In September 1942, 75 Years ago at Guadalcanal, a young Coast Guard signalman, Douglas Munro from South Cle Elum, Washington, 100 miles from Seattle, was alerted that there were Marines trapped on the beach under withering enemy fire. In the true spirit of the Coast Guard he knew he had to go out. He would lead his small Coast Guard flotilla of landing craft to rescue the Marines. He had no assurance he would be coming back.
His last words remembered by his shipmate were “Did we get them off the beach?”
President Franklin D. Roosevelt presented Munro’s mother with Signalman Munro’s Medal of Honor the following year.
To this day Munro is the sole recipient of the Medal of Honor in the history of the Coast Guard.
Click on the image above to learn more about Signalman First Class Douglas Albert Munro.