On April 24, 2004, while serving as part of Coast Guard Patrol Forces Southwest Asia aboard USS Firebolt, Petty Officer 3rd Class Bruckenthal, a damage controlman, and two U. S. Navy sailors were killed in the line of duty while conducting maritime intercept operations in the North Arabian Gulf. Bruckenthal and six other coalition sailors attempted to board a small boat near the Iraqi Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal. As they boarded the boat, it exploded. Bruckenthal later died from the wounds he sustained in the explosion. Bruckenthal was the first Coast Guard member killed in action since the Vietnam War. For his actions Bruckenthal was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat “V”. He is interred in Section 60. Shortly before his death, Bruckenthal was interviewed by the USCG. A transcript of that interview can be found here.

Born 26 August 1892 in Huntington, Indiana, Elizebeth Friedman was the youngest of nine children. Remarkably gifted, she graduated from Hillsdale College with a major in English literature. A passionate student of Shakespeare, she also had a talent for languages and studied Latin, Greek and German. A visit to Chicago’s Newberry Library led to employment at Riverbank, a private think tank that served as the U.S. government's unofficial cryptologic laboratory during World War I. There, she met her husband, William F. Friedman, also known for his work in cryptology. They married in May 1917. In 1921, the Friedmans moved to Washington, D.C. to work for the War Department. Friedman’s work with the Coast Guard began soon after the passage of the Volstead Act in 1919, which banned the manufacturing, sale, and import and export of alcohol. Friedman was detailed from the Treasury Department to the Coast Guard, thus beginning a remarkable career. Between 1927 and 1930, she is estimated to have solved over 12,000 smuggling messages in hundreds of different code systems, all by hand with just pencil and paper. Her work led to 650 federal prosecutions. During World War II, she was part of the team that broke the codes generated by the Germans’ formidable Enigma machine. She played a key role in exposing a ring of German spies in South America, effectively denying them a foothold in the Western Hemisphere. Her Cryptanalytic Unit eventually moved from Treasury and evolved into the modern Coast Guard Intelligence program. Called “America’s first female cryptanalyst,” Friedman passed away on 31 August 1980, at the age of 88. She was interred here with her husband, William. Their epithet reads, “Knowledge is Power.” On 7 July 2020, The Coast Guard announced that its eleventh legend-class National Security Cutter would be named in honor of Elizebeth Smith Friedman. This class of cutters honors those who have a legendary status in the Coast Guard’s rich history.

While war was raging in Vietnam, one helicopter pilot was breaking barriers for service members of color. Born in St. Louis on May 12, 1931, Bobby Wilks joined the Coast Guard Reserve in 1955 and earned his commission at Officer Candidate School. When he earned his wings on March 25, 1957, he became the first African American aviator in the Coast Guard. Designated Coast Guard Pilot #735, Wilks qualified as a helicopter pilot in 1959. His skill in flying search and rescue missions was well recognized. According to another Coast Guard aviator, “He pushed the envelope to its very limit, and his skill brought men and machine home.” Eventually qualified in more than 20 different kinds of aircraft, in 1977 Wilks became the first African American Coast Guardsman to achieve the rank of captain. Two years later, he assumed command of Coast Guard Air Station Brooklyn. Captain Wilks retired in 1986 after serving for 31 years. He passed away on July 13, 2009.

Born 27 July 1889, in Novo-Radomsk, Poland, Victor Victorovich Utgoff was of noble birth. A graduate of the Russian Naval Academy and the first Russian Military School of Aviation, he is believed to be the first Imperial Russian Navy pilot, assigned to organize the Black Sea Naval Air Service. During World War I, he became the first man to fly off a ship and participated in combat missions against Turkish assets on the Black Sea. He received the highest Russian military award, the Order of St. George, as well as French and British decorations. In 1915, the Russian Navy ordered Utgoff to the United States to inspect Curtiss airplanes. In 1918, he returned to the United States, assigned to the Russian Embassy. In light of the recent Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia, Utgoff decided to remain in the United States. He worked as a taxi driver in New York City but, after reconnecting with an old classmate, aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky, in 1922, his position quickly improved. Likely supported by the Russian expatriate community, Utgoff purchased property on Long Island that he planned to use as a chicken farm. However, he offered use of his property to Igor Sikorsky. In March 1923, Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation was founded, staffed by a group of Russian volunteers. Here, on Utgoff’s chicken farm, Sikorsky’s first American-built aircraft, the S-29A, was cobbled together from scrounged parts. Victor Utgoff became a naturalized U.S. citizen on 14 January 1928. Seeking a greater connection with flying, he enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard on 8 November 1929, at forty years of age. Less than a year later, on 11 October 1930, Utgoff’s airplane crashed while he was returning from a test for a commercial pilot’s license. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors on 16 October 1930. Three of his sons also served the United States; two, Vadym and Victor, are buried here at Arlington.

