May 27, 2022 —
The 49th fast response cutter, Douglas Denman, was delivered to the Coast Guard May 26, 2022, in Key West, Florida. Thirteen Denman family members attended the delivery ceremony. It will be homeported in Ketchikan, Alaska. U.S. Coast Guard photo.
The Coast Guard accepted delivery of the 49th fast response cutter (FRC), Douglas Denman, May 26 in Key West, Florida.
Douglas Denman will be homeported in Ketchikan, Alaska.
Born in Tallapoosa, Georgia, the cutter’s namesake joined the Coast Guard in 1940 and was eventually assigned to the USS Colhoun as a coxswain. On Aug. 30, 1942, the Colhoun was positioned off the coast of Guadalcanal when it was attacked by adversarial aircraft. Denman was seriously wounded during the attack, but remained at his duty station. When the order was given to abandon ship, Denman and another crewmember helped evacuate the crew and get life jackets to those already in the water. Because of Denman’s selfless actions, 100 of the 150 officers and crew survived the attack and sinking of Colhoun. For his heroic efforts, Denman received the Silver Star and Purple Heart medals. He served for 20 years in the Coast Guard, retiring as a senior chief petty officer in 1961.
The Coast Guard has ordered 64 FRCs to date. Forty-eight are in service: 13 in Florida; seven in Puerto Rico; four each in California and Bahrain; three each in Guam, Hawaii, Texas and New Jersey; two each in Alaska, Mississippi and North Carolina; and Clarence Sutphin Jr and John Scheuerman, which will sail to Bahrain later this year. Future FRC homeports include Astoria, Oregon; Boston; and Kodiak, Seward and Sitka, Alaska.
For more information: Fast Response Cutter Program page