U.S. Coast Guard collections: Start

This collection includes an audio recording of a session in which a paper was presented on the Coast Guard's role in WWII.

homas W. Benham was an officer in the United States Revenue Service. In the 1880s, he served on several cutters operating in the North Pacific along the coast of Alaska and in the Bering Sea. This collection consists of seventy-three photographs primarily relating to Alaska and to the United States Revenue Cutter Service.

William Boardman served in the Coast Guard during World War II. The collection contains some materials related to his wartime training and service and correspondence about the Coast Guard dating from 1952 to 1954.

Lawrence J. (Larry) Eastman served aboard the U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender Bittersweet in the late 1940s and early 1950s.The collection consists of three photograph albums of black and white prints. Most photographs were taken by Larry Eastman while aboard the Bittersweet which was homeported at Kodiak, Alaska and served throughout the Aleutians and Bristol Bay. Subjects of the images include fellow servicemen, ships, ports, scenery, and work duties. Most of the photographs in this collection have been digitized and are available on the Alaska's Digital Archives (link to online content in the finding aid).

Pat Granade served in Alaska on the U. S. Coast Guard cutters Haida, Cyane, Tallapoosa, and Atalanta. From about 1931 to 1939, he served in Alaska on Bering Sea cruises from Seattle to Alaska including the Pribilof and Aleutian Islands, and was based in Unalaska. The collection consists of his photograph album.

The collection includes Margaret Hafemeister’s reminiscence, 16mm color motion picture film, and related video cassette tapes concerning the “Floating Court” trip she took in the summer of 1947 as a Welfare Representative to various villages and towns in Southern Alaska aboard the U.S.Coast Guard Cutter Wachusetts.

J. D. Hanson was a seaman on the U. S. Coast Guard Cutter Aurora, which served in Alaskan waters from 1942 to 1945. During World War II, the cutter was assigned to the Northwest Sea Frontier, stationed in Juneau, Alaska. The cutter was assigned to escort duty, leading convoys between Icy Straits, Yakutat, Seward, Alitak, Dutch Harbor, Chernofski, and Kodiak in 1942 as well as anti-submarine patrols in 1943. The collection consists of a photograph album which is a mix of commercial and personal photographs.

Christine Heller was a nutritionist and botanist. Her collection includes a journal and photographs from the 1948 summer trip aboard the Coast Guard cutter Northwind to various villages in Alaska.

Alan May was an amateur archeologist who served on Ales Hrdlicka's expeditions to the Aleutians in 1936-1938. Much of the expedition travel was aboard Coast Guard vessels. The collection includes Alan May's daily diaries with accompanying photographs from the trips.

During World War II, Clyde Medlin served in southeast Alaska in the U.S. Coast Guard. The collection consists of his photograph albums.

The SS Princess Kathleen was operated by the British Columbia Coast Steamship Service of Victoria, B.C. and sank off Lena Point, near Juneau on September 7, 1952. The collection includes correspondence sent to the Coast Guard.

Letter and photographs from a Coast Guard serviceman stationed in Ketchikan.

Scotch Cap Light was a lighthouse built in 1940 by the United States Coast Guard and located on Unimak Island, Alaska. On April 1, 1946, the lighthouse was destroyed by a tsunami caused by an earthquake centered south of Unimak Island. The tsunami completely destroyed Scotch Cap Light, and killed the five crewmembers stationed inside. This collection contains seven pages from a high frequency direction finder logbook kept at Scotch Cap Light radio direction finder station from March 27-31, 1946. The logbook records the time and place of the frequency as well as crew members on watch. These pages have been digitized and are available on the Alaska's Digital Archives (see link in finding aid).

The woman who created these photographs, whose first name was Anita, was a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Women’s Reserve, also known as the SPARs. In 1944-1945, she was stationed with other women reservists at the U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, 17th District in Ketchikan, Alaska. The collection consists of photographs.

Betzi and Lyman Woodman were Alaskan journalists and writers. This collection contains their research files and photographs relating to the history of the Coast Guard in Alaska.