"My God, we are under attack"

Sea Power, Sep 2002 by McGranachan, James

Master Chief Robert Dugin, a retired New York City fireman, and a member of the unit since it was established in 1994, said he thought that, "... everybody in the unit felt that they were doing their part by contributing in some way to protect the assets and people of New York Harbor. Even though we could not do anything hands-on at the World Trade Center itself... our work allowed a lot of other people to do their jobs at Ground Zero."

Never Forget

Three sentences from the citation of a Coast Guard Meritorious Service Award, later presented to Lt. Cdr. James Olive, chief of the Surface Management Branch, illustrate the intensity of the Coast Guard's NYAct's operations both during and after 9/11.

"In the first critical hours following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, he set in motion a plan to evacuate more than half a million panicked people from lower Manhattan and provided an unprecedented level of security at high-risk facilities in order to deter further attacks. For the next 45 days he led all surface forces-comprised of over 60 cutters, boats, aircraft, a port security unit, and two tactical law-enforcement teams-in over 20,000 patrol hours, the conduct of more than 1,000 port-- security boardings, and the protection of more than 150 key assets within a 40-- square-mile area."

The terrible events of one year ago are indelibly etched in the memories of every Coast Guard person who lived through them on what began as a bright, crisp Tuesday in early autumn. It is unlikely that the normalcy of prewar routines will return any time soon. Lives and careers were forever changed as the Coast Guard and all other branches of the nation's armed forces-joined by other federal agencies, state governments, and local communities-were thrust into the war against international terrorism.

As the first anniversary of the 9/11 attack approaches, Moberly, Shipley, Todd, Hyland-all of the men and women of U.S. Coast Guard Activities New York, and those other Coast Guard men and women who joined them in New York Harbor-will reflect on the duties they performed on the day that the United States went to war. As their commander in chief has instructed, they will never forget. They share a quiet resolution to see this first war of the 21st century through to its victorious conclusion-- however long that may take.

James McGranachan, the public affairs officer of Coast Guard Activities New York (ActNY), was on the first Staten Island Ferry transporting emergency personnel to Manhattan before the second tower of the World Trade Center collapsed on 11 September 2001.