Charles F. Shoemaker became Chief, Division of Revenue Cutter Service on March 19, 1895. He remained as commandant until he reached the statutory retirement age of 64 in 1905. He is interred in Section 3.

Ellsworth P. Bertholf was born in New York City on 7 April 1866. After graduating from the Revenue Cutter School of Instruction, he served two years at sea before receiving his commission as a third lieutenant in the Revenue Cutter Service in 1889. During his career, Bertholf served through all grades of the Service. Most notable, however, was Bertholf’s service in Alaska. In 1897, eight whaling ships became trapped in pack ice near Point Barrow, endangering the lives of 265 men. The whaling companies asked President William McKinley to send a relief expedition. In one of the most spectacular rescues in history, Bertholf, along with First Lieutenant David H. Jarvis and Dr. S. J. Call, set off an epic journey that became known as the Alaska Overland Expedition. Beginning on 16 December 1897, the successful expedition covered more than 1500 miles through a harsh Alaskan winter. On 29 March 1898, 99 days after the expedition began, the starving whalers were delivered 382 reindeer. Bertholf, Jarvis and Call were each honored with a Congressional Gold Medal. In the winter of 1901, as executive officer on the Bear, Bertholf made a trip across northern Siberia by sledge. He returned to sea in 1905, serving aboard the cutters Onondaga, Wissahickon and Seminole, before being selected to command Bear. In December 1910, Bertholf became Captain-Commandant of the Revenue Cutter Service, bypassing 22 senior officers. He was re-appointed to the same office in January 1915, when President Woodrow Wilson merged the Revenue Cutter Service with the Life-Saving Service to form the U.S. Coast Guard−a merger that Bertholf helped facilitate. He also served as a U.S. delegate to the 1912 International Conference on Safety at Sea, which led to the establishment of the International Ice Patrol. During World War I, Captain Commandant Bertholf held the temporary rank of commodore, the first officer of either the Revenue Cutter Service or Coast Guard to achieve flag rank. Bertholf retired from the Coast Guard on 30 June 1919. He passed away at his New York residence on 11 November 1921.

Chester R. Bender served as the fourteenth Commandant of the United States Coast Guard from 1970 to 1974. He also served as Superintendent of the United States Coast Guard Academy from 1965 to 1967. He is interred in Section 4.

John Briggs Hayes was a United States Coast Guard admiral who served as the 16th Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard from 1978 to 1982. He is interred in Section 4.

An unfamiliar name to many, Francis Van Boskerck was commissioned in the Revenue Cutter Service on May 20, 1891. While the motto “Semper Paratus” (“Always Ready”) had long been associated with the Revenue Cutter Service, no official recognition of the motto was given until the words appeared on the 1910 ensign. In 1922, Van Boskerck was stationed aboard the cutter Yamacraw, chasing rum runners off the coast of the Carolinas and Florida. There, he wrote a poem. Five years later, while in command of the Bering Sea Forces and stationed at the remote port of Unalaska, he composed an accompanying piece of music on an old piano. With the help of two U.S. Public Health Service dentists, the words of Von Boskerck’s poem was fit to the music, thus creating the Coast Guard marching song, “Semper Paratus.”

Born on March 2, 1886, Charles T. Thrun enlisted in the Revenue Cutter Service in 1908, serving aboard USRC Itasca as an ordinary seaman. Promoted to quartermaster, the master-at-arms, he was among the first Coast Guardsmen to attend flight training at Pensacola, earning his wings on June 8, 1918. Thrun was then assigned to USS Huntington, where he served during World War I. After the war, he served with Sub-Chaser Patrol, out of Key West, and then reported for duty at Coast Guard Aviation Station Morehead City in North Carolina. From 1922 to 1924, Thurn returned to sea, serving aboard the cutters Pamlico, Yamacraw and Modoc. For the remainder of his career, he served in aviation assignments at Coast Guard Section Base Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Air Station Miami, Florida; and finally at Air Station Cape May, New Jersey. On January 19, 1935, Thrun drowned when his Grumman JF-2 Duck V-136 nose-dived into Cape May Harbor. Thrun's body was recovered from the plane by Lieutenant Richard L. Burke (Coast Guard Aviator #715), who dived into the icy water in a rescue attempt. Every effort was made to resuscitate Thrun, but he was pronounced dead.

