WWII Greenland and Patrol Honored
New London, Conn. – To remember the sacrifice and dedication of the WWII Greenland Patrol (1940-45), the U. S. Coast Guard International Ice Patrol, the Coast Guard Foundation, a representative from the USCGC Escanaba, and the Direct Commission Officer Class 2-05 will join together at the Greenland Patrol Memorial near the Coast Guard Academy Library in New London, Conn. at 10:30 a.m. on 31 May 2005.
A brief ceremony will be held at the Memorial to dedicate two wreaths that will be dropped from a Coast Guard patrol aircraft during the Ice Patrol’s iceberg reconnaissance over the North Atlantic Ocean.
The histories of the International Ice Patrol and the Greenland Patrol became closely intertwined when Greenland, a Danish possession, acquired diplomatic and strategic importance after Germany invaded Denmark in 1940. Greenland’s significance to the Allies lay not only in its large deposits of cryoliteâ€â€ÂÂÂa mineral essential for the manufacturing of aluminumâ€â€ÂÂÂbut also in its airbases, which were necessary for ferrying aircraft from North America to Great Britain.
Greenland also afforded strategic locations for radio and weather stations, which provided essential information to the Allies. However, this latter fact the Germans also well knew, and it therefore became a critical task of the Greenland Patrol to prevent Germany from establishing radio and weather stations in Greenland.
The cutters and Coast Guardsmen of the pre-war Ice Patrol formed the nucleus of the Greenland Patrol, which included a variety of Army, Navy, and Coast Guard units and became one of the largest joint forces ever commanded by the Coast Guard. The ice-navigation experience and extensive oceanographic work completed by the Coast Guard during the International Ice Patrol’s operations after the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic in 1912 proved invaluable to the success of the Greenland Patrol.
The Greenland Patrol Memorial Ceremony honors all who served in the Greenland Patrol. This year’s ceremony, however, pays special tribute to the 101 men who lost their lives when the original Escanaba sunk on 13 June 1943 off the southwestern coast of Greenland.
WWII Greenland and Patrol Honored
New London, Conn. – To remember the sacrifice and dedication of the WWII Greenland Patrol (1940-45), the U. S. Coast Guard International Ice Patrol, the Coast Guard Foundation, a representative from the USCGC Escanaba, and the Direct Commission Officer Class 2-05 will join together at the Greenland Patrol Memorial near the Coast Guard Academy Library in New London, Conn. at 10:30 a.m. on 31 May 2005.
A brief ceremony will be held at the Memorial to dedicate two wreaths that will be dropped from a Coast Guard patrol aircraft during the Ice Patrol’s iceberg reconnaissance over the North Atlantic Ocean.
The histories of the International Ice Patrol and the Greenland Patrol became closely intertwined when Greenland, a Danish possession, acquired diplomatic and strategic importance after Germany invaded Denmark in 1940. Greenland’s significance to the Allies lay not only in its large deposits of cryoliteâ€â€ÂÂÂa mineral essential for the manufacturing of aluminumâ€â€ÂÂÂbut also in its airbases, which were necessary for ferrying aircraft from North America to Great Britain.
Greenland also afforded strategic locations for radio and weather stations, which provided essential information to the Allies. However, this latter fact the Germans also well knew, and it therefore became a critical task of the Greenland Patrol to prevent Germany from establishing radio and weather stations in Greenland.
The cutters and Coast Guardsmen of the pre-war Ice Patrol formed the nucleus of the Greenland Patrol, which included a variety of Army, Navy, and Coast Guard units and became one of the largest joint forces ever commanded by the Coast Guard. The ice-navigation experience and extensive oceanographic work completed by the Coast Guard during the International Ice Patrol’s operations after the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic in 1912 proved invaluable to the success of the Greenland Patrol.
The Greenland Patrol Memorial Ceremony honors all who served in the Greenland Patrol. This year’s ceremony, however, pays special tribute to the 101 men who lost their lives when the original Escanaba sunk on 13 June 1943 off the southwestern coast of Greenland.