Alex R. Larzelere

This is the first book I found on the history of the US Coast Guard during the First World War. I am sure there are others, however this is the first one I came across. The author, Alex Larzelere, is a retired Coast Guard Capitan having served for 38 years. In the Forward he briefly discusses the 1915 combination of the Revenue-Cutter Service with the Life-Saving Service which created the US Coast Guard. He then begins the actual story of the of the Coast Guard in WWI with the transfer of the Coast Guard to the US Navy immediately after the Declaration of War in April, 1917. The remainder of the books discusses the many and varied tasks performed by the Coast Guard during the war. The CG was deployed in home waters, in Europe, on land in security operations, as well as being involved in ship building. Of interest is how the GC officers and men blended into the Navy. Due their experience and training, many served on Naval warships, to including becoming commanders of war ships.

I found this book interesting in dealing with a little known area of United States involvement in the war. The author presents a large amount of detail regarding specific ships and officers. This can be viewed as dealing with too much detail, or seen as explaing how the CG officers and men moved through various Naval assignments during the conflict. I took the latter view. This approach demonstrated to me how the quality of the CG officers and crews significantly contributed to the war effort.

I recommend this work to anyone interested in WWI naval history, WWI in general or anyone seeking a bit of the history of the US Coast Guard. Contains a great deal of information; well done!… (meer)