads – D13 + CGC FIR Seattle
….. First met in the mid-1970s at CG STA Cape D.,
….. while doing an Admin Discharge Board.
….. Friends and Shoreline neighbors for many years.
….. Worked together with CWOA / Pacific NW Chapter.
CWO(F&S) Tony Espejo – HQS + D13
YN1 (CWO) Jeff Shaw – D13
….. Served with his dad, PA1 Gil Shaw, in Cleveland.
CWO(PERS) Mike Fisette – D13
CWO(PERS) Bud Barnum – D13
….. As a YN2 at CG HQS (1963), Bud was “the” lone
….. CG pallbearer for President Kennedy’s funeral.
CWO(BOSN) Al Snelling ….
….. We actually met when I was at Foss, and he worked for a competing tug company.
….. We had much in common – and hit it off immediately. And, we shared some common nuisances, i.e., state regulators.

How about I add some unforgettable characters?

(1) As a Group Office YN2, I had a Reserve YN3 report for his last two weeks of active duty. We had him doing manual changes and other menial jobs. Nice guy. Great attitude. He had enlisted in the CG to beat the Army draft.

His second day, at lunch time, a limo pulls into CG Base Buffalo. He goes out to the vehicle, spends a short time, and returns to work. Naturally, I’m curious ….

He was part-owner and managing partner of a hotel with a restaurant in downtown Rochester, NY (90 miles away). They had brought some important papers for him to sign. He was a graduate of Cornell University Business School.

He was just one of many reservists I served with who had some interesting civilian careers and experiences. Many enjoyed doing something “different” for a two-week break each year.

(2) In the D13 legal office, I had a YN1 / Court Reporter whom we called “Blazing Fingers.” He was the fastest typist I had ever seen. He also had a quirky sense of humor and referred to himself as “The Repitle.” ????

Indeed, he had a fish tank at home with two piranha. He fed them live goldfish. He wanted to bring it to the office, to add some character. Before I could say NO, the Legal Officer said: “HELL NO. We already have too many jokes about sharks and lawyers….”

With a Degree in Music, he moonlighted as a church organist and choir director.

About 20 years after I retired, I attended a funeral for an old shipmate. Imagine my surprise to see “The Reptile” as the organist. We had a long chat and laughed afterwards.

(3) One of my favorite characters was my “hippy/dippy” yeoman (with thanks to comedian George Carlin).

He had several years of college, but dropped out (partied too much) and lost his draft deferment. And, this was before drug testing …. but I strongly suspect he would have shown positive for THC. 

He was intelligent, articulate, fun-loving, but also had a laid-back attitude about life. He enjoyed engaging me in conversation, and knew how to push my buttons as I was always on his case about haircut and uniform standards.

Somehow, through it all, we developed a mutual respect and friendship. I appreciated his exceptional job performance and reliability …. and actually missed him after he was discharged.

About one year later, he contacted me at the ORTC, and we met for lunch near the University of Washington, where he was completing his BS degree. It did not surprise me that he was dressed in casual, unconventional clothing, with long hair. He looked every bit a hippie of the 1970s. With me, in uniform, we certainly looked like an odd pair.

To his credit, after discharge, he went to work on a fishing vessel in Alaska for six months to build up his finances for college. He said it was the hardest work he had ever done, but never again …

We continued to have lunch occasionally, until he graduated and moved to Alabama to attend Auburn University to become a “Bug Doctor”, i.e., Entomologist. I’d love to know how and what he is doing today.

Funny thought: The yeoman who used to bug me became a bug doctor!

(1) July 1970: Almost ten years to the date I enlisted, I reported to CG HQS from Alaska as a boot CWO. First trip down the hall to the head, I run into a CWO(BOSN). Looked familiar. Name tag: Yep. It was my old RCC from Cape May: BM1 Loomis P. Gibson.

I was startled and muttered: “Excuse me, sir. Do you remember me? 
He said, “Should I?” “Yes, sir. You were my RCC at Cape May, Company M-43.”

He looked at me, up and down, in my dress khaki uniform (new shoulder boards), then replied: “Oh, Shit!” – and walked out.

I was flabbergasted. As soon as I dried my hands, I hurried down to the personnel office to learn where he was assigned. I was told, “Oh, you missed him, he just checked out, new PCS assignment.”

Still puzzled to this day….

(2) When the new CWO promotion list was published, all names above the cut were instructed to submit a dream sheet to their detailer. No surprise: everyone did, posthaste – except one. A YNC (E-7) assigned to the Commandant’s (front) office.

