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Remembrance & in memoriam

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REMEMBRANCE

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Presenting the Flag
Arlington National Cemetery Ministry Team
Where Valor Proudly Rest

Praying Hands

Hero’s Valor Prayer

U.S. Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard
Alexandria, VA
(2-1/2” W x 1-3/4” H)

U.S. Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard
Alexandria, VA

Honor Guard
Sector Jacksonville, FL

World War II Memorial
Washington, DC
In Memory of All Those That Served
1941 - 1945

The Day That Will Live in Infamy
December 7th, 1941
★ ★ ★
A Second Day That Will Live in Infamy
September 11th, 2001

The Final Salute
LCDR Louis A. Conter, USN (Ret.)
Survivor
USS ARIZONA (BB-39)
December 7, 1941

The observe side marks significant achievements in LCDR Conter’s career. As a Quartermaster Second Class, he was standing quarterdeck watch aboard the USS ARIZONA (BB-39) when Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941. Of the 1151 crewmen onboard, he was one of 334 survivors.

The reverse side shows LCDR Conter standing before and saluting the USS ARIZONA Memorial Wall while paying tribute to the final surviving member of the ship’s crew being returned to the USS ARIZONA,
CPO Lauren Bruner, who passed away on September 10, 2019. On December 7, 2019, LCDR Conter spoke at CPO Bruner’s internment. This would be the final internment that will ever take place aboard the ship.

In 2021 at the age of 100, LCDR Conter published his autobiography entitled The Lou Conter Story. Following the passing of Ken Potts in April 2023 at the age of 102, LCDR Conter became the last known survivor of the sinking of the USS ARIZONA. He passed away on 1 April 2024 also at the age of 102.

Korean War Memorial
Washington, DC
In Memory of All Those That Served
1950 - 1955

POW ★ MIA
You Are Not Forgotten

POW ★ MIA
Member of CWO Benjamin K. Humphreys
Memorial VFW Post 10223
10th Anniversary 1995 - 2005
South Korea

Lest We Forget
September 11, 2001

We Will Not Forget
September 11, 2001
Twin Towers of the World Trade Center
Lower Manhattan, NY

Attack on the Pentagon
September 11 2001
Witness

The Pentagon
Washington, DC
United In Memory ★ September 11, 2001

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IN MEMORIAM

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The Sinking of USCGC BLACKTHORN (WLB-291)
and the heroics of SA william R. “billy” flores

On the night of 28 January 1980, USCGC BLACKTHORN (WLB-291) was outbound from Tampa Bay, FL after completing an extensive overhaul at a local drydock.  At the same time, the tanker Capricorn was traveling with the right-of-way into the bay. BLACKTHORN’s Commanding Officer had departed the bridge to investigate an issue with a newly installed propulsion shaft.  A Junior Officer had the conn.  Just beforehand, the Russian passenger ship Kazakhstan had requested and overtaken BLACKTHORN.  Upon completion of the passing, BLACKTHORN resumed its original course in mid-channel. 

Shortly thereafter, Capricorn began to turn left; but this course would not allow Capricorn and BLACKTHORN to pass port-to-port as the rules of navigation normally required. After trying unsuccessfully to radio BLACKTHORN, Capricorn’s pilot blew two short whistle blasts to have the ships pass starboard-to-starboard. Despite evasive action by BLACKTHORN, a collision occurred. 

Damage to BLACKTHORN from the initial impact was not extensive. However, Capricorn's anchor was ready to be let go.  The anchor had become embedded in BLACKTHORN's hull, which ripped open the port side above the water line.  As the two ships backed away from each other, the chain became taut.  The force of the much larger ship pulling on it caused BLACKTHORN to tip on her side until she completely capsized.  Several crewmembers who had just reported aboard tried to egress and in the process were trapped in the engine room.  Sadly, 23 of the 50 crewmembers onboard perished.

Seaman Apprentice William R. “Billy” Flores had been out of boot camp for only a year and was serving at his first unit onboard BLACKTHORN.  After the collision and as BLACKTHORN began capsizing, Seaman Apprentice Flores opened the life jacket locker, secured it opened with his belt, and ensured as many shipmates as possible were able to access and use the life jackets.  He then remained onboard to help other crewmembers egress and also tend to the wounded.  Tragically, Seaman Apprentice Flores, aged 18,  was not himself able to escape.  However, his heroism directly contributed to saving the lives of countless crewmembers.

