The sixth Coast Guard National Security Cutter will be christened Saturday at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Miss., honoring the only Coastie to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.
The 418’x54’x22’6” Munro will be christened by ship sponsor Julie Sheehan, great-niece of Signalman 1st Class Douglas A. Munro, who died in
Douglas A. Munro. USCG photo. fighting at Guadalcanal Sept. 27, 1942.
Munro, a 22-year-old from South Cle Elum, Wash., was operating an early version of the famed World War II Higgins boat landing craft developed by New Orleans industrialist Andrew Jackson Higgins. Based on the 1930s Eureka-class of workboats Higgins built for use in the Gulf coastal wetlands, the first 36’x10’ versions used in the Guadalcanal campaign had stout, scow-like bows for running up on beaches, and mounts for a pair of .30-caliber machine guns.
According to accounts of the action, Munro led a detachment of 10 boats to land Marines on an island beach. As the Higgins boats rendezvoused after the landing, Munro learned the Marines were under attack by a much larger than expected Japanese force, and needed to be extracted immediately. He volunteered to take the boats back.
Douglas A. Munro covers the withdrawal of the 7th Marines at Guadalcanal by artist Bernard D’Andrea for the Coast Guard Bicentennial Celebration. Image courtesy USCG.“Commanding the rescue expedition, he brought the boats inshore under heavy enemy fire and proceeded to evacuate the Marines still on the beach,” according to one narrative. “Though the majority of the Marines had been loaded into the boats, the last remaining elements of the rear guard were having difficulty embarking.” Munro maneuvered his remaining boats in close to the beach, as his gunners laid down covering fire for the last Marines. In the firefight, Munro was fatally wounded. His last words to his crewmates are part of Coast Guard lore: “Did they get off?”
The Saturday christening will feature a keynote address by Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft, and be attended by Julie Sheehan, Ingalls president Brian Cuccias, the Munro’s shipbuilders, and its prospective commanding officer Capt. Thomas King.
NSC-class cutters are replacing the 378’ high endurance cutters that date back to the 1960s. The new ships are designed for patrol cycles of 60 to 90 days, with command, control and communication capabilities to coordinate complex law enforcement and defense missions with other federal agencies and the military. With their long-range, over the horizon Interceptor-II and Horizon-IV cutter boats, NSCs have played a key role in recent high-seas drug interceptions, capturing both surface and semisubmersible smuggling vessels.
