STORY BEHIND THE PLAQUE
Service Reflections of LCDR Ed Swift, U.S. Coast Guard (1970-2000)

Growing up in Delaware, I spent a few weeks every summer at Dewey Beach. I recall seeing a 44-foot motor lifeboat from Indian River Inlet Station on patrol and then working with an HH-52A helicopter from Air Station Cape May, N.J.

Over the radio, I learned that some folks were rescued by the Coast Guard that day and that I had probably seen part of the rescue procedure. One summer, a high school friend and his father were fishing in the Atlantic about 12 miles offshore when their boat sank. They were ultimately saved by the Coast Guard and that made a distinct impression on me.

As a freshman in an art college at age 17, I soon found that my natural artistic abilities were limited due to a lack of worldly knowledge. I had been on a waiting list to join the Coast Guard for nearly a year and was contacted by my recruiter during Christmas break after one semester. I decided to join at that time so I could “see the world”, have some adventures and gain more insights which would help me when I returned to art college four years later.

As it turned out, a four-year hitch became a 30-plus year active duty career. On my “dream sheet” at boot camp in Cape May, NJ, I requested “any ship, anywhere” but ended up at a shore in a Seaman Artist billet at 9th District Headquarters in Cleveland, OH.

However, I did get to strike Boatswain’s Mate, work at a lifeboat station, and be part of a few rescues. The Coast Guard’s humanitarian missions are what initially inspired me to join the Coast Guard. I ultimately changed my rate to Photojournalist and spent the remainder of my Coast Guard career in the Public Affairs field.

While serving as the 9th District Public Affairs Officer, I was assigned to Port Security Unit (PSU) 302 from Cleveland for a brief time, deploying with them to Bahrain in 1990 during Operation Desert Shield. I had gone through PSU training earlier with volunteers from each of the original three PSUs at Camp Peary, OH.

As Desert Shield began, PSUs 301 (Buffalo) and 303 (Milwaukee) were involuntarily called to active duty and sent to Saudi Arabia; so Cleveland would be next. I arranged for two-man news crews from Cleveland’s ABC and NBC affiliates to accompany PSU 302 into theater but there was a requirement to have a public affairs liaison so that meant me.

Approval was made just before the last C-141 took off so the media reps and I were the last to board. We found our jump seats, grabbed some MREs and enjoyed a 23-hour flight to Bahrain. This trip resulted in tremendous media exposure for the Coast Guard and the missions of the PSUs. Four years later I would serve on a Joint Information Bureau (JIB) in Normandy, France for the 50th anniversary of the WWII D-Day landings. In both instances, I interacted with locals and attendees to learn their customs and teach them more about the Coast Guard. It was incredibly rewarding!

Was there a particular incident during your service when you believed you were in a situation you might not survive? Please describe what happened and what was the outcome.

I did many dangerous things but only once really felt like I may not come back alive. As a photojournalist working at the Coast Guard Television & Motion Picture Liaison Office in Los Angeles, I was directed to grab my video gear and get to Air Station LA immediately to record a medical evacuation at sea.

One helo had already departed by the time I arrived so I jumped aboard the second aircraft. There was 100% ground fog covering Los Angeles and zero visibility. No commercial air traffic was flying in or out of LAX. For some unexplained reason, I truly felt the hand of death.

We took off, slowly doing a vertical climb. At some point, we suddenly burst through the fog layer to find bright sunshine and perfect visibility. We flew to a freighter about 20 miles at sea and I filmed a Coast Guard rescue swimmer put an injured crewman into a rescue basket and both were hoisted safely into the other Coast Guard helicopter.

Both aircraft then returned to the air station (and the fog bank), where the procedure was reversed, this time slowly going down through the fog to make a perfect touchdown. Mission complete. Nothing to worry about. I headed off to my weekly bowling league. Not long after arriving, however, I was paged to the counter and it was my wife calling. She told me to come right home, that my father had passed away a few hours earlier? The same time I was in the helicopter with that feeling of death.