I waited, and waited …. anxious to get my assignment slate worked out. Finally, one day, I walked down to the front office – careful to enter the back door, i.e., the servant’s entrance (HQS protocol).

The YNC and I had served together before, so we began with some friendly chatter. Then I reminded him that I had not yet received his dream sheet, and I would be happy to give him favorable consideration of his choices.

I then walked back upstairs (two floors) to my office. I had no sooner sat down, and this loud voice bellowed from next door: “Mr. Crawford, front and center.” I didn’t like the tone of that. Yikes …. what did I do? I had chills.

It was one of my bosses, Captain Al Tingley, the Chief of Officer Personnel.

I immediately sprang into his office, where I was asked:

“Do you know what a purple suit is?”
“No, sir, I don’t.”
“Well, purple represents royalty – and you don’t mess with royalty.”
Looking puzzled …. “I’m not sure I quite understand, sir.” 
“Any changes in the front office come from on high. 
Sit tight on Chief *****.”

I returned to my office, somewhat shaken, thinking, nobody told me about this. (Something I made sure to tell my relief about).

Just 45 minutes later, a document was hand-delivered to me: changing the YNC billet to a CWO(PERS) billet.

Billet, closed – and locked.

Thanks to a Coast Guard connection ….. I had the privilege to work at Foss Maritime (tug and barge) Company from 1990 – 2008. Wonderful experience. Great people.

Foss was founded in 1889 in Tacoma, WA, by Andrew and Thea Foss. It has a rich and colorful history.

Their company motto was: 
ALWAYS READY (CG: Semper Paratus / Always Ready). However, their origin came from the coffee pot in the boathouse: Always Ready !!!

As much as I enjoyed working at Foss, I retired at age 66 (2008) because some of my close friends did not live long enough to enjoy that reward. My wife and I also wanted to travel more. Thus far, we’ve been able to visit 30+ countries, from Paraguay to Russia to Kiribati. (Growing up in the Cold War, I never dreamed that I would someday be walking through Red Square and the Kremlin.)

We’ve also taken multiple ocean/river cruises, totaling 152 days. Yep… had to get my sea duty ticket punched!!! Most enjoyable and interesting ports: Istanbul, Amsterdam, Budapest, St. Petersburg, and Moscow. So thankful I’ve been able to enjoy these experiences – and never have to work again.

I have been a member of the USCG CWO Association since 1970, and have served in a variety of positions, including multiple terms as President of the Pacific NW Chapter. In 1991, I was nominated and elected as a Distinguished Member.

I am also a lifetime member of the American Legion – serving with Post 234 in Mountlake Terrace, WA. I have served as the Chairman of the Scholarship Committee and District 1 – Recruiting Coordinator for Evergreen (WA) Boys State. The latter in appreciation for the opportunity I had to attend Keystone (PA) Boys State in 1959.

The CG enriched and blessed my life in so many ways.

I have no regrets. I have so much to be thankful for.

I miss the camaraderie of my friends and shipmates, and the experiences we shared.

And, I can’t close without a shoutout to my wonderful wife (since 1963) and our four children. Thanks for hanging in there with me. Transfers were never easy, having to change schools, doctors, friends, and neighbors.

But those adventures made us stronger, and the memories provide a great deal of laughter today …. especially about our cross-country road trips, trying to take in as much history and geography as possible.

+Be the best person you can be.

+Enjoy the journey.

Make good choices with your life.

Work hard, and be dedicated to learning.

Seek out a mentor to help you learn the ropes.

Be respectful to everyone.

Expect nothing. Appreciate everything.

If you haven’t already, complete your college degree. It can be an important factor when you seek a second career.

I was recently reminded: “A time comes when we all will find our memories more important than our dreams.” At age 83 (2025), this is so true. Several others have also suggested that I record my memories….

This forced me to sit down and dig into my reticular activating system, i.e., the memories hidden somewhere in my brain. In some ways, it became therapeutic.

Once I started to write, everything began to flow, almost without end. You have no idea of how much I remembered and wrote, but deleted, for the sake of some “brevity.”

I hope others might find this interesting – and spur them to write their own recollections of serving.

I’m thankful to TWS for providing a format and platform to facilitate this process.

Final comment:
Nobody stole the coast while I was helping guard it from 1960 to 1988 !!!

SEMPER PARATUS – jcc

CWO4 John Crawford, USCG – Retired
Shoreline (Seattle), WA