Seaman Apprentice Flores was posthumously awarded the Coast Guard medal in 2000, which is the Coast Guard's highest award for heroism during peacetime.  In October 2010, the Coast Guard announced that the third Sentinel-class cutter, a 154-foot patrol boat, would be named for Seaman Apprentice Flores. USCGC WILLIAM FLORES (WPC-1103) was commissioned on 3 November 2012 and is homeported in Miami Beach, FL.  In May 2021, Seaman Apprentice Flores, a New Mexico native, was awarded the State of Texas Legislative Medal of Honor for his heroic actions.

USCGC BLACKTHORN (WLB-391)
SA WILLIAM FLORES
NOV 6, 1961 ~ JAN 28, 1980
180’ Class C (Iris)-class Seagoing Buoy Tender
Commissioned: 27 March 1944
Decommissioned: 1980
Fate: Raised for the mishap investigation,
then scuttled in the Gulf of Mexico
as an artificial reef on 31 July 1981
(2-1/2” diameter)

USCGC WILLIAM FLORES (WPC-1103)

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CWO2 TIMOTHY A. HARRIS
9/18/1968 ~ 7/24/2001

Chief Warrant Officer Timothy A. Harris was murdered onboard Coast Guard Loran Station (LORSTA) St. Paul Island, AK, on 24 July 2001.  At the time, it was the first known homicide on Coast Guard property (ET1 James A. Hopkins and retired BMC Richard W.H. Belisle would be shot and killed on 12 April 2012 onboard Coast Guard Communications Station Kodiak, AK).  Chief Warrant Officer Harris had just received his commission as a Chief Warrant Officer on 1 June 2001 and assumed command of LORSTA St. Paul on 3 July 2001, approximately three weeks before his murder.  Carl Merculief Jr., 25, a resident of both St. Paul and Anchorage, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.  Merculief believed Chief Warrant Officer Harris was having an affair with his estranged wife.  He was found guilty of multiple charges, including first-degree murder, and sentenced to 99 years in prison.  The convictions were upheld by a Circuit Court of Appeals.  LORSTA St. Paul was decommissioned on 8 February 2010.

In Memory of CWO2 Timothy A. Harris

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DC3 NATHAN B. “NATE” BRUCKENTHAL
7/17/1979 ~ 4/24/2004

On 24 April 2004, Petty Officer Bruckenthal, assigned to Tactical Law Enforcement Team (TACLET) South, was killed in the line of duty while intercepting a waterborne suicide attack on an offshore oil terminal in the northern Persian Gulf.  At age 24, he was the first Coast Guard wartime casualty since the Vietnam War. Petty Officer Bruckenthal, a trained boarding team officer, was accompanied by one other Coast Guard member and five U.S. Navy sailors.  The boarding team embarked on a rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) in pursuit of a dhow (a lateen-rigged Arabian vessel) that had approached a Persian Gulf oil terminal.  As the boarding team prepared to board the dhow, an explosion was detonated.  Petty Officer Bruckenthal, along with two Navy petty officers, were killed. All of the other boarding team members survived.

Petty Officer Bruckenthal was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal w/Combat Distinguishing Device, the Purple Heart, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with Full Military Honors.

The USCGC NATHAN BRUCKENTHAL (WPC-1128), commissioned on 25 July 2018 and homeported in Atlantic Beach, NC, is the 28th Fast Response Cutter (FRC) of the Sentinel-class cutters and is named in honor of Petty Officer Bruckenthal.

USCGC NATHAN BRUCKENTHAL (WPC-1128)

USCGC NATHAN BRUCKENTHAL (WPC-1128)

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PS3 ronald a. “ronnie” gill jr.
7/21/1980 ~ 3/25/2007

PS3 Ronald A. Gill Jr. was killed in the line of duty on Sunday, 25 March 2007, while conducting harbor safety and security operations north of Vashon Island in Puget Sound, WA.  A Reservist serving on active duty at the time of the mishap,  Petty Officer Gill was a member of Maritime Safety and Security Team (MSST) 91111 deployed from Anchorage, AK to Seattle, WA when he was ejected from a 25-foot Defender Class Boat.  Despite swift and valiant lifesaving efforts, Petty Officer Gill sadly succumbed to his injuries. 

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RADM Bennett S. “Bud” Sparks, USCGR (Ret.)
10 october 1925 ~ 22 May 2009

RADM Bennett S. “Bud” Sparks was born on 10 October 1925 and joined the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve in December 1942, attending recruit training at Manhattan Beach, NY.  Upon completion of boot camp, he ascended rapidly through the enlisted ranks to Chief Petty Officer.  During World War II, he served as a combat air crewman aboard a variety of Coast Guard aircraft in the Pacific, Atlantic, and European theaters, flying both anti-submarine and search & rescue missions.  After the war ended, he transferred to the regular Coast Guard and, in 1957, he received a field promtion to Ensign.  As a pilot, he flew as both a Coast Guard and civilian aviator in Alaska on mapping missions for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (which eventually became part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA) in 1970).

