Paying respects to our shipmates in the Graveyard of the Atlantic Story by Petty Officer 1st Class Joshua Marano and Petty Officer 3rd Class Kimberly Reaves buoy deck of Coast Guard Cutter Maple as droplets of ocean spray accumulate on their boots. The sun beams down, turning the droplets into white flakes of salt that contrast with the weathered black leather. Mud and rusty chains are spread out sporadically on the deck, almost perfectly spaced out from one another. Each person holds a salute as a wreath is laid into the choppy waves at the site of the sunken Coast Guard Cutter Jackson. The vessel, a 125-foot sub chaser, lost half its crew when it capsized during the Great Hurricane of 1944, coming to rest on the bottom of the Atlantic The Outer Banks in North Carolina is considered a dangerous area for any mariners traversing its shifting shoals and shallow waters. During both World Wars, the dangers of navigating these waters intensified with the entry of the United States into each conflict. Specifically, the use of unrestricted submarine warfare by Germany targeting military, civilian and merchant vessels, brought an active combat zone to within sight of North America. With over 2,000 shipwrecks in this area, it’s no wonder it has been dubbed “the Graveyard of the Atlantic.” With the discovery of another historically significant Coast Guard vessel, the U.S. Revenue Cutter Bear off the coast of Cape Sable in Nova Scotia, the service is currently developing its capabilities to identify, locate, and document historic and archaeological sites scattered around the globe. A recent mission off the Outer Banks sought to test the Coast Guard’s in-house maritime archaeological capabilities using existing staff, equipment, and vessels, while providing insight into the ability of the service to perform similar projects in other locations. This project also worked to highlight Coast Guard history, serving as an educational and professional networking opportunity for participants. The team performed condition assessments that may aid in identifying illicit activity or significant environmental degradation of these sites. As military vessels and known war graves, the sites are protected under U.S. law. Joshua Marano, a reservist attached to Coast Guard Station Miami Beach, Florida, was selected to lead the mission. In his civilian career, Marano is as a professional maritime archaeologist for the National Park Service. He worked alongside the Coast Guard Atlantic Area Historian’s Office to develop the project. Given the scope of the mission and operational and budget constraints, efforts focused on the capability to locate known wreck sites with remote sensing tools, such as side-scan sonar, and perform limited visual inspection using remotely operated vehicles operated by members of the Coast Guard’s Regional Dive Locker East. In addition to viewing the sites, an Auxiliary chaplain provided memorial services at several sites where there had been considerable loss of life. These memorials were not only meant to honor the dead but to educate the members working on-site, namely, the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Maple, a 225-foot seagoing buoy tender homeported in Morehead City, North Carolina. 16 RESERVIST � Issue 3 • 2022 Coast Guard members create a sea of blue on the dusty gray
