ALCOAST 388/20 - OCT 2020 42ND ANNIVERSARY OF THE LOSS OF USCGC CUYAHOGA

R 191700 OCT 20
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-092//
TO ALCOAST
UNCLAS //N05700//
ALCOAST 388/20
COMDTNOTE 5700
SUBJ:  42ND ANNIVERSARY OF THE LOSS OF USCGC CUYAHOGA
1. On October 20, 1978, USCGC CUYAHOGA (WIX-157) was underway in the Chesapeake Bay
near the mouth of the Potomac River on a nighttime training mission when it collided
with the 521-foot Argentine-flagged freighter M/V SANTA CRUZ II. The impact of the
collision was so devastating that USCGC CUYAHOGA sank in two minutes, taking 10 Coast
Guardsmen and an international officer with it. Eighteen crewmembers survived the
incident.
2. USCGC CUYAHOGA began its career chasing rumrunners during the Prohibition and then
served as the tender for the presidential yacht POTOMAC. During World War II, it spent
the majority of its time in the Caribbean Sea escorting Allied vessels between Guantanamo
Bay, Trinidad and Paramaribo. In the late 1950s, it became the training cutter for the
Officer Candidate School (OCS) in New London and moved to Yorktown with the OCS in 1959.
3. In 1977, the year before its loss, USCGC CUYAHOGA celebrated 50 years of commissioned
service. At that time, it was the oldest operational commissioned ship in the U.S.
sea services. At the time of its loss, USCGC CUYAHOGA was the last remaining cutter of
its class.
4. USCGC CUYAHOGA sinking – and the USCGC BLACKTHORN (WLB-391) collision and sinking 15
months later - resulted in improvements in Coast Guard cutter policy, doctrine, training
and standardization. The Service created the Prospective CO/XO Afloat Course, mandated
that all CO/XO/OODs pass the Deck Watch Officer Examination, required prospective CO/OINCs
to conduct underway familiarization rides, and promulgated the Commandant’s Cutter
Navigation Standards.
5. In the aftermath of the USCGC CUYAHOGA tragedy, the Service took vital steps to improve
safety in afloat operations, but tragedy should never serve as a catalyst for better
safety standards. Today, Service leaders at all levels are trained to mitigate risk
and ensure that Coast Guard operations are performed as safely as possible.
6. We honor the sacrifice of those Coast Guardsmen who perished aboard USCGC CUYAHOGA
over 40 years ago by adhering to the lessons learned from that tragedy, strengthened by
the knowledge that they did not die in vain.
7. Two ceremonies will be held to memorialize USCGC CUYAHOGA. On Monday, October 19,
OCS will host a ceremony on the campus of the Coast Guard Academy.
For further information, please contact LT Martin Betts at (504) 671-2157 or
“Martin.B.Betts@uscg.mil.” On Tuesday, October 20, a ceremony will take place on
the grounds of Training Center Yorktown. For more information, please contact LT
Samuel Guinn at (757) 856-2241, "Samuel.R.Guinn@uscg.mil." A detailed history of USCGC
CUYAHOGA is available at: https://www.forcecom.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/FORCECOM-UNITS/
TraCen-Yorktown/TCY-History/TCY-Cutters/USCGC-Cuyahoga/.
8. Please pause to reflect on our lost shipmates of USCGC CUYAHOGA and remember their
service to our nation.
9. Semper Paratus.
10. RDML Jon Hickey, Director of Governmental & Public Affairs, sends.
11. Internet release is authorized.