[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 1928]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                    COAST GUARD CUTTER ``WOODRUSH''

 Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the men 
and women who have served aboard the United States Coast Guard Cutter 
Woodrush, WLB 407, homeported in Sitka, in my own state of Alaska.
  On March 2, 2001, the USCGC Woodrush will be decommissioned, 
departing for Baltimore, MD. There, she is to be transferred to the 
navy of the Republic of Ghana.
  Although she is the youngest of the 39 seagoing buoy tenders 
constructed during World War II, the Woodrush has logged nearly 57 
years of service to our nation.
  She was built for less than $1 million in Duluth, Minnesota, and 
commissioned on September 22, 1944. For thirty-five years she sailed 
from Duluth, servicing aids to navigation, conducting search and rescue 
missions, and icebreaking on the Great Lakes.
  In 1979, she began a major refit at the Coast Guard shipyard in 
Baltimore. She has been homeported in Sitka since leaving the shipyard 
in 1980.
  Woodrush's primary mission has been keeping aids to navigation in 
good condition. Her crew maintained 165 shore lights and 69 buoys 
throughout the 2,000 square-mile Southeastern Alaska panhandle. The 
work of the Woodrush has been crucial to the safety of the thousands of 
tugboats, fishing vessels, ferries, pleasure boats and cruise ships 
that navigate those sometimes treacherous waters each year.
  USCGC Woodrush also participated in several notable search and rescue 
missions. She was one of the first ships to arrive on the scene of the 
wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald in 1975, when the ore freighter went 
down with all hands in a violent storm on Lake Superior. Her sonar 
located two large pieces of wreckage, and she served as a platform for 
the U.S. Navy's Controlled Underwater Recovery Vehicle, which found the 
sunken hull.
  In 1980, Woodrush responded to the uncontrolled fire and eventual 
loss of the cruise ship Princendam off Graham Island, British Columbia. 
The efforts of Woodrush and her crew, as well as other rescue units, 
led to the successful rescue of all passengers and crew, with no loss 
of life.
  In August 1993, Woodrush assisted the 248-foot cruise ship, M/V 
Yorktown Clipper, after it ran aground. Woodrush crewmembers helped 
control the flooding and ensured that all 130 passengers were taken 
safely off the vessel.
  Not all of the crew's adventures were at sea. In the summer of 1994, 
personnel from Woodrush helped extinguish a dangerous fire in the small 
community of Tenakee, Alaska. Their efforts helped keep the fire from 
spreading out of control in the 30-knot winds.
  Protection of the environment is yet another of the Coast Guard's 
many missions. Over the years, Woodrush has contributed in many ways, 
including service as one of the numerous Coast Guard vessels that 
responded to the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound. 
Each year, the Woodrush crew has trained to handle future accidents. It 
is reassuring to know that their skills have not been needed to date, 
but even more so to know they have been, like the Coast Guard's motto, 
``Always Ready.''
  During her 57 years of service, the Woodrush and her crew earned 
several awards, including the Meritorious Unit Commendation, the 
American Campaign Service Ribbon, the World War II Service Ribbon, and 
the National Defense Medal. Woodrush was a Bronze Winner of the Coast 
Guard Commandant's Quality Award in both 1997 and 1998 and, in 1997, 
she also won the Coast Guard Foundation's Admiral John B. Hayes Award. 
The Hayes Award honors the Pacific Area unit that best demonstrates the 
commitment to excellence and professionalism embodied in the traditions 
of the United States Coast Guard.
  USCGC Woodrush will service her last aid to navigation on February 
27. To all the men and women who have served as her crew, I extend my 
thanks and appreciation. Your faithful attention to duty--guiding 
mariners to safety, aiding citizens in distress, and defending all the 
interests of the United States will be remembered. You have truly been 
Semper Paratus.

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