Thomas McAdams
US Coast Guard Master Officer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thomas D. McAdams (born June 14, 1931)[1] is a retired US Coast Guard master chief petty officer and former rescue boat commander.[2][3] He is considered the most famous enlisted person to serve in the US Coast Guard in history, saving over one-hundred lives over a 27-year-long career throughout the Pacific Northwest.[4]
Thomas McAdams | |
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| Born | June 14, 1931 Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Coast Guard |
| Service years | 1950–1977 |
| Rank | Master Chief Petty Officer |
After retiring from the Coast Guard in 1977, McAdams became an officer in the volunteer fire department in Newport, Oregon, the same community where he had commanded his motor lifeboats.[4]
Early life
McAdams was born in 1931 in Seattle, Washington, and was raised in the Ballard neighborhood.[5] McAdams graduated from Ballard High School in 1950.[5]
Career
McAdams entered the US Coast Guard on December 7, 1950, in Seattle, Washington during the Korean War.[4]
McAdams commanded the Coast Guard's 36-foot motor lifeboat, its 44-foot motor lifeboat, and its 52-foot motor lifeboat, and helped design the current 47-foot motor lifeboat.[4] McAdams rounded out his 27-year Coast Guard career by commanding the Coast Guard's Motor Lifeboat School at Cape Disappointment, Ilwaco, Washington, where he wrote its first training manual.[2] In 1957, he was awarded a Gold Lifesaving Medal for a case in 1957 at Yaquina Bay, where he saved four persons in a capsized boat.[4] He retired from the U.S. Coast Guard on July 1, 1977.[4]
In 2008, while reporting on the 100th anniversary celebration of the founding of Canada's Bamfield Station, the Victoria Times Colonist characterized McAdams as a "legendary figure in the U.S. Coast Guard", who "stole the show at the historic symposium with his on-the-job tales."[2] McAdams' life-saving efforts were so dramatic that he appeared as a guest on several television shows, and was profiled in Life and National Geographic.[4]
Accolades
- Gold Lifesaving Medal (1957)
- Coast Guard Medal (1968)
- Legion of Merit
- Coast Guard Commendation Medal
- Meritorious Achievement Medal
