The Lakeshore Guardian is proud to introduce a new series honoring our service men and women, both past and present. Over time, some of these stories will lead you through eras of peace and others may take you to the front line. Many of us in these United States enjoy freedoms men and women in other countries cannot even visualize. Through this series, The Lakeshore Guardian will pay tribute to all those in every branch of the Armed Forces who have done their part to protect our country and preserve our freedom. We will begin with the United States Coast Guard.

The United States Coast Guard was formed to unite several Federal maritime agencies. These agencies included the Revenue Cutter Service, the Lighthouse Service, the Steamboat Inspection Service, the Bureau of Navigation and the Lifesaving Service. These agencies were originally independent, but they were finally united under the umbrella of the Coast Guard.

Furthermore, President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill into law on January 18, 1915, which stated the Coast Guard should constitute a part of the military forces of the United States. Originally, it was determined the Coast Guard would operate under the Treasury Department in times of peace, and it would operate as part of the United States Navy in times of war, or whenever the President directed. In 2003, leadership was transferred from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Homeland Security.

One of the Coast Guard's early functions was its aid to navigation. The administration of lighthouses bounced from the Treasury Department to the Commerce Department and was finally transferred to the Coast Guard in 1939. Prior to World War II, the Coast Guard's primary mission was to intercept contraband.

The Coast Guard was ordered to operate as part of the Navy on November 1, 1941. The Coast Guard has traditionally performed two roles in wartime. The first has been to augment the Navy with men and cutters. The second has been to undertake special missions. During the war, Coast Guard-manned ships sank 11 enemy submarines. During World War II, the Coast Guard was charged with developing the helicopter for anti-submarine warfare. The Coast Guard trained all helicopter pilots, both British and American. After the war, the helicopter continued to aid the Coast Guard as a valuable aid in search and rescue. Following the war, the Coast Guard's responsibilities shifted to focus on safety at sea and aiding navigation.

Although young men were continually being drafted to keep America's military strong, the Coast Guard did not draft its recruits. Rather, they required their men to be a cut above, and many answered the challenge, ready to follow stringent regulations.

Dick Purdy was earning a fair wage at the Huron Milling Company in Harbor Beach when he received his draft notification. The year was 1952, and the Korean War was well underway. In no time at all Dick found himself bound for the recruiting office located in Detroit where he underwent an Army physical. At the suggestion of his father, Dick decided instead to pursue serving his time in the United States Coast Guard. The Coast Guard was a difficult branch to get into, but much to his father's satisfaction, Dick managed to do so.

At just 19 years of age, Dick traveled by train to New Jersey. Never having been away from home before, it was understandable this young recruit was a bit scared and apprehensive, wondering what might happen next. As the scenery flew by his train car in a blur, he tried to mentally prepare himself for the trials and tribulations he would surely endure at boot camp.

According to The Bluejackets' Manual, a book each recruit would soon know better than the back of his hand, all enlisted men entering the Navy for the first time must complete recruit training. Recruit training consisted of approximately 12 weeks of boot camp followed by 2 weeks' leave. Recruit training established a foundation in the basic skills and knowledge of Naval Service and gave all men in the Coast Guard and Navy a common background regardless of how different their subsequent duties may be.

Boot camp was filled with new experiences and challenges almost daily. The men continually conditioned their minds and pushed their bodies until they were fit and strong. After the successful completion of boot camp and a little well-deserved time off, it was time for the recruits to learn more about the skills they would need to specifically handle their duties.

This phase of the recruits' training was termed primary training, and it consisted of practical or in-service training for everyone and formal schooling as necessary. Because Dick was going to be learning all the ins and outs of Maintenance and Repair, he and his new bride, Shirley, then traveled to a naval base in Connecticut where he would undergo four months of schooling. All that studying required a lot of energy, but the recruits soon found out sometimes the food left a bit to be desired. Those individuals who failed a particular task were often sent to the galley to do the cooking, and with little or no skills in the kitchen, the end result was often less than appealing!

After four months of study, the recruits had learned all they could about their area of expertise through books; it was finally time to go to work. Dick had listed three choices of where he would like to be stationed: Alaska, Hawaii, and the 9th District, which included the Great Lakes region.

Before long Dick received word he was being transferred to Sault Ste. Marie where he would be working at a Maintenance and Repair Station, a station that serviced the entire Upper Peninsula. Happy he was returning to Michigan, Dick and his wife made the necessary preparations for the trip.

Just before Christmas, they arrived at New York's Grand Central Station where they would have to occupy themselves for four long hours while they awaited the train, which would take them on the next leg of their journey. The newly married couple watched in awe and wonder as every 10 minutes a train would come in and 2000 people would scurry around like ants. Everything they owned they were carrying in their two suitcases, and since there were no lockers or seats available, Dick and Shirley took turns sitting on their luggage so the other could explore a bit. It was an incredible experience they would never forget.

Dick spent the next two years stationed at the Soo, traveling from station to station, mostly through Lake Superior, honing his skills along the way. Dick and his co-workers repaired facilities in the summer and ships during the winter months. Ships in need of repair or construction work were a priority, because the Coast Guard recognized the importance of a top-notch fleet.

