[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 23, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E460]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING THE PASSING OF A DISTINGUISHED COAST GUARD VETERAN, LT HERBERT 
                         COLLINS, USCG RETIRED

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 23, 2010

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I take this opportunity to honor the 
service of Lieutenant Herbert Collins, a retired Coast Guard officer, 
who passed away on March 14, 2010 at the age of 89.
  Lieutenant Herbert Collins was the last surviving member of the Coast 
Guard's Life Boat Station Pea Island, which was the first and only 
station manned by an all African American crew. This station was in 
service from 1880 to 1947 and was originally part of the U.S. Life 
Saving Service until it merged with the Revenue Cutter Service in 1915, 
creating the U.S. Coast Guard. Members of the Pea Island Life Saving 
Station performed many heroic rescues and saved countless lives off the 
Outer Banks of North Carolina during the Station's 67 year existence.
  Lieutenant Collins enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1939 and during his 
30-year career he was promoted through the ranks to chief boatswain's 
mate, then to chief warrant officer and eventually to the rank of 
lieutenant.
  During his career, Lieutenant Collins served on five Coast Guard 
Cutters and in a number of shore assignments, including two tours at 
the Pea Island Life Saving Station. In 1947, Lieutenant Collins served 
as Officer-in-Charge of the Coast Guard Station Oregon Inlet in 1947 
and then later decommissioned Coast Guard Station Pea Island. 
Lieutenant Collins retired from the Coast Guard in 1976.
  Lieutenant Collins was the last surviving member of the Pea Island 
Life Saving Station. Additionally, with his passing, another legacy 
ends as his family held the record for the longest continuous service 
with the Coast Guard dating back to his grandfather, Joseph H. Berry, 
who entered the Life Saving Service in 1880.
  Lieutenant Collins, I wish you fair winds and following seas.

                          ____________________