The Claw of Knowledge

The Unwelcome Point Welcome loved her crew, and they loved her back. So much so that they gave her some ink. Serving in the rivers and shallows of Vietnam , Welcome and her crew were all each other had. So they would do anything for each other. Welcome had started her life the same as any Coast Guard patrol boat. She plied the waters of the Pacific Northwest in search of drunken boaters and sinking ships, never thinking she’d someday be sent away to war. But in 1965, everything changed. The U.S. had committed troops to Vietnam and now faced a growing insurgency in the South, fed by weapons smuggled down the coast in fishing boats. These boats would load themselves with several tons of guns and ammo and then – under cover of darkness – speed from international waters to the rivers and coves where they’d meet the Viet Cong.

I used to be in the Coast Guard, and no one thought we were dangerous. But that’s just a clever act we put on. Beneath our candy-coated (sometimes literally) exteriors beat the hearts of true warriors: an unstoppable force that’s scoured the seas since the days when sailors fought with sword and musket. We’ve been there in every war, in a hundred different capacities, with our unique weapons, brash ingenuity, and rare skillsets, to make sure the job got done and America stayed safe. To show you what I mean, I made another list. FIVE EVEN AWESOMER FACTS ABOUT THE COAST GUARD