Fifth District
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: Oct. 17, 2008
Contact: Petty Officer Andrew Kendrick
(757) 434-7721

30th anniversary of Cuyahoga sinking

YORKTOWN, Va. - Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown will host the 30th anniversary of the Coast Guard Cutter Cuyahoga's sinking Monday.

The ceremony will honor 10 Coast Guardsmen and one Indonesian naval officer who lost their lives aboard the Cuyahoga on the night of Oct. 20, 1978, after the ship was struck amidships by a 521-foot coal freighter at the mouth of the Potomac River.

The Cuyahoga quickly sank and only 18 of the ship's crewmembers were rescued. Click here for more detailed historical information.

The keynote speaker is retired Adm. James Joy, former Commandant of the Coast Guard.

The commemoration ceremony will begin with the observance of morning colors on the parade field at 8 a.m. and will be followed by a memorial service in Olde Yorke Chapel.

Media should arrive at the training center no later than 7:30 a.m. To attend, please contact Petty Officer Andrew Kendrick at (757) 434-7721 or andrew.d.kendrick@uscg.mil. The ceremony is not open to the public.

For event information contact Lt. Darkeim Brown at (757) 856-3500 ext. 2339 or Chief Petty Officer Susan Reilly at 2669.

Click the thumbnails below to see higher quality versions.

Cuyahoga in 1945