Russell Randolph Waesche was born in Thurmont, Maryland on 6 January 1886. After graduating from the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service School of Instruction, he received his first command, the Revenue Cutter Service Arcata, in 1911. In 1915, he played an instrumental role in the creation of the Coast Guard when the Revenue Cutter Service and the U.S. Life-Saving Service merged. He remained in the Coast Guard through World War I. During the interwar years, Waesche commanded vessels assigned to enforce the laws of Prohibition. He also served as the Coast Guard’s chief ordnance officer, developed a 1932 plan for the reorganization of Coast Guard field forces, and helped develop plans to integrate the Coast Guard into the Navy in the event of war. Waesche was appointed Commandant with the rank of rear admiral on 14 June 1936. As Commandant from 1936 through 1945, he ensured the successful 1939 integration of the U.S. Lighthouse Service, a purely civilian agency, with the Coast Guard. He also presided over the greatest expansion of the USCG in its history and made sure that the service maintained its separate identity while under the administrative control of the U.S. Navy. Admiral Waesche saw his small peacetime fleet swell with Coast Guardsmen manning more than 750 cutters, 3,500 miscellaneous smaller craft, 290 Navy vessels and 255 Army vessels. During World War II, the Coast Guard participated in every major amphibious operation. Activities at Coast Guard air stations also increased, as aviators engaged in anti-submarine and convoy escort operations and performed search and rescue missions. Admiral Waesche retired from the Coast Guard on 1 January 1946. Navy Secretary James Forrestal decorated him with the Distinguished Service Medal, and in March 1946, President Harry S. Truman appointed him to an "elder statesmen's organization" for national defense, consisting of ten top officers who were permitted to retain their wartime ranks. He died on 17 October 1946.

John William Kime was a United States Coast Guard admiral who served as the 19th Commandant of the Coast Guard from 31 May 1990 to 1 June 1994. He is interred in Section 8.

Robert Edward Kramek was a United States Coast Guard admiral who served as the 20th Commandant of the United States Coast Guard from 1994 to 1998. He is interred in Section 8.

Born in Pittsburgh on 27 November 1896, William J. Kossler joined the Coast Guard and earned his wings on 3 June 1936. Assigned to Hall Aluminum Company as an inspector, Kossler was extremely concerned with aircraft safety. After a close friend was killed in an airplane crash in July 1939, Kossler, distraught, traveled to Washington, D.C. and visited Admiral Russell R. Waesche, Commandant of the Coast Guard. In an agitated tirade that lasted some 90 minutes, Kossler harangued the admiral on the subject of aircraft safety. Later that evening, he was taken by ambulance to the hospital, having suffered a major psychotic break. However, he recovered and reported in May 1940 as chief of the Coast Guard’s Aviation Engineering Division. After witnessing a helicopter demonstration by Igor Sikorsky, Kossler dedicated the rest of his life trying to achieve a Coast Guard built around helicopter aviation. His helicopter proposal received only “cool acceptance at headquarters.” However, during his tenure, the Helicopter Flight School began operations, and the first helicopter anti-submarine warfare tests were flown over the Atlantic during wartime convoy. On 1 July 1944, Kossler became USCG helicopter pilot number 25. Meanwhile, a schism developed at Coast Guard Headquarters between those who advocated for fixed-wing aviation and those who championed the helicopter. Eventually, Kossler asked to be removed from the helicopter program. With his history of mental health issues, the stress was simply too much. A reluctant Waesche acquiesced when Kossler was once again hospitalized. In March 1945, he suffered a crippling psychotic breakdown. He died in November 1945, while a patient at St Elizabeth’s Hospital. Established in 1951, the annual Captain William J. Kossler, USCG, Award is given by the Vertical Flight Society for “the greatest achievement in practical application or operation of a vertical flight aircraft, the value of which has been demonstrated by actual service during the preceding calendar year."

Joseph Francis Farley served as the ninth Commandant of the United States Coast Guard from 1946 to 1949. He was also the first Coast Guard officer to be issued a service number and held #1000 on the Coast Guard officer rolls. He is interred in Section 4.

Willard John Smith served as the thirteenth Commandant of the United States Coast Guard from 1966 to 1970. He is interred in Section 4.

Stewart R. Graham was born in Brooklyn, New York on 25 September 1917. He joined the Coast Guard in 1937, enlisting as a surfman. Long fascinated with flying, Graham began flight training and earned his wings on 5 September 1941. He became Coast Guard helicopter pilot #2 when, after three and a half hours of training, he soloed on 20 October 1943. Truly a pioneer in rotary wing flight, Graham conducted the first helicopter anti-submarine patrol, flying off the British freighter Dagestan in January 1944. On 16 September 1946, a Belgian Sabena Airlines DC-4 crashed near Gander, Newfoundland, carrying 37 passengers and a crew of seven. The site of the crash was so remote that the only possible way to evacuate any survivors was by helicopter. Graham played an instrumental role in airlifting 18 people from the crash site. For his role in the rescue, the Belgian government commissioned Graham as Knight of the Order of Leopold. He continued to make history the following year, when he flew the first night medical evacuation by helicopter. In 1949, Graham completed the first helicopter transcontinental flight, departing Elizabeth City, New Jersey on 24 March and landing in Port Angeles, Washington almost eleven days later. In 1955, Graham flew the first recorded night hoist, retrieving survivors of a sinking vessel in the Gulf of Mexico. Commander Graham retired from the Coast Guard in 1960, after 24 years of service. He passed away on 13 August 2016, at the age of 98.

Harry Gabriel Hamlet served as the seventh Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, from 1932 to 1936. He is interred Section 4.