Fighting Coast Guard

Mark A. Snell, retired US Army, is a retired professor of history and founding director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War, Shepherd University, in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. He has served as the National Chief Historian of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary since 2018. Snell is the author of many works on Civil War history, including West Virginia and the Civil War: Mountaineers Are Always Free and co-authored The Seventh West Virginia Infantry.Thad Allen, retired USCG, was 23rd Commandant of the US Coast Guard (2006-2010).

• Foreword, Admiral Thad Allen, Twenty-third Commandant of the U.S. Coast GuardPreface and AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: “In Spite of Foeman’s Might. . . Fr Showing How to Fight”: A Chronological Overview of the U.S. Coast Guard as a Combatant Force, 1917-19941, Mark A. SnellPart I: BeginningsPrologue: A Historical Overview of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, 1798-1898, C. Douglas Kroll1. “The Highest Traditions of Any Service"”: Thje U.S. Coast Guard’s Attempt to Save the British Collier Wellington, Robert Browning Jr.2. The Loss of the USS Tampa at Its Lasting Legacy, Nora Chidlow and Arlyn DanielsonPart II: Conflagration3. “Remember Pearl harbor”: The World War II Odyssey of the USCG Cutter Taney, Paul Cora4. “Bringing Home the Bacon”: The U.S. Coast Guard’s Participation in the Atlantic Convoy Operations of World War II, Scott Price5. Ice, Icebergs, and War: The U.S. Coast Guard in Greenland during World War II, Dennis L. Noble6. Naval Operating Base Cactus and Coast Guard Operations in the Battle for Guadalcanal, William Thiesen7. The Coast Guard and the Pacific War, Robert Browning Jr.8. “The Mission . . . Is to Put the Army on the Beach” USCG Flotilla 10 at Bloody Omaha, Mark A. Snell9. The Auxiliary at War, 1941-1945, John A. TilleyPart III: The Cold War and Beyond10. The Forgotten Service during the Forgotten War: The U.S. Coast Guard’s Role in the Korean Conflict, Scott Price11. Patrolling Inshore Waters from Demilitarized Zone to Qui Nhon, 1967-1968: A Memore, Paul C. Scotti12. To Patrol and Interdict: The USCG Cutter Taney in Operation Market Time, 1967-1970, Paul Cora13. “WarTime Usefulness . . . Is a By-Product of the Coast Guard” The Origins and Early History of the Coast Guard Reserve’ Port Security Units, John R. OlsonEpilogue: “He Gallantly Gave Up His Life”: Remembering and Memorializing the U.S. Coast Guard’s Wartime Service, Darin LenzContributorsGlossary of Nautical, Naval, and Coast Guard Terms and AcronymsAppendix: U.S. Vessel and Aircraft DesignationsIndex

"The history of America’s Coast Guard is filled with more heroes and heroism than most of the navies that ever sailed the seven seas. Snell’s work is informative, groundbreaking, and inspiring."—James Jay Carafano, vice president, Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy"There is no comparable anthology on the Coast Guard at war. The combination of general descriptive essays and more focused chapters on specific ships or campaigns make for intriguing and informative reading. Anyone who reads this book will come away with a broad knowledge of Coast Guard history and better appreciation for its activities during wartime."—Robert Wooster, retired Regents Professor of History at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and author of The United States Army and the Making of America: From Confederation to Empire, 1775–1903