DATE: January 25, 2005 12:19:20 PM EST
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Office of Public Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard Seventh District |
| Press Release |
Date:
Jan. 25, 2005
Contact:
(727) 893-3140/3142 |
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25th ANNIVERSARY COAST GUARD CUTTER BLACKTHORN MEMORIAL SERVICE TO BE HELD
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A memorial service is scheduled for 10:30 a.m., Friday at the Blackthorn Memorial Park on the north end of the Sunshine Skyway for the 23 Coast Guardsmen lost in the sinking of the Coast Guard Cutter Blackthorn January 28, 1980.
The Blackthorn sunk 25 years ago after colliding with the tanker Capricorn near the Skyway Bridge. Twenty-seven Blackthorn crewmembers were able to escape the Coast Guard's worst peacetime disaster. A memorial inscribed with the names of the 23 crewmembers who perished now stands two miles north of the site of the accident.
Friday's ceremony will consist of an aerial salute by Coast Guard aircraft, a wreath laying, reading of the names of the lost crewmembers, and remarks by Rear Adm. Brian Peterman, Commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District, and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Frank Welch, the Coast Guard's highest enlisted member.
The media and public are invited to attend the ceremony. Blackthorn Memorial Park is located off I-275 on the north end of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
The Blackthorn tragedy provided the impetus for the establishment of the Command and Operations School at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. The school offers courses to prepare command level officers and senior enlisted members for command duty afloat. Commanding officers are now required to formally assess risks, such as transiting an unfamiliar port at night and are given full discretion and encouraged to say no if they feel the risks involved are unnecessary.
Additionally, the Coast Guard developed new training requirements, spent more money on safety equipment and made changes to the navigational aides in and around Tampa Bay as a result of the Blackthorn tragedy.
Editor's Note: From 10:30 to 11:00, the Admiral Farragut Academy band will play as attendees gather. The aerial salute will be at 11:00 a.m. The official ceremony will begin immediately following the flyover.
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The U.S. Coast Guard is a military, maritime, multi-mission service within the
Department of Homeland Security dedicated to protecting the safety and security of America. |
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