[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 127 (Friday, July 26, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1003]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





   RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF DIVERSE U.S. COAST GUARD SERVICE 
            MEMBERS ON THE U.S. COAST GUARD'S 229TH BIRTHDAY

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                          HON. J. LUIS CORREA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 26, 2019

  Mr. CORREA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to join me in recognizing the U.S. Coast Guard on its 
upcoming 229th birthday on August 4, 2019. In honor of this significant 
occasion, I would like to particularly recognize the contributions of 
Coast Guard men and women from diverse and underrepresented 
communities. They have fought for our country in times of war and 
rescued thousands in time of peace. ``Semper Paratus'' is the U.S. 
Coast Guard motto, and regardless of the day, time, or crisis, they 
have always been ready.
  Such U.S. Coast Guard members include James Leftwich, a member of the 
Chickasaw nation. In 1943, Mr. Leftwich enlisted in the U.S. Coast 
Guard. He was 14 years of age and the youngest enlistee. Two years 
later, he was wounded at the Battle of Eniwetok. Mr. Letwich recovered 
and continued to serve in the U.S. Coast Guard until 1964.
  Master Chief Melvin Kealoha Bell, a native Hawaiian, joined the Coast 
Guard in 1938. Stationed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Mr. Bell 
transmitted the first radio message warning vessels and military 
institutions of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He then served as a member 
of the Navy's Fleet Radio Unit Pacific and helped break the secret 
Japanese Imperial Navy code that led to U.S. Navy victories in the 
Pacific.
  Myrtle Rae Holthaus Hazard Gambrill was the first woman to serve on 
active duty in the U.S. Coast Guard. She joined on January 7, 1918, 
before women could vote. Ms. Gambrill served as an electrician at Coast 
Guard headquarters and was honorably discharged in November 1919.
  Olivia Hooker, Dorothy Winifred Byrd, Julia Watson Mosley Shields, 
Aileen Anita Cooke Moore, and Yvonne Cumberbatch were the first five 
African-American women to serve as Coast Guard service members during 
World War II, as part of the ``Semper Paratus, Always Ready'' (SPARs) 
program. Dr. Hooker was the first one in this group to enlist in the 
U.S. Guard in February 1945, and she was one of the last known 
survivors of the Tulsa race riots of 1921 .
  Their sister SPARs included other trailblazers: Cuban-American Mary 
Rivero and Filipina-American Florence Finch Smith. Ms. Smith joined the 
SPARs after surviving torture and incarceration at the hands of the 
Japanese during the occupation of the Philippines.
  Admiral Vivian Crea, former Vice Commandant, is the highest-ranking 
woman in Coast Guard history. Admiral Crea joined the service in 1973, 
and in 2000, she became the first female Admiral in the U.S. Coast 
Guard. Admiral Crea was selected as Vice Commandant in 2006.
  Master Chief Vince Patton became the highest ranking African-American 
Coast Guard enlisted member when he was selected in 1998 to be the 
Eighth Master Chief Petty Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard. He was the 
senior enlisted advisor on workforce and personnel issues.
  Henry Garcia, born in Puerto Rico, became the first underrepresented 
minority to receive an officer's commission in 1928. Ten years later in 
1938, he took command of the Coast Guard Cutter Morris and became the 
first Hispanic-American to command a Coast Guard cutter.
  In 1991, Katherine Faverey took command of Coast Guard Cutter 
Bainbridge Island, becoming the first Hispanic-American woman to 
command a cutter.
  Happy birthday, U.S. Coast Guard. You consist of a diverse group of 
men and women, and your diversity has been essential to your success.

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