From 1966 to 1989, RADM Sparks commanded nine consecutive units that included four Coast Guard units, three Coast Guard Groups, and two U.S. Navy Maritime Defense Zone Sectors. He also served as an Eleventh Coast Guard District Inspector and as the Senior Reserve Officer for both the Coast Guard Pacific and Atlantic Areas.  RADM Sparks retired from the Coast Guard Reserve in July 1989 at 47 years of service.

RADM Sparks became the first Coast Guardsman to serve as President of the Reserve Officers Association (ROA) (now known at the Reserve Organization of America).  From 1988-1991, he served as the National Deputy Executive Director of the ROA, with the additional duties as Director of Administration and Director of Finance.  RADM Sparks also served as Chief of the United States delegation to the Inter-Allied Confederation of Reserve Officers (CIOR) at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.  In 1992, he was appointed a International Secretary General of CIOR, a position open to the United States only every 24 years.  RADM Sparks was the first Coast Guard officer to ever hold an international position in the CIOR.

The Total Force Award, in 1993, was renamed the RADM Bennett S. “Bud” Sparks Total Force Award in his honor.  This award is presented annually by the ROA to the Coast Guard unit deemed to be the most supportive of a fully integrated Coast Guard force exhibited by its effective use of Coast Guard Reservists.

RADM Sparks passed away on 22 May 2009 at the age of 83.  He was laid to rest with Full Military Honors at Shiloh Cemetery in Windsor, CA, next to his wife of over 60 years, Elizabeth “Betty” Sparks, who predeceased him on 28 October 2005 also at the age of 83.

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MID-AIR COLLISION OF COAST GUARD CG-1705
29 OCTOBER 2009

On 29 October 2009, CG-1705, a Lockheed HC-130H Hercules from Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento, CA, and a Bell AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter from U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, CA, collided in mid-air 15 miles east of San Clemente Island off the coast of San Diego, CA.  CG-1705 was on a Search and Rescue mission to search for a sailboat in distress, while the Super Cobra was on a separate training flight.  CG-1705 was carrying a crew of seven and the Cobra a crew of two.  Tragically, there were no survivors.  USCGC EDISTO, USCGC PETREL, USCGC BLACKFIN, and two Sikorsky CH-53E helicopters were sent to search the area.  USCGC BLACKTIP, USCGC GEORGE COBB & USCGC JARVIS later joined the search.

On 1 November 2009, the search for survivors was terminated after 644 square miles of ocean were searched.  The search and rescue efforts were then converted to a search and recovery operation.  All nine crewmembers involved in the mishap, including seven aboard CG-1705 and two aboard the Marine Super Cobra, were presumed dead.

The crew of CG-1705 was LCDR Che Barnes of Capay, CA, pilot; LT Adam Bryant of Crewe, VA, co-pilot; AMTC John Seidman of Carmichael, CA, flight engineer; AET2 Carl P. Grigonis of Mayfield Heights, OH, navigator; AET2 Monica L. Beacham of Decaturville, TN, radio operator; AMT2 Jason S. Moletzsky of Norristown, PA, air crew; and AMT3 Danny R. Kreder II, of Elm Mott, TX, dropmaster.

