GREENi !ND PATROL

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I I ITHE

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CoA~TGuARD if I d - shy~ ~

i _ c _- THE (ampGREENi ND PATROL

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J A Tilley

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Patrolling the ~old Front Minfral Dt~posits Crucial for Aluminumtroduction Spark XJXlII Interest

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IN 19411 IIOST AMERICANS WHOKNEW wid~ belt that the Eskimos caU the storls a if that Grccnland eXlsted thQUIShtOflt ag a Inaijs offloatlQS icebE~rgs rlUllling fmm ll few

nondescript white blob the tops of yar~ls to several city blocks wIde During the their world mapsThat the place mlght have wln~er G~eenland is almostisolated from the any miUtary slgnlflC1ince to the grcatpowef8 res~of the world only shlps eqUipped for had occurred to scarcely anyone -least of bre~klng Ice can force their way into the all to the people wilt) lIved there But In the fjor~lfl Few have reason to try nml five years Greenland was to become a l~ the spring and SUlllmer the climate of small but signUkaint theater of war and was 90u~hern OrJeenlalld 1amp relatively congenial to confront the Us Coast Guard with some wltl temperatures warming to the 50s as of the mostardtlous duties it had ever been chU~ks of glacial icermnble down the fjords called upon to perform on heil way out to sea The storls proshy

pened by the current drifts westward arO~nd Cape Farewell the southern tip of the lisland and eventually dl~appears As

themiddotl ow melts and the wind dies the little J

~El~Uements take ana pleasantly rustle

GREENLAND Isa largely deserted island of about 827000 square mJles most of which lies above the Arctic Circle Sclentists believe that thelnteshyrim Is covered by mountains alld steep gorges but since prehistoric times the) have been burh~d under a mass of Ice that covers 80 percent of the land area (li the Greenland ke cap evt~r melted the worlds oceans would rise by about 20 feet) In the wInter the arctic winds blow unimpeded for hundreds or mlles over the ice cap covering ltwHh snow and driving the temperature as low as 90 degrees below zero

The coastline Is penetrated by hlindrE~ds

01 narrm1 ljords some of them luttlng10 mIles Inland POI most of the year Greenland Is virtually surrounded by a 20- to 30-mlleshy

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lookj wlth bright red and yellow buildIngs adlllpg eolor to the rocky jandscape There areiwtrees but enough grass grows along 8mll OfthefIords to stlstain herds of sheepand he clilimblnatlon of warID air and high humlldHy produces frequent drizzle and mistbull Summer visitors to Greenland are surshyprtsd by the swarms oJ mosquitoes

In11940 most ofthe 20000 or so Inhabishytant~ llved in villages along the southwest coast paying ceasual homage to a handful of unif9rmed bureaucrats representing the forshyelgolministry of Delunark The Daneshad bee~ governing Greenland as a colony for sevetalhundred years supplyIng the Green-

Left A largeJv oesertmiddot ed Isand of about 827000 square miles mars than 80 pershycent of Greenland s covered by a mass at Ice Winfer temperashytures con reach 90 degrees beow zero

Th3 us COOII GU(Jrd and the GrElenionltj -I

Right One ot the first Coast Guard cutters

asslatiled to the Green-middot land Patrol eGC

N()JiH1ANO on patrol In camouflage The

cuffer was commandshyed CDR Edward H Smith

Inset Smith was comshymander of the Greenmiddot

land Patrol In 1940 He was promoted to

RADM In 1942

Ilanders with manufactured goods and foodshystutrs in exchllngefor ~eal oil animal skins and fish The Danishgovernmentmalnshytallled a strict monop~ly on exports and kept visits by fOrelgnerl to a minimum The justlflcatiltn for that PO Icy was tha t the Esshykimos had no Immunl y to EUJOpeall disshyeases and were almos~ totally Ignoral1t of 20th-century business ~ractlces

The prlnclpal reas~n for the IIlodern worlds interest In Grecentnland lay t~t the vilshylage of Ivigtut half a mn~ up Arsuk FIord just west of Cape FarewelL Ibig corrugated iron building and a coUectl In of cranes on llgshyhits waterfront sat 0 topof the worlds only known sizeable dleposit of cryoUte a soft translucent mlncentfiil that looks like quartz

In the 19th (~entury two researchers one working In Prance ~nd the otllC~r in Ohlo had discoverd Simult1neouSly that molten cryolite subjected to an electric charge could function as an e)~ctrolYle for extractshying metallic altlmlnl1m~rOnl the natural alushymina found In bauxite pre Jhe Hall-Ileroult Jlocess becalIle the st~ndard Illeans 01 proshyduclng Industrial aluminum By the Inos the Inlne at Ivlgtutwasl a key t~tement of the Alnerican aIrcraft Inqustry and cryolite shlprnents to the Unit~d Slalt~s and Crnada accounted for 98 l)errent of Greenlands exports

