![]() ![]() It was airman like Gus Grissom and Buzz Aldrin, who traded their saber jets for rockets to the stars. It was airman, Chuck Yeager who first broke the sound barrier. More than 300 airmEn gave their lives to destroy the enemy oil refineries and five pilots were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for their actions in that single raid. 177 liberator bombers flew dangerously low through broad daylight without fighter protection to cripple the Nazi war machine at. And as President Roosevelt said, the Nazis built a fortress around Europe, but they forgot to put a roof on it. We wouldn’t let it happen.Īfter Pearl Harbor, Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle and his Raiders flew B-25 bombers off a carrier deck in the deep Pacific in a daring feat of American resolve. ![]() He was proven right when empires across the oceans tried to carve up the world for themselves and America stood in the way. General Billy Mitchell saw the promise of this technology and risked court martial in his quest for an independent air force. In World War I, our fly boys rushed the skies of Europe and aces like Eddie Rickenbacker filled hearts and headlines with tales of daring duels in the clouds. ![]() Just six years later, America was training its first pilots to take these magnificent machines up and over the field of battle. On a cold December morning in 1903, a miracle occurred over the dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina when two bicycle makers from Ohio defied gravity with a 12-horsepower engine, wings made of cotton and just a few dollars in their pockets. Representing the Coast Guard today, you will soon see an HH60 Jayhawk helicopter based at Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater along with an HH65 Dolphin from Air Station Atlantic City and an HC144 Ocean Century from Air Station Miami. These guardians of our waters stand: Semper Paratus. When the red racing stripes of a coast guard vessel break the horizon, when their chopper blades pierce the sky, those in distress know that the help is on their way and our enemies know their time has come. Their sharpshooters take out smuggler’s engines with a single shot. They secure our borders from drug runners and terrorists in rough seas at high speeds. Coasties plunge from helicopters and barrel through pouring rain and crashing waves to save American lives. Every coastguardsman is trusted to put service before all. ![]()
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