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Vincent Danz—9/11 hero and FRC namesake
—As a member of the Emergency Service Unit, he and his fellow officers were the first to enter the doomed Trade Center. He called home to his wife and told her it was real bad up in the Towers.
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Hero without a headstone—Forgotten Keeper Joseph Doyle and his Gold Lifesaving Medal rescues
—The weather was horrific with dark skies, steady rain, and tumultuous seas. The keeper and his crew were quickly away and encountering “fearful seas.”
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Isaac Mayo—Surfman, Gold Life-Saving Medal recipient and FRC namesake
—Like many other local mariners on Cape Cod, Isaac Mayo volunteered his professional services as a sailor and boatman to the Massachusetts Humane Society. He quickly proved himself to be a very competent surfman handling boats to rescue shipwreck victims in Cape Cod’s storm surf.
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The last flight of Coast Guard Aviator #3
—It was 3 p.m. and Thrun had already made three perfect landings. He was starting his run for his fourth take-off, when something happened.
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So that others might live—Coast Guard hero and FRC namesake Charles Sexton
—Charles William Sexton challenged danger every day in his duties. While rescuing four fishermen in peril, the seas tragically took him.
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Rollin Fritch—Silver Star hero of Attack Transport Callaway
—“Planes! They’re coming from the stern!” With seconds to react, Coast Guard Seaman First Class Rollin A. Fritch leaped into action and peppered the incoming kamikaze with a hail of 20mm gunfire.
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Coxswain for all invasions—Robert Ward and the Joseph T. Dickman at D-Day
—While Omaha saw the worst fighting on D-Day, Utah beach would prove a career highlight for Seaman First Class Robert Ward.
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D-Day hero Jack DeNunzio and LCI-94 at Normandy
—Eighty years ago, on June 6, 1944, Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, in what was the largest amphibious invasion of World War II. Among those 15 Coast Guardsmen killed in action at Normandy was 21-year-old John “Jack” Albert DeNunzio.
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Bobby Wilks—distinguished aviator, mentor, and minority trailblazer
—As America struggled with issues of racial inequality and segregation, African American Bobby C. Wilks was breaking barriers and blazing a trail for minorities.
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“Love your Freedom, because that’s what we fought for”—D-Day Gunner’s Mate Frank DeVita
—“DeVita, drop the ramp!” For a few seconds I froze, because I knew when I dropped that ramp, the machine gun bullets will come into the boat. And then for the third time he yelled, punctuated with colorful profanity and I dropped the ramp. The bullets that were hitting the ramp came into the boat.