Current US Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) TAMPA
Image:Public Domain
The Coast Guard (CG) has a dynamic and rich organizational history.It currently consists of approximately 41,000 active duty and 6,000 reserve component men and women.As one of the six Armed Services of the United States (under law),it must keep itself prepared to defend the nation in any conflict or war.In WWI,in addition to its peacetime roles (e.g.,maritime law enforcement and Search and Rescue)and coastal defence,the CG participated in convoy escort,and port security operations. Approximately 9,000 CG men and women served in this war.
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USCG Captain of the Port, New York during WWI
Image: USCG Historian's Office
During WWII,the service added maritime reconnaissance,troop transport and amphibious operations to its repertoire.As a temporary US Navy active force,the CG reached its all time high of 170,000 personnel.A total of 250,000 men and women served over the course of WWII.One thousand nine hundred and seventeen (1,917) of its members did not return.In fact,the CG’s only Medal of Honor winner,Signalman First Class (SM1/E-6),was posthumously awarded the nation’s highest award for valor at Guadalcanal in 1942.The CG also participated in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro
Image: CMOH Society
https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/douglas-a-munro
SM1 Munro Covers the Withdrawal of the 7th Marines at Guadalcanal
Painting by Bernard D'Andrea/USCG Collection
A CG Landing Craft;Infantry (LCI) disembarks troops at Omaha Beach,D-Day, 6 June 1944
Image: USCG Historian’s Office
Image: Vietnam Veterans of America
USCGC TAMPA in WWI
TAMPA anchored off Gibraltar
Image: USCG Historian’s Office
Crew of the USCGC TAMPA
Image: USCG Historian’s Office
**Note:While under the operational control of the Navy,the USCGC TAMPA was known as the U.S.S.TAMPA**
During WWI,Squadron 3 of Division 6 of the Atlantic Fleet Patrol Forces was based in Gibraltar.The Squadron consisted of USCG cutters TAMPA, SENECA, YAMACRAW, OSSIPEE, ALGONQUIN and MANNING.Their job was to protect convoys from German submarine attacks while they transited to the United Kingdom (UK) from Gibraltar.
On 26 September 1918,having just completed its 19th convoy escort,the TAMPA sailed alone through the Bristol Channel toward the Welsh port of Milford Haven to replenish and resupply.On this date (that evening),the cutter had the misfortune of being located by German U-Boat UB-91.The sub fired a torpedo from 1,800 feet,hitting the TAMPA amidships.The ship sank in 3 minutes.There were no survivors.A total of 131 men lost their lives – 111 Coast Guardsmen, 4 US Navy men, 11 members of the Royal Navy,and five civil employees.A post-attack search noted only finding a few pieces of wreckage and two unidentifiable bodies in Naval uniforms.Only two additional bodies eventually washed ashore.
Painting by John D. Wisinski, USCG of the sinking of USS TAMPA
Image: US Coast Guard Collection
Framingham’s Seaman Michael Sarkin and CGC TAMPA
At the time of its sinking,Seaman Michael Sarkin of Framingham (Morton Street) was aboard the ship.He is believed to have been born in Russia around 1892,making him 25 years old at the time of his death.His name is on the Tablet of the Missing in Brookwood American Cemetery in Brookwood,England.It is also on the USCG TAMPA Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery.
USCG Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery
Image: Public Domain
Image: American Battle Monuments Commission
On November 11, 1999,the Secretary of Transportation and Commandant of the Coast Guard presented the Purple Heart Medal to the Officers and Crew of the Coast Guard Cutter TAMPA,who accepted the medal on behalf of their fallen comrades.The same year,the CG Historian’s Office started a project designed to ensure all crewmembers of the cutter received their Purple Heart.Approximately 50 medals have been awarded;84 remain unclaimed.CG HQ is still working to find a living relative of Michael Sarkin.He is believed to have had a sister who also lived in Framingham and was employed by R.H. Long Manufacturing.
This placard is the only verified artifact from the TAMPA
Image:National Coast Guard Museum
Sources and Additional Information
“Report of the Commission on Massachusetts' Part in the World War” by the Commission on Massachusetts' Part in the World War,Jesse F. Stevens, 1929
The CG Historian’s Office (https://www.history.uscg.mil)
The National CG Museum (https://nationalcoastguardmuseum.org/)
“The Fighting Coast Guard, America’s Maritime Guardians at War in the Twentieth Century,” edited by Mark A. Snell, 2022
Video
The USCG in the Great War;USCGC TAMPA https://youtu.be/sfohWGHj0XY?feature=shared
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