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Lifeboat #2
The coast guard lifeboat monument. |
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History:
On February 5th, 1946, the United States Coast Guard's 36 foot motor lifeboat from the Willapa Bay Lifeboat Station washed ashore near Ocean City with no one on board. The boat and its four man crew had joined the Westport station's 52 foot Invincible in a search for two Westport crab boats believed lost in a storm the previous day. The 36 footer was last seen by the Invincible's crew at approximately 1 a.m. on the 5th during a brief rendezvous somewhere south of Grayland. Bodies of three of the four Coast Guardsmen were later recovered along the beach north of Grays Harbor, but exactly what happened aboard the boat or to the fourth crewman remains a mystery. Ironically, the fishermen identified as the subjects of this search and feared lost at sea were found safe in Willapa Harbor, where they had remained throughout the storm. The four Coast Guardsmen honored here gave their lives while following in the brave traditions of the United States Coast Guard's search and rescue mission. They were: Joseph W. Miller, Chief Boatswain Mate Geloyd J. Simmons, Machinist Mate First Class James R Graves, Coxswain Howard W. Hampton, Seaman First Class |
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