30th Anniversary Remembrance for Fallen CG1473 Aircrew (Learn More)

By
Tammy Waitt
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Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak personnel held a 30th anniversary remembrance ceremony Wednesday, honoring the crew of Coast Guard 1473 who lost their lives after their helicopter crashed on Ugak Island, Alaska, on Nov. 2, 1986.

Capt. Mark Morin, Air Station Kodiak commanding officer, Cmdr. James Landreau, U.S. Navy Lt. Aaron Wesson, Cmdr. John Whiddon (Ret.) and Lt. Zach Vojtech render salutes during the National Anthem at the 30th anniversary remembrance ceremony honoring the crew of Coast Guard 1473 at Air Station Kodiak (USCG photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Kelly Parker)
Capt. Mark Morin, Air Station Kodiak commanding officer, Cmdr. James Landreau, U.S. Navy Lt. Aaron Wesson, Cmdr. John Whiddon (Ret.) and Lt. Zach Vojtech render salutes during the National Anthem at the 30th anniversary remembrance ceremony honoring the crew of Coast Guard 1473 at Air Station Kodiak (USCG photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Kelly Parker)

While conducting a medevac mission to the remote Alaska village of Akhiok, the crew of Coast Guard 1473, an HH-3F Pelican helicopter, crashed into uninhabited Ugak Island at night after rounding Cape Chiniak and turning south through turbulent winds and low visibility.

A memorial is presented during the 30th anniversary remembrance ceremony honoring the crew of Coast Guard 1473 at Air Station Kodiak Nov. 2, 2016. The memorial has a brief description of CG1473’s mission and crewmember names, and was donated by Koniag Inc. (USCG photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Kelly Parker)
A memorial is presented during the 30th anniversary remembrance ceremony honoring the crew of Coast Guard 1473 at Air Station Kodiak. The memorial has a brief description of CG1473’s mission  crewmember names, and was donated by Koniag Inc. (USCG photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Kelly Parker)

That night the Coast Guard lost Lt. Michael C. Dollahite, Lt. Robert L. Carson Jr., Petty Officer 2nd Class Kevin M. McCracken, Petty Officer 3rd Class William G. Kemp, Cmdr. David M. Rockmore and Petty Officer 3rd Class Ralph D. King.

Cmdr. James Landreau, Cmdr. John Whiddon (Ret.), Tom Panamaroff, Koniag Inc., and Capt. Mark Morin, Air Station Kodiak commanding officer, present the Coast Guard 1473 memorial during the 30th anniversary remembrance ceremony honoring the crew of Coast Guard 1473 at Air Station Kodiak (USCG photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Kelly Parker)
Cmdr. James Landreau, Cmdr. John Whiddon (Ret.), Tom Panamaroff, Koniag Inc., and Capt. Mark Morin, Air Station Kodiak commanding officer, present the Coast Guard 1473 memorial during the 30th anniversary remembrance ceremony honoring the crew of Coast Guard 1473 at Air Station Kodiak (USCG photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Kelly Parker)

“We will continue to honor the crew of 1473 each and every day by continuing the missions here in Kodiak, Alaska, and standing the watch,”  said Capt. Mark Morin, Air Station Kodiak commanding officer.

The memorial will be placed at Narrow Cape on Kodiak Island, overlooking Ugak Island.

The ceremony included a moment of silence and the presentation of a memorial.

Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak

Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak is a Seventeenth Coast Guard District (D17) unit on beautiful Kodiak Island approximately 250 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska.

The Air Station was commissioned as an Air Detachment April 17, 1947, with one PBY Catalina aircraft, seven pilots, and 30 crewmen. It represented the first permanent Coast Guard aviation resource in Alaska.

The Air Station is the major tenant of Coast Guard Base Kodiak and is the largest Coast Guard command in D17 and the entire Pacific Area (PACAREA).

The present complement of HC-130Hs, MH-60Ts, MH-65Ds aids in completing our mission and saving lives.

(Learn More. In Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, MH-60 Jayhawk and MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrews face some of the most challenging weather conditions and terrain, and train regularly to perform complex hoisting scenarios of survivors from mountain and ocean cliff areas. Courtesy of USCG Auxiliarist Tracey Mertens, the USCG and YouTube)

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