Following the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939, the Coast Guard carried out neutrality patrols as set out by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 5 September 1939. Port security began on 22 June 1940 when President Roosevelt invoked the Espionage Act of 1917 which governed the anchorage and movement of all ships in U.S. waters and protected American ships, harbors and waters. Shortly afterwards, the Dangerous Cargo Act gave the Coast Guard jurisdiction over ships carrying high explosives and dangerous cargoes. In March 1941, the Coast Guard seized 28 Italian, two German and 35 Danish merchant ships. A few days later, 10 modern Coast Guard cutters were transferred on Lend-Lease to Great Britain.
On April 9, 1941, Greenland was incorporated into a hemispheric defense system. The Coast Guard was the primary military service responsible for these cold-weather operations, which continued throughout the war. On September 12 the cutter Northland took into "protective custody" the Norwegian trawler Buskoe and captured three German radiomen ashore. This was the United States' first naval capture of World War II.
The Coast Guard was ordered to operate as part of the Navy on 1 November 1941. During the war, Coast Guard-manned ships sank 11 enemy submarines. Coast Guard personnel manned amphibious ships and craft, from the largest troop transports to the smallest attack craft. These landed Army and Marine forces in every important invasion in North Africa, Italy, France, and the Pacific. Coast Guard coastal picket vessels patrolled along the 50- fathom curve, where enemy submarines concentrated early in the war. While on shore, armed Coast Guardsmen patrolled beaches and docks, on foot, on horseback, in vehicles, with and without dogs, as a major part of the nation's anti-sabotage effort.
Coast Guard craft rescued more than fifteen hundred survivors of torpedo attacks in areas adjacent to the United States. Cutters on escort duty saved another one thousand and over fifteen hundred more were rescued during the Normandy operation. During the war the Coast Guard manned 802 cutters (those over 65 feet in length), 351 naval ships and craft, and 288 Army vessels. Almost two thousand Coast Guardsmen died in the war, a third of those in action. Almost two thousand Coast Guardsmen were decorated, one receiving the Medal of Honor, six the Navy Cross, and one the Distinguished Service Cross. The Coast Guard returned to the Treasury Department on Jan. 1, 1946.
The Service performed primarily a supporting role during the Korean Conflict. Its principal contributions were improving communications and meteorological services plus assuring port security and proper ammunition handling. The Coast Guard also served in Vietnam performing duties uniquely suited to the specialized skills of the Service. In 1965, 26 82-foot Coast Guard cutters were ordered to Vietnam.
These were used in the "brown water" war, attempting to interdict Vietcong and North Vietnamese infiltration and logistics. In 1966 the first ocean-going cutters augmented the Navy and Coast Guard surveillance forces already in Vietnam. Coast Guardsmen were also detailed to improve port security, especially in Saigon, to assist with problems involving the Merchant Marine, and to teach workmen the basics of safe handling of ammunition and other dangerous cargoes. An in-country navigation system was created and a Loran network was set up for Southeast Asia. "Vietnamization" began in February 1969 and was concluded by December 1971. In all, 56 Coast Guard cutters served in Vietnam.
With the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 1 August 1990, the Coast Guard was again called to perform military duties. On 17 August 1990, at the request of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of Transportation and the Commandant of the Coast Guard commit Coast Guard law enforcement boarding teams [LEDETs] to Operation Desert Shield. A total of 10 four-person teams served in theatre to support the enforcement of UN sanctions by the Maritime Interdiction Forces. Approximately 60 percent of the 600 boardings carried out by U.S. forces were either led by or supported with the USCG LEDETs. Additionally, a 7-man liaison staff was designated by the Commandant as Operational Commander for the USCG forces deployed in theatre. The first boarding of an Iraqi vessel in the theatre of operations conducted by a USCG LEDET occurred on 30 August 1990.
President George H. W. Bush, on 22 August 1990, authorized the call up of members of the selected reserve to active duty in support of Operation Desert Shield. Three port security units (PSUs), consisting of 550 Coast Guard reservists are ordered to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Shield. (This was the first involuntary overseas mobilization of Coast Guard Reserve PSUs in the Coast Guard Reserve's 50-year history). A total of 950 Coast Guard reservists are called to active duty. Other reservist duties included supervising RRF vessel inspection and loading hazardous military cargoes. On 15 September 1990 the Secretary of Transportation and the commandant committed the first-ever deployment of a Coast Guard Reserve port security unit overseas, Port Security Unit 303. Prior to the launch of Operation Desert Storm, Coast Guard LEDET personnel on board the USS Nicholas (FFG-11) assisted when the frigate cleared eleven Iraqi oil platforms and took 23 prisoners on18 January 1991. On April 21,1991, a Tactical Port Security Boat (TPSB) of PSU 301, stationed in Al Jubayl, Saudi Arabia, was the first boat in the newly reopened harbor of Mina Ash Shuwaikh in Kuwait City. Because of certain security concerns, a determination was made to send one of the 22-foot Raider boats belonging to PSU 301 and armed with .50 caliber and M60 machine guns, to lead the procession into the harbor and provide security for the festivities.
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