I never had a bad duty station, just a couple of bad people to work for and I have wonderful memories of each duty station.

I began my career in Cleveland where I met my wife, our two boys were born, I helped rescue some folks and eventually became a photojournalist.

In Honolulu, I advanced to petty officer first class and photographed numerous rescues from ships, helicopters, and airplanes.

In Los Angeles, I worked on more than 70 TV and motion picture productions that included the Coast Guard and served as technical advisor both on studio sets and on location.

In the Philadelphia area, I was in an independent duty status and worked several significant pollution cases. I also made chief petty officer there.

In New London, CT, I got a better understanding of what academy officers have to go through for four years as a cadet and I topped off that tour by being promoted to chief warrant officer.

In New York City, I was involved with Coast Guard news throughout the Atlantic Coast and oversaw media coverage of Liberty Weekend.

In my first tour in Washington, DC, I helped produce public service announcements (PSAs) for recruiting and went from CWO4 to Lieutenant.

Back to Cleveland and Desert Shield plus the Coast Guard’s 200th birthday celebration at Grand Haven, MI. Back to GCHQ where I put out the Coast Guard’s monthly national magazine, Commandant’s Bulletin. And I topped things off as a lieutenant commander serving as operations officer for Coast Guard recruiting, making quota each year. Good things to celebrate at every duty station!

From your entire military service, describe any memories you still reflect on to this day.

More than a year before Liberty Weekend, I had lunch with the senior public affairs person at Goodyear. They planned to have two blimps flying over New York City the entire week and we discussed running an electronic message for the Coast Guard on the blimps simultaneously.

I provided artwork, recruiting information and more. When the grand event was finally upon us, there was a VIP reception on the Observation Deck of the World Trade Center to kick things off.

The Coast Guard Atlantic Area commander was just one of many flag/general officers in attendance. Both blimps were hovering a few hundred yards away from the tower when everyone was asked to observe the unveiling of the message they would be displayed during the week.

It was a 7-minute electronic moving billboard on both blimps, and the middle three minutes were all Coast Guard! Graphics of the CGC Eagle sailing across the screen and lots of references to joining the Coast Guard, including the toll-free number.

VADM Thompson’s buttons were popping on his uniform with pride while the senior Navy admiral present was furious and instructed his aide to get Goodyear to include Navy messages! Way too late for that though. And for more than a month, Coast Guard recruiters’ phones in New York City were ringing off the hook.

Being selected to the Coast Guard’s Motion Picture & Television Liaison Office was quite an honor and I thoroughly enjoyed reading scripts, suggesting changes and serving as a technical advisor. It was fulfilling to see my suggested changes reflected in the final productions and in a small way, I felt I was keeping the image of the service true and accurate so viewers would see the “real Coast Guard” in action.

Producing the Coast Guard’s monthly magazine was quite a responsibility and I was fortunate to have a totally committed staff of fantastic photojournalists. Together, we improved the magazine, making it full-color throughout, printed on recyclable paper, and creating a subscription program to make the magazine available to anyone.

Providing creative input into the planning and production of TV and radio public service announcements (PSAs) for recruiting was especially rewarding, as was throwing caution to the wind and making a contract with the (then) World Wrestling Federation (WWF).

Most senior officers balked at the idea but we moved ahead and saw a significant increase in recruiting during the one year of the contract. Likewise, getting into NASCAR with sponsorship for Kevin Harvick’s car in the (then) Busch series paid off well for recruiting as Harvick went on to win the championship that season. Sometimes thinking outside the box really works!

The one badge that I most proud of earning was the Coxswain Pin. I was only a Boatswain’s Mate for a couple of years before making a lateral change in rating to Photojournalist (PA) but I put forth a lot of effort to learn everything and demonstrate proficiency to earn this pin.

