John F. McCormick was a sailor in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

who was recognized for his courage. McCormick was born in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, and served much of his 26 year Coast Guard career in

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. After his 1947 retirement, he made his home in

Garibaldi, Oregon Garibaldi ( ) is a city in Tillamook County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. The population was 830 at the 2020 census. History The indigenous Tillamook people have lived along the Oregon coast –including the Tillamook Bay– for about 12,000 y ...

; he lived there for another 39 years.

Coast Guard career

McCormick enlisted in 1921, and spent most of his career as a non-commissioned

petty officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies. Often they may be superior to a seaman, and subordinate to more senior non-commissioned officers, such as chief petty officers. Petty officers are usually sailors that have ...

. Late in his career he was promoted to the ranks of commissioned officers, and retired as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

, in 1947. In 1938 McCormick was the coxswain in charge of the motor lifeboat USCGC ''Triumph'', at Point Adams Station, at the mouth of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

. Large rivers, like the Columbia, have dangerous sandbars, where the fast-flowing fresh-water, full of silt, slows where it meets ocean water. In bad weather waves break on the sandbar, representing a serious navigational danger. On March 26, 1938 McCormick took the ''Triumph'' to assist a tug trying to tow logs across the bar. One of McCormick's crew fell overboard, and McCormick, exercising great skill, was able to lead his remaining crew in a rescue that won the admiration of his peers. The rescue earned McCormick the Congressional Gold Lifesaving Medal. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

McCormick commanded Point Adams Station. In 1947 he commanded Coast Guard Station Garibaldi.

Legacy

McCormick received the Coast Guard Gold Lifesaving medal. In 2010, Charles "Skip" W. Bowen, who was then the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

's most senior

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

, proposed that all 58 cutters in the Sentinel class should be named after enlisted sailors in the Coast Guard, or one of its precursor services, who were recognized for their heroism. In 2014, the Coast Guard announced that the 21st cutter would be named the ''John F. McCormick'' although in the event the middle initial was dropped from the ship's name. USCGC ''John McCormick'' was built in

Lockport, Louisiana Lockport is a town on Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,490 in 2020. It is part of the Houma, Louisiana, Houma–Bayou Cane, Louisiana, Bayou Cane–Thibodaux, ...

, at the

Bollinger shipyards Bollinger Shipyards is an American constructor of ships, workboats and patrol vessels. Its thirteen shipyards and forty drydocks are located in Louisiana and Texas. Its drydocks range in capacity from vessels of 100 tons displacement to 22,000 t ...

, and delivered to the Coast Guard on December 13, 2017. She was commissioned in

Ketchikan, Alaska Ketchikan ( ; ) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough on Revillagigedo Island of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic Landmark District. With a p ...

, the first cutter of her class to transit the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

, and the first to be commissioned on the west coast.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCormick, John F. 1901 births 1986 deaths United States Coast Guard officers Military personnel from Portland, Oregon People from Tillamook County, Oregon