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This image is copyrighted by the artist and all reproduction rights are held by the U. S. Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association. Reproduction or other use without the permission of both parties is strictly prohibited.
Theme Vietnam Conflict—Surface Operations
Period 1963-1975
Artist Tony Falcone, Prospect, Connecticut
Size (framed) 7’-0” wide x 9’-0” high
Champion Ray Houttekier, Class of 1962 & Mike Burdian, Class of 1963
Sponsor Class of 1963
Story During the Vietnam War the Coast Guard performed a variety of duties, including port security, hazardous materials loading and unloading, and aids to navigation establishment and maintenance including establishment of a Loran-C electronic navigation system. This painting depicts the three activities in which the Coast Guard was directly engaged with either the enemy or with those suspected of aiding the enemy. The Coast Guard deployed twenty-six 82-foot patrol boats for boarding suspicious craft, stopping freighters from running arms shipments to the mainland of South Viet Nam, and supporting ground forces with mortar fire. Also depicted in the distance is a 378-foot high endurance cutter providing offshore gunfire support to ground troops on the mainland; these high-endurance cutters provided a deepwater barrier against infiltration. The cutter depicted in the junk-boarding scene in the foreground is shown as the Point Welcome. It was commanded by LT(jg) David Brostrom, a Coast Guard Academy graduate of the Class of 1963, who was killed in action. Some 8,000 Coast Guardsmen served in Vietnam; seven lost their lives and 59 were wounded.