After switching to PA, and for the remainder of my career as both enlisted and officer, I proudly wore it above my ribbons. More than a few Coasties gave me a second look, wondering why a PA was wearing a Coxswain’s Pin. I was fortunate to have received several personal awards during my career but I was never comfortable during the presentation ceremonies.

My comfort zone was being behind the camera, taking pictures of others being recognized, not being put in the spotlight myself. In my public affairs capacity, i.e., being the voice of the command (or mouthpiece), I had no problem talking about the Coast Guard mission at hand with microphones and TV cameras in my face? I simply didn’t like having the attention on me personally. I did, however, take great pride in writing award citations and recommendations for others for awards and seeing them receive their just rewards.

My all-time favorite character was (then) Chief Damage Controlman Dave Powell (later a CWO4). As a seaman, I worked with three chiefs but primarily with Chief Powell. He and I built a closed-circuit TV studio, assembled cameras, and editing equipment and produced dozens of training tapes for units in the 9th District (Great Lakes area).

I learned so much from him in terms of general Coast Guard knowledge, effective leadership, and team-building; things I absorbed and used myself throughout my career, trying to emulate his casual but effective style. Being a non-rate and married with a kid didn’t exactly put me at the top of the food chain financially and my wife and I muddled by with some ratty rental items and lots of milk crates for furniture.

When Chief Powell’s wife decided to get a new living room suite, he offered up his used furniture to me, which I very happily accepted. It was a wonderful gesture and he even trucked it to our place and helped set it all up. That meant a lot to my struggling family and some years later, as a Chief myself, I was able to do the same for a junior enlisted man who worked for me. Dave really helped shape my career and I am most grateful for his willingness to take a young seaman under his wing.

I truly had a multitude of wonderful friends throughout my career. And being the smallest service, the probability of being stationed together more than once can occur. Such was the case with (then) Machinery Technician First Class Dan Scott.

I first met Dan in 1979 at Base Gloucester City, NJ when I was a chief. Dan was also a part-time recruiter and we often shared ideas on how to get more exposure for the Coast Guard and more recruits. We both enjoyed softball, bowling, and beer, and I was the photographer at Dan’s wedding.

Eventually, we both moved on to new assignments but got stationed together again in 1993 at USCG Headquarters. We lived only about five miles apart in Virginia and we got together at least a couple of times a week at my house to discuss what was wrong with the Coast Guard and how to make it better. Over a few beers of course! We both went warrant to lieutenant and got promoted the same day, he to LT and I to LCDR. We had a world-class wetting down with about 100 close drunken friends in my backyard, a party that was talked about for years after. So, when I retired I asked Dan to serve as the emcee and he did an incredible job. We still live only about five miles away and we’ll always remain the closest of friends!

As preparations were being made for Liberty Weekend in New York City, the Coast Guard wanted to see if the Goodyear blimps would make a good observation and communication platform for marine safety personnel to monitor the parade of tall ships and the thousands of small boats in the harbor.

The marine safety office CO, the head park ranger at Liberty Island, a NY Times journalist and I were invited to ride one of the blimps. Once airborne, the pilot explained how the blimp was operated (foot pedals to go left or right and a wheel on the right to make the blimp’s nose go up or down) and he gave each of us an opportunity to fly it.

The captain went first and it was painfully obvious to me he had spent far too much time behind a desk. He couldn’t hold the blimp level or on course, each time overcompensating for the winds buffeting the blimp. He actually had the blimp nearly vertical with everything inside (including us passengers) sliding to the front end of the gondola. It was funny but also scary and he was replaced after only a couple minutes.

The park ranger did no better, nor did the reporter. I took my place in the pilot’s seat and it was like placing Otto (the inflatable autopilot) into the seat in the movie Airplane. Everything seemed to smooth out immediately and I remained at the controls for nearly an hour, driving the aircraft like a boat and making subtle adjustments as the winds moved the craft up and down and side to side. Still, the next day I was sore all over and I had a real appreciation for the Goodyear pilots who have to fly the blimps for hours on end.

