The Forgotten Coast Guard Paras of WWII
Sure, everyone knows about at least two of the five U.S. Army Airborne Divisions (11th, 13th, 17th, 82nd, and 101st) that stood up in World War II, along with several separate parachute infantry regiments and battalions (like the stand-alone segregated 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion).
Plus there were the three short-lived battalions of “Para-Marines” in the 1st Marine Parachute Regiment, and the Navy Parachute School (founded in 1924 no less!) at the NAS Lakehurst, which schooled thousands of riggers and both blimp and aircraft crews in the art.
Add to that the covert secret squirrel types of the OSS and their off-books school at Area A-2 in Virginia’s Prince William Forest Park, training to drop into occupied Europe and Asia.
But did you know the Coast Guard also stood up a specialist airborne unit during the war? No, we aren’t talking about aircrew training to “hit the silk”; we are speaking of the USCG’s Para-Rescues.
I can’t find a ton of information on the subject, but the background is that at least a few dozen Coasties underwent parachute and survival training in the U.S. Forest Service’s smokejumper program (which started in 1939) to be dropped into the harsh Alaskan wilderness for extreme search-and-rescue missions.
As any WWII buff knows, the Alaskan theatre went from being a backwater in June 1942 to being an active frontline, and the military buildup in the territory saw aircraft go missing almost every day. For instance, in the Aleutian campaign alone, the USAAF lost 225 aircraft, with only 1:6 of those in combat.
The National Archives and WWII Museum have some great images to help color the tale. All official captions:
Coast Guardsman M. L. Nelson, parachute rigger third class, Canton, Illinois, is one of this group of hardy, aerial trained to leap into the Alaskan wilderness to ‘bring-.” No date WWII Museum 2015.063.081
USCG Grumman JRF Goose. Original caption: (July 1945) The search is on — A twin-motored Coast Guard plane skims the rugged, ice-crusted mountains of Alaska in an effort to spot wreckage of a missing aircraft. Aboard the Coast Guard plane is a para-rescue squad that will drop into the desolate area when the survivors are sighted to administer first aid and guide the victims to safety. The para-rescuers are thoroughly familiar with the northern country and are equipped and trained to live for days in the icy wilderness. USCG Image 26-G-4397. National Archives Identifier 205592335
July 1945. Original caption: Men Against the Icy Wilderness — After jumping from a Coast Guard plane, these Coast Guard para-rescuers pit their hard-won experience of the north against a maze of snow, woods, and mountains as they search for plane-crash victims in a bleak section of Alaska. Laden with enough supplies to last for many days, the husky para-rescuers trudge through heavy snow banks to the spot where they located the wreckage while still in the plane. After administering first aid to survivors, the Coast Guardsmen will tackle the giant job of moving them to safety. USCG Image 26-G-4398. National Archives Identifier 205592344
July 1945. Original caption: Mercy Mission — This is how a fully equipped Coast Guard para-rescuer looks as he gets set to leap from a Coast Guard plane to carry aid to plane-crash or other victims swallowed by Alaska’s rugged expanse of mountains, timber and ice. Outfitted and trained to master the wilderness for days, husky para-rescuers provide food and medical care for survivors and move them to safety. USCG Image 26-G-4396. National Archives Identifier 205592341
July 1945. Original caption: Mountain-top Vigil — Search for plane-crash victims carries a Coast Guard para-rescuers to a vantage point atop a mountain towering over a snow-and wood-covered valley. Other mountain peaks punch through a thick sheet of fog, which teams with snow, ice, and woods in hindering the searching party. Dropped into the Alaska wilderness from a Coast Guard plane, the para-rescuer carries a heavy pack of emergency rations and other equipment to help care for survivors until they can be moved to safety. USCG Image 26-G-4399. National Archives Identifier 205592347
July 1945. Original caption: “That’s the Spot” — as a Coast Guard rescue plane hovers over snow-covered Alaska woodland, Coast Guard Paratrooper Bruce Johnstone (left), of Ketchikan, Alaska, points out the spot where he believes a missing plane has crashed to Lt. Comdr. Joseph F. McCue (center), of Washington, D.C., and Ensign James P. Gwynn, of Red Bank, N.H., Coast Guard pilots. Johnstone is a member of a para-rescue squad which will bail out to care for crash victims and move them to safety. The rugged para-rescuers are trained and equipped to exist for days in the bleak expanse of ice, snow, and woods. USCG Image 26-G-4393. National Archives Identifier 205592338
While Cold War experiments towards fielding “fully-qualified para-scuba rescue men” occurred (keep in mind the service sent crews to fly Air Force Jolly Greens on C-SAR missions in Vietnam), the concept was never put into use by the USCG.
Today, no Coast Guard units are actively trained or equipped for tactical parachute insertion, which is probably a shame. Still, Coast Guard Aviation Survival Technicians (Rescue Swimmers) have to prove themselves in other ways that would make some airborne guys weak in the knees.