In two years' time, Dick was notified he would be transferred to Cheboygan, home port of the Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw - the largest icebreaker on the Great Lakes. The Mackinaw's history is as rich as it is long, and her story begins in 1944. In the throes of World War II, businesses along the Great Lakes' shoreline worked furiously to support the war effort. Timely shipments of raw steel necessary to build components for ships, tanks and aircraft were essential. Likewise shipments of coal were necessary to fuel the mills to produce the steel. However, there was one major complication: Ice.

Commodities had to be transported through narrow bodies of water from one of the Great Lakes to the next, passages where ice quickly formed. Boats bound for Lake Michigan had to pass through the Straits of Mackinaw, and those bound for Lake Superior had to travel first through the St. Mary's River. Ice could easily slow or halt freighters and their very important cargo. Because the War Department recognized how valuable industry was in supporting the war effort, funds were quickly appropriated for the construction of a heavy icebreaker built specifically for the Great Lakes. (The Soo Locks had a lock 78 feet wide.)

The Mackinaw's main function was to break up the ice, so other ships could get through. At 75 feet wide and 290 feet long, she was equipped with 12,000 horse power, enough power to easily propel her through two feet of solid ice at four miles per hour. (The Mackinaw was designed to be able to continuously move through ice three feet thick at a speed of three knots or almost three and a half miles per hour.) She made a lot of noise and vibration as her three propellers, two aft and one forward, slammed through the ice all day long. Six Fairbanks Morse diesel engines each drove three generators; the generators in turn supplied power to three electric motors, which turned the shaft and propellers of the ship.

Dick worked in the area of Damage Control and according to the Bluejackets' manual, Damage Controlmen were assigned to all but the smallest ships and were specialists in theory, techniques, skills and equipment of fire fighting, chemical warfare, carpentry, painting and general damage control. These men were responsible for maintaining and repairing damage control equipment as well.

The Mackinaw's crew roughly totaled 100 men; many lived right on the boat. Those men with wives and families, however, didn't have to live on the Mackinaw when she was in port. Dick and his wife chose to live in an apartment just five blocks away from port. Every third night he had duty, though, so on those nights he called the Mackinaw home.

The ice breaking season generally began during the first week in March, and the Mac and her crew usually stayed out on the lakes for six consecutive weeks or until the ice was gone, perhaps returning to port just once during the ice breaking season should there be a need to do so.

The Mac usually began breaking ice in the shipping channels of Superior, specifically the St. Mary's River. But, the mighty Mac would go wherever there was a need, traveling once down to the St. Clair River where an ice jam was impeding boat traffic.

During this time period, the Mackinaw was often used to tow freighters as well. The lake freighters were equipped with neither the horsepower nor the steel front end to easily maneuver through the icy channels, and as a result they would often stall in icy conditions. The Mac had a "V" notched into her stern, which would accommodate the bow of another ship. Should a freighter stall, the most powerful ice breaker on the Great Lakes would rush to her aid, breaking a path of ice as she went. Equipped with a large towing winch below the stern deck, the freighter would be pulled into the "V", and the two boats would proceed together.

There were other ice breakers on the lakes as well. Buoy tenders were numerous, and they fell under the classification of an ice breaker. Two were stationed at the Soo, and these buoy tenders were used as ice breakers in the harbors and smaller areas. However, they could never handle the ice the Mackinaw could.

The Mackinaw's crew typically worked a normal eight-hour day, but before each day began, the men sat down to a hearty breakfast served at tables in the mess deck, located on the main deck just aft of the stack. The food was very good, and the men ate their fill of bacon, eggs, pancakes, sausage and toast. Of course, in such frigid temperatures, steaming hot coffee was a mainstay and readily available throughout the day.

The two men in Damage Control would receive their work orders and perform maintenance jobs accordingly throughout the day. Damage Controlmen were trained to fix whatever needed fixing, whether it was a malfunctioning toilet, repairing the structure of the ship or patching a hole in the hull. Regular inspections were important, too, and the men were advised to look over their work and the condition of their working area. The Bluejackets' Manual illustrated the necessity for inspections with the following story:

"There is a story that a farmer once asked a wise man for help in improving an unprofitable farm. The wise man wrote a charm on a piece of paper and sealed it in a box, which he gave to the farmer. 'Carry this box into every part of your farm three times a day for a year,' he told him.

The farmer did so. In the morning he carried it into the fields and found a hired man asleep instead of working. At noon, when he carried it into the barn, he found the cows deep in filth, the horses unfed. At night he carried it into the kitchen and found the cook wasting food. Every day, as he took the box from place to place, he found things to correct.

At the end of a year, he returned to the wise man. 'Let me keep the magic charm another year,' he begged. 'My farm has been a hundred times more successful this year than ever before.'

The wise man smiled and took the box. 'I'll give you the charm itself,' he replied. He broke the seal, lifted out the piece of paper, and handed it to the farmer. On it was written: 'If you want things to prosper, look after them constantly yourself.'"

And so the Coast Guard did.

Join me in the continuation of this story in next month's issue as I continue to describe Dick Purdy's duties aboard the Mackinaw.