After retiring in 2000 my wife and I enjoyed a two-week vacation in the Bahamas with family and friends. I then worked for Goodwill Communications as an operations officer. In that capacity, I worked with all five military services and several non-profit organizations with the production, replication, labeling, distribution, and evaluation of their public service announcements (PSAs).

After nine months I was contacted by the Coast Guard Recruiting Command and ultimately returned to where I had retired, this time as a civilian contractor. I worked in the Advertising Branch, again working on PSA’s and developing promotional items for use by recruiters nationwide.

After five years I applied for the position of executive director for the Coast Guard Chief Warrant & Warrant Officers Association (CW&WOA) and got the job. It was a one-man operation and the office was a 46-foot houseboat moored next to USCG Headquarters. How cool! I maintained all the member records, paid the bills, did secretary and treasurer reports, filed taxes, and produced the CWO News magazine.

It was great fun but after about four years I developed severe respiratory problems. It was determined that I had idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a disease with no known cause or cure, and had to use bottled oxygen 24/7.

So, after five years on that job I was forced to retire again. I was fortunate to receive a lung transplant in late 2012 but I have not been able to return to work.

I am a life member of the VFW and DAV as well as a member of the American Legion, FRA and MOA.

In terms of what I get from those memberships, it’s essentially being kept informed of issues impacting me, receiving their respective magazines, and occasionally attending meetings, enjoying the camaraderie. Most of my direct involvement over the past 26 years has been with the Coast Guard Combat Veterans Association (CGCVA). As a life member, I have served three terms as national president, one term as national VP, two terms as Board of Trustees Chairman and editor-in-chief of their quarterly national magazine, Quarterdeck Log, for 24 years. Being a CGCVA member has provided me opportunities to attend countless CG-related activities (changes of command, building dedications, and ship commissioning ceremonies, national holiday observances, etc.).

I have met combat veterans from all Coast Guard wartime conflicts as far back as WWII and been captivated by their stories, many of which I published in the CGCVA magazine. I truly relish the camaraderie enjoyed through the CGCVA and hope that I have been able to return that joy through active participation.

I was indoctrinated to organization, teamwork, and leadership before joining the military through several years in the Boy Scouts. The Coast Guard gave me an opportunity to build on those skills and learn many more.

I understand the need for order and continuity in the military and always abided by it but I wasn’t afraid to question things if I thought they were wrong. The Coast Guard allowed me to at least question authority at times and I appreciated that.

I think I operated in a similar manner off-duty. As a prior-enlisted, warrant to lieutenant at the 9th District Office in Cleveland, I was asked to participate in a test which measured which of the four brain quadrants were used to solve problems and do the general activity.

Of the 18 participants, 14 were Captains, three were Commanders, and then me. At the conclusion, the proctor put all 18 results overlapped on a projection screen. It showed that 17 participants used the same two quadrants to solve problems and conduct themselves while one overlay showed essentially the opposite. There were a lot of chuckles and then we were directed to open our individual folders to see our results.

You guessed it, mine was the “other” one. Apparently, although I obey authority and accept the order, I also showed much more creativity than the Academy officers. And now, being retired, I honestly miss using my “skewed” leadership methods to work with groups and accomplish things.

Learn as much as you can about the history of the Coast Guard. We have had so many heroic men and women who have risked their lives to save others, not only during times of war but during everyday missions.

We are a small service so the actions of everyone in the Coast Guard counts that much more. The Coast Guard offers its people, even those very junior, with many opportunities for additional responsibility and to demonstrate leadership so don’t hesitate to accept those challenges.

Set lofty goals for yourself and strive to reach them, and, when you do, reset them even higher.

I’ve been able to reconnect with several shipmates from previous duty stations and in turn find additional shipmates or learn what happened to them. The process has brought back a lot of good memories.

DS 3/24/2019