The fifth US Coast Guard cutter named ''Mohawk'' (WPG-78) was built by Pusey & Jones Corp., Wilmington, Delaware, and launched 1 October 1934. She was commissioned on 19 January 1935.

Active service

She was first assigned patrol and general icebreaking duties on the Hudson and Delaware Rivers, and the outbreak of war found her stationed at Cape May, New Jersey. In accordance with Executive Order No. 89-29 of 1 November 1941, ''Mohawk'' was directed to serve as part of the naval forces of the United States. Assigned to North Atlantic escort operations with the

Greenland Patrol The Greenland Patrol was a United States Coast Guard operation during World War II. The patrol was formed to support the U.S. Army building aerodrome facilities in Greenland for ferrying aircraft to the British Isles, and to defend Greenland with ...

, where she served for the entire war, ''Mohawk'' launched a total of 14 attacks against submarine contacts between 27 August 1942 and 8 April 1945. On the evening of 27 August 1942 the

fleet oiler A replenishment oiler or replenishment tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds which can supply both fuel and dry stores during underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea. Many countries have used replenishment oilers. The ...

was torpedoed while steaming in convoy at the eastern end of Belle Isle Strait. ''Mohawk'' escorted ''Laramie'' into port at Sydney, Nova Scotia on 30 August 1942. One of ''Mohawk''s most famous deeds was being the last ship to radio General Dwight D. Eisenhower on the day before the Normandy invasion confirming that the weather was going to be clear enough to proceed. Unfortunately, she hit an iceberg shortly after the message was sent and sustained a hole in her side. After a temporary fix in

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

, she returned to the United States for permanent repairs to the hull. ''Mohawk'' also survived a friendly fire attack from British planes. While on patrol near Iceland, she was misidentified by British planes, which bombed her, damaging the main deck. She returned to Boston for emergency repairs.

Awards

American Defense Service Medal The American Defense Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces, established by , by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on June 28, 1941. The medal was intended to recognize those military service members who had served ...

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

* European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal *

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The Wo ...

Post war

At the end of the War, she was transferred to her old homeport of Cape May, after her war-time armament was removed, she was stationed at Cape May, from 25 November until 5 January 1946, when she proceeded to New York on special duty. She returned to Cape May on 19 February 1946. On 6 April 1946 ''Mohawk'' was ordered to be placed "in reserve, in commission" status, with a skeleton crew, at Cape May, New Jersey. There was some discussion of converting ''Mohawk'' and her sister cutters into

lightships Lightship may refer to: * Lightvessel, a moored ship that has light beacons mounted as navigational aids * ''The Lightship'', a 1985 American drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski *''The Lightship (novel)'', by Siegfried Lenz on which the film w ...

but this was eventually deemed to be impractical. On 8 October 1947 ''Mohawk'' was ordered to be decommissioned and placed in storage at the

Coast Guard Yard The United States Coast Guard Yard or just Coast Guard Yard is a United States Coast Guard operated shipyard located on Curtis Bay in northern Anne Arundel County, Maryland, just south of the Baltimore city limits. It is the largest industrial fa ...

. She was declared "surplus to needs of CG" on 13 July 1948 and was put up for sale. She was sold on 1 November 1948 to the Delaware Bay and River Pilots' Association, and was used as a

pilot boat A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship ...

on the Delaware River for more than 30 years. In 1984 the Mohawk was purchased by Charles Weymouth of Wilmington, Delaware for $1.00 .The Mohawk was then repaired by a group of volunteers from the Delaware area. The USCG cutter Mohawk Museum was started in 1986 and ended in the late 1990s due to unknown reasons In the late 1990s ''Mohawk'' was moved to Staten Island. ''Mohawk'' was taken in ownership by Caribbean Transport Lines in lieu of back payment for mooring fees on Staten Island. The ship's plight was shared with the nation via the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Preservation911 Program in 2001.

USS Mohawk CGC Memorial Museum

The USS ''Mohawk'' CGC Memorial Museum was founded by the Miami Dade Historical Maritime Museum. The ship was berthed in Key West, at Truman Waterfront. ''Mohawk'' was found in a Staten Island scrap yard by Frans Boetes, then president and CEO of ''Mohawk’s'' Memorial Museum. She had been there rusting for over 15 years. After some initial repairs, she was towed to Miami, where substantial repairs were made, and on to Key West where she was berthed at the inner quay wall, at the old Navy pier in the Truman Waterfront. In 2012, the museum was reluctantly forced to either scrap ''Mohawk'' or sink her as an

artificial reef An artificial reef is a human-created underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with a generally featureless bottom, to control erosion, block ship passage, block the use of trawling nets, or improve surfing. Many ...

due to a lack of funds necessary to recover her from her state of disrepair. It was ultimately decided that the most honorable fate was to give her a final duty serving as a veteran's memorial reef in lieu of the scrap yard, where she would have been melted down and sold.

USS Mohawk CGC Veterans Memorial Reef

Starting May 16, 2012, "Mighty MO" was in port at Fort Myers Beach, FL, to be cleaned and getting ready to be scuttled 28 nautical miles off the coast of

Captiva Island Captiva is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lee County, Florida, United States. It is located on Captiva Island. As of the 2020 census the population was 318, down from 583 at the 2010 census. It is part of the C ...

in its final service as a Veteran's Memorial artificial reef. She was sunk on July 2, 2012. The Mohawk was the first dedicated veterans memorial military ship reef in the United States of America. The USS Mohawk CGC Veterans Memorial Reef was the brainchild of Mike Campbell with the Lee County Division of Natural Resources, and has made

Southwest Florida Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is known for its beaches, subtropical landscape, and winter resort economy. Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are generally ...

a new diving destination. Wreck location:

Active service

Awards

Post war

USS Mohawk CGC Memorial Museum

USS Mohawk CGC Veterans Memorial Reef

References

External links