They Had To Go Out - Podcast

Phil and Bill have done a truly amazing job in bringing us these amazing stories. Like me I'm sure you too are very grateful to the storytellers for sharing their heroic life experiences with us.

I have selected here, the podcasts in which there are stories featuring the 44ft Motor Lifeboats. Therefore remember to check out the other amazing rescues carried out by the brave men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard by following this link.

My thanks go to the "They Had To Go Out" team for allowing me to share these podcasts here.

Episodes

Episode 14: Dwight Crumpacker - BM

Boatswain’s Mate Dwight Crumpacker talks a nighttime tow with an expecting mother in big swells off the Oregon coast and running some of the last wood hull life and utility boats in active service.

Episode 19: John Kopp - BM1 - Surfman

Former Surfman John Kopp talks what it takes to pass an underway checkride and certify to lead boat crews in the surf, and how he’s helping to keep the lessons learned from a 1997 tragedy alive in the hopes they prevent future loss of life.

Aslo talks about his virtual museum remembering the CG 44363 disaster. www.uscg44363.com

Episode 31: Shawnle Jones - SK

Former Storekeeper Shawnle Jones talks candidly about the challenges and struggles of being one of the first women to enlist after the Coast Guard opened all assignments to women in 1978, her first tour of duty as a Motor Lifeboat Crewmember at Station Fort Point in San Francisco Bay where she was routinely called on to respond to cases involving the tragic loss of life at sea, and her ongoing support to the Women In Military Service For America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetary. Note this episode covers mature subject matter. Parental discretion is advised.

Episode 50: Dan Shirey - BM - Surfman

Former Boatswain’s Mate Dan Shirey talks pitchpoling a 44 ft Motor Lifeboat on the Chetco River bar, responding to a sinking fishing vessel despite knowing he lacked enough fuel to make it back to shore, escorting a listing cargo ship hundreds of miles to reach a safe port, qualifying as a diver, using the skills gained through his service to pursue underwater treasure hunting, and diving on the wrecks of the same whaling ships that were the cause of the 1897 Overland Relief Expedition where some of the earliest Coast Guard heroes earned their fame.

Episode 53: Russell Burress - BMC (Ret.)

Retired Chief Boatswain’s Mate Russell Burress tells making the decision to risk a boat in an attempt to save a life, serving on deck under the leadership of service legend BMCM Donald Horsley, setting a buoy to reopen a strategic port in the midst of a typhoon, towing a downed Coast Guard helicopter, and a tough decision during a mass rescue in the aftermath of a sudden thunderstorm.

Episode 57: Mike Underwood - BM1 (Ret.)

Retired Boatswain’s Mate First Class Mike Underwood talks leading a boat crew into 30 foot seas, 80 knot winds, and dense fog to rescue those aboard a burning tug and barge in a case that earned him the Coast Guard Medal, running jet drive lifeboats across the Chatham bar, and the leadership lessons gained from his time as command cadre.

Episode 58: Thad Allen - 23rd Commandant of the Coast Guard (Ret.)

23rd Commandant of the Coast Guard Thad Allen (Ret.) talks being trapped by fire in the radio room of his first cutter, responding to his first mass casualty event when a plane went down in the Florida Everglades, a surf rescue in blizzard conditions off the New Jersey coast, playing a leading role in the national response to 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, and the leadership lessons he considers most important for those who now serve.

Also the story of the Coast Guard Medal rescue to the grounded barge Michael F.

Episode 62: Dara O’Malley - BM1 - Surfman

BM1 Dara O’Malley, Surfman 111, tells of a dangerous nighttime escort across the Humbolt Bar, the capsizing and breakup of the involved cabin cruiser, and the efforts to rescue survivors from the surf that followed. He also talks what it takes to maintain boats and train crews to the levels needed for Coast Guard operations, and the responsibility of coxswains and surfmen not only to go out, but to bring their crews and those in peril back to shore.