ALCOAST 373/23 - OCT 2023 45TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LOSS OF USCGC CUYAHOGA

R 021502Z OCT 23   MID120000498268U
FM COMCOGARD FORCECOM NORFOLK VA
TO ALCOAST
BT
UNCLAS
ALCOAST 373/23
SSIC 5700
SUBJ: 45TH 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 45 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 Wednesday, October 18 OCS will host a ceremony at the Coast
Guard Academy campus chapel at 1000hrs. For further information,
please contact LT Michaela Hepler at (860) 701-6945 or
Michaela.M.Hepler@uscg.mil. On Friday, October 20, a ceremony will
take place on the grounds of Training Center Yorktown beginning at
1000hrs. For more information, please contact LT Michael Jenkins at
(757) 856-2614 or Michael.S.Jenkins@uscg.mil. A detailed history of
USCGC CUYAHOGA is available at:
(Copy and Paste URL Below into Browser)

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. POC: LCDR Laura McDonald, Training Center Yorktown Command
Planner, 757-856-2271, Laura.M.McDonald@uscg.mil.
11. RDML J. K. Randall, Commander, Force Readiness Command
(FC-C), sends.
12. Internet release is authorized.