On October 28, 2023, as part of Worcester County History Month, author and former Coast Guard member John Kopp will give a virtual presentation about the Surfmen of the U.S. Life-Saving Service and the U.S. Coast Guard.
For decades, the U.S. Life-Saving Service and U.S. Coast Guard crews lived by the credo, “You have to go out, but you don’t have to come back.” While this attitude has changed in the modern Coast Guard, today’s boat-based rescue crews still train and operate in extreme conditions to aid those in peril.
Follow along as we explore the lineage of these “surfmen,” from the earliest volunteers of the Life-Saving Service to the drysuit-clad surfmen (and women) of the Coast Guard. Former surfman John Kopp brings his career experience, extensive research, and rare historical images together in this 45-minute multimedia presentation.
There will be a Q&A at the end of the presentation.
“CG 41332: Surfmen, the Cape Disappointment Motor Lifeboat School, and the Forgotten Tragedy That Transformed U.S. Coast Guard Boat Operations”
HELL ISN’T HOT: Twenty minutes into a night navigation exercise at Cape Disappointment, Washington, Coast Guard utility boat 41332 tracked off course, strayed into breaking surf, and capsized, trapping eight of its 10-person crew inside a dark, slowly flooding cabin. Over the next hour, the survivors fought their way underwater to the outside. Three students lost their lives.
Beginning with the historical origins of the U.S. Coast Guard’s rescue boat community, CG 41332 offers the first book-length accounts of this 1977 accident, the lineage of surfmen, and the evolution of the service’s National Motor Lifeboat School. Meticulously prepared by a former Cape Disappointment surfman, CG 41332 brings new light to the relationships between these interconnected histories and also explores healing after adversity.
About the Author:
When it comes to the deep inclinations of soul, conscious will doesn’t stand a chance. When John Kopp was six years old, he first visited Station Cape Disappointment, Washington, and became positively obsessed with the Coast Guard and its motor lifeboats.
In 2010, he enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard and served on board the 378-foot cutter Midgett (WHEC-726), at Station Barnegat Light, New Jersey, and at Station Cape Disappointment, separating as a boatswain’s mate first class in 2019. During his time at Cape D, he certified as a coxswain on the 52-foot motor lifeboat Triumph and as a surfman on the 47-foot motor lifeboat.
Today, John holds a master's degree in counseling psychology from Meridian University and works as a therapist in Washington State. He's interested in working with trauma, the ubiquitous manifestations of mental suffering, and the complexities of relationship.