In Memory of the Crew of
Coast Guard CG-1705

CG-1705

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et1 james A. hopkins
4/17/1970 ~ 4/12/2012
~~~~~~~~~
bmc richard w.h. belisle
11/30/1960 ~ 4/12/2012

ET1 James Hopkins (age 41) and retired BMC Richard Belisle (age 51) were shot and killed on 12 April 2012 while working onboard Coast Guard Communications Station Kodiak, AK.  BMC Belisle was a civilian employee in the rigging shop at the facility.  A co-worker, James Wells, was arrested and convicted of the murders by a jury trial in 2014.  However, the case was reversed for retrial by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in December 2017.  After a three-week retrial that ended in October 2019, a federal jury quickly convicted Wells of two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of murder of an officer or employee of the United States, and two counts of possession and use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.  Upon appeal, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in December 2022 upheld Wells’ murder convictions.  Therefore, the sentence of life imprisonment remained in place.  He is serving the sentence at the U.S. Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility - Florence in Fremont County, Colorado.

In Memory of ET1 James Hopkins ● BMC Richard Belisle (Ret)

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BMCS TERRELL E. HORNE III
10/26/78 ~ 12/2/2012

Senior Chief Petty Officer Horne, while serving as the Executive Petty Officer of USCGC HALIBUT (WPB-87340), was killed in the line of duty while leading a boarding team in counter-smuggling operations near Santa Cruz Island, California.

In the early hours of 2 December 2012, HALIBUT  launched its rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) to investigate an unlit vessel loitering in the area. With Senior Chief Horne aboard, the RHIB ordered the vessel to heave to and prepare for boarding. Ignoring these commands, the veseel instead rapidly accelerated directly towards them. With a collision unavoidable, Senior Chief Horne, disregarding his own safey to protect one of his crew, forcibly pushed the coxswain away from the helm, which directly exposed himself to the oncoming vessel. The violent impact of the collision caused him to fall into the water. Despite immediate recovery and first aid efforts, he later succumbed to severe head injuries.  He was the first Coastguardsman murdered in the line of duty since 1927.

Senior Chief Horne was posthumously awarded the Coast Guard Medal for heroism. A Chief Petty Officer at the time of his death, he was also posthumously advanced to Senior Chief Petty Officer.

Two illegal aliens onboard the smuggler's vessel were soon taken into custody. In February 2014, one of the subjects was convicted of murder, and both subjects were convicted of other charges connected with the incident.

The USCGC TERRELL HORNE (WPC-1131), commissioned on 22 March 2019 and homeported in San Pedro, CA, is the 31st Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutter (FRC) and named in honor of Senior Chief Horne.

USCGC TERRELL HORNE (WPC-1131)

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USCGC INGHAM (WPG/WAGC/WHEC-35)
327’ Treasury-class High-Endurance Cutter
Commissioned: 12 September 1936
Decommissioned: 27 May 1988
The MOST Decorated Vessel in the Coast Guard fleet
The ONLY Coast Guard Cutter afloat today to receive two Presidential Unit Citations
for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy
ADM Robert J. Papp, Jr., while Commandant of the Coast Guard, declared INGHAM the
National Memorial to Coast Guardsmen Killed in Action in World War II and Vietnam
These 912 casualties are identified on a memorial plaque on INGHAM’s quarterdeck
INGHAM was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1992
Presently a Museum Ship at the USCGC INGHAM Memorial Museum in Key West, FL

USCGC INGHAM (WHEC-35)
Memorial Museum
Key West, FL

USCGC INGHAM (WHEC-35)

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Bobba “Mr. Sweet” Lafferty
In Memory of Robert S. Lafferty, Jr.
21 January 1935 ~ 7 December 2018
(Served on active duty in the Coast Guard for 7 years
after enlisting and attending Officer Candidate School)

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Lois Bouton
”The Coast Guard Lady”
100th Birthday Celebration
21 September 2019
(Serial #050)
(3” H x 2-3/8” W)

Lois Corinne Guenette "The Coast Guard Lady" Bouton of Rogers, AR, enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard Women's Reserve (SPARs) in August 1943.  As a radio operator, she was assigned to Coast Guard Radio Station Cape May, NJ, with subsequent duty at an air station, and finally at the Coast Guard District Office in Philadelphia, PA.  In November 1945, she was discharged from the SPARs as a Radioman Third Class.

After the war ended, Lois and her husband lived briefly in Waukegan, IL, and then moved to Zion, IL. She taught in Little Beach/Beach School (now known as Howe Elementary School).  She taught primarily first graders and retired from teaching after 30 years in 1972.  In 1974, the Boutons moved to Rogers, AR, where she lived the rest of her life.

Lois’ love for the Coast Guard continued as she visited several Coast Guard units throughout the country in her many travels.  She began writing letters of support to members of the Coast Guard community (active, reserve, retired, civilian, auxiliary, and family members).  And, it was from that Lois became known as "The Coast Guard Lady."  She wrote an estimated 100,000 letters throughout the rest of her life. 

Her loyal letter writing over the years brought Lois many honors and personal visits from Coast Guard personnel including present and former Commandants and Master Chief Petty Officers of the Coast Guard.  Prospective Chief Petty Officers from the St. Louis, MO, area would pay her a birthday visit each year as part of their indoctrination to the Chief Petty Officers corps.  Lois received the Coast Guard Distinguished Public Service Award, and the Department of Defense presented her with the Spirit of Hope Award.  Lois’ most prized honor was receiving the rank as "Honorary Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard."

Lois was a 75-year member of Illinois American Legion Post 1122 that she helped charter in 1947.  She was also a charter member of the U.S. Lighthouse Society that began in 1984.  Lois also served over 20 years with the Coast Guard Auxiliary Beaver Lake Flotilla in Northwest Arkansas and was awarded the honor as an “Honorary Commodore.”

Sadly, Lois passed away on 29 January 2022 at age 102.  She was laid to rest with Full Military Honors.

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