Coast Guard·Consolidated / merged·In Memoriam
Surfman
You have to go out, but you don't have to come back
Served: 1878–1915
Manned 270+ coastal stations with wooden surfboats, rowing into storm seas to pull crews off wrecked ships — the precursor to every modern small-boat rescue swimmer.
The Story
When the merger happened, Surfmen and Revenue Cutter petty officers couldn't agree on who outranked whom. The Coast Guard invented the rank of Chief Petty Officer to settle the argument.
Epitaph
“Pulled men off wrecks for 37 years. Got a new patch and a pay-grade dispute.”
Sources
- Wikipedia — US Life-Saving Serviceen.wikipedia.org
- USCG CPO Associationwww.uscgcpoa.org