ALCOAST 337/18 - OCT 2018 IN MEMORIAM—ETCM MELVIN KEALOHA BELL, USCG (RET)

R 010818 OCT 18
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-092//
TO ALCOAST
UNCLAS//N05700//
ALCOAST 337/18
COMDTNOTE 5700
SUBJ: IN MEMORIAM—ETCM MELVIN KEALOHA BELL, USCG (RET)
1. On September 9, 2018, Master Chief Melvin Kealoha Bell (USCG ret.) crossed
the bar at the age of 98. He was a patriot whose career in service of his country
spanned 65 years.
2. A native Hawai’ian, Bell was born in 1920, in the city of Hilo. In 1938, he
enlisted in the Coast Guard and began his career on board cutter TANEY as a mess
attendant, a rate commonly reserved for minorities at the time. In 1939, he struck
for the rate of radioman and on Sunday, December 7, 1941, the day the Japanese
attacked Pearl Harbor, he transmitted the first radio messages warning of the
enemy attack. For the rest of the war, Bell served in Naval Communications
Intelligence and helped break the Japanese Imperial Navy code leading to important
U.S. Naval victories, including defeat of the Japanese fleet at Midway Island in
June 1942. During his active-duty career, Bell blazed a trail for minorities in
the Service, especially Pacific-Island Americans. In November 1958, he became the
first master chief of his rate and the first minority master chief in the Coast Guard.
3. In 1959, after 20 years active duty, he retired and became a civilian employee of
the Coast Guard and, later, with the Department of the Navy working in the field of
submarine-launched ballistic missiles. In 2004, he retired at the age of 84 with a
combined record of 65 years military and civil service and he was recognized by
President George W. Bush for one of the longest terms of federal service in U.S.
history. Mr. Bell is survived by his beloved wife of 68 years, Norine Hamlin Bell,
as well as eight children, 27 grandchildren, 50 great-grandchildren and three
great-great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by son Melvin Kealoha Bell, Jr.
4. For more information on ETCM Bell’s life and career, see his story on Coast Guard
Compass at: http://coastguard.dodlive.mil/2018/09/tlbl-etcm-melvin-bell/
5. Master Chief Bell will be laid to rest with military honors at the National
Veterans Memorial Cemetery, in Riverside, CA, at 2:25pm on Monday, October 1, 2018.
6. RDML Melissa Bert, USCG, Director of Governmental & Public Affairs, sends.
7. Internet release authorized.