On April 9 1940 Hitlers war machine turned at1 Denmark The Danes utterly unshyprepitll~d for war and threatened wllh an all assault on Copenhagen capitulated on the sllllleuro day The hlU of Denmark precipitated a bUlstof nervous activity in the US State Dliilpartment

Slnce the beginning of the war the United 8~ates had been playing a delicate dpJomatlc game with the nations 01 Europe perceiving the danger posed by Germany and Italy but hoping to keep any ollhe Euroshypean powers from expanding their influence in the wesh~rn hernisphere When the BritIsh and Canadian govemrnents hinted at a concern over the defense of Greenland the United States responded with grumpy references to the Monroe Doctrlne The State Department adopting the position that the Danlsh ambassador to Washington Dr Henrik de Kauffmann WpoundlS sllIl the legitishymate representative of his country agreed 10 sen capons to the Greenlandauthoritles for protecJOIl of tile cryolite tnine

On llay 20 IB40 the CGC COlLIINCHE

picked through the meltlllg storts Into the harbol of Ivlgtutand discharged t he James K Penfield lirst United Statt~s consul in Greenland and his vke consul George L lVest After they Inspected the cryolite mine the CI1MlINCHiE transported Penfield and Vest up tlu coast to Godttulab where the new

2 bull The US Coosl GU(Ir~j omj tle 1GreElnland Potrol[

II I I I II II nil

1vasan odd~

~vith a diesel enginE ~ 1ltmiddotmiddotinSUCItie hllUI~lnd a cutatvay

botti1intended tl) bredk ice The original equit)lnt~nt had il1dudecl a ulu)ering t~v(J~masted saiIrig but the 1IJlfltS1U~1 bf)t(I crmjlgaration had made theuro~ shit) alrnostiml)ossible tf)

steer tvhen under sail I

American consulate was to be established Godthaab had no buildings to spare for the purpose but the Ioca~I Danish doctor courteshyously l1lovt~d into his hospital and turned his house over to the Amerlcans

Over the next few weeks three larger cutshyten the 327middotfoot CGes CAMPBELL and DUANE and Ihe 250-1001 CYlIGA turned up ill Davis Strait lllid BalHn Bay taking soundings and IIlakiilg preliminltlry charts of the coastline (IVlost of th(~ extant charts 01 Greenland were in Gennan-occllpied Copenhagen) The CMPIlIIJ landed a 3-nch gun and an asshysortment of slualler wt~apons at IVigtut 14 Coast GuardSI1Hm accepted dlse-harges to provide the nucleus of a civilian atmed guard at Ihe Inlne

Orderswenl out to the cae NORTlILAND which had spent the past several years In Alaskan raters to transit the Panama Canal and proceed 10 New York lor duty off Greenshyland The N()RTHLAND b1IUt in 1927 was an oddlooklng vessel with a diesel engine a cork-illsulated steel huH and a cutaway bllW

that was intended to break Ice [he origInal equiplnent had included a lowering twoshy

I]Hlsted sail rig bUI the unusual bow configshyuration had IUiHle the ship ahnost impossi ble to sleer when under sail By 1940 the masts had been cut down to accommodalltl [nodeIll radjo gear and it hefty blJOln Ie) hanshydle an SOCmiddot4 Seagull airClafL The N()ITiImiddot

LANI) IUld not proven particularly successful but was the only vessel tn Arnerkan service specifically desIgned ((II operati()ls i11 the arctic

()n arrhring at Nev York the NORTHLAND

WIS pliited undel the cOlIllnand of CDR Edshyward II Smith 110 was something of a leg-

in the Coast ellUlIlL Iceberg Smith h()Idtl of a iPIlD III oceanography from HaImiddotshyvard hall crulsidelable inCireenmiddot land waters he had sevenll cruises with Illterllillional lee 1)1It101 and had

(ml~I~landed the CGC MARIlIN during an exshytenslre sludy of water lempertltures and cUlr~nt8 off Grl~enland and northeastern

Canafl(l 11 1926 S~llltl tl~ok th~ ~oln~L~N[l on a Ifour-1l10rlth crulse(lIOns theuro wesl trl1 and eastern coasts of Greenland compiling enoU$h data to publish a set 01 detailed sallshyIng d1rrectlons

Grenand In AUiied Strategy E~RLY IN 1941 UNDlr INTENSIFYING presmiddot

sureifrolll the British and the Canadians a meeting of representatives frmn the State War ~nd Navy Departments decided that the Unlt~d States should partldpate actIvely in the 9~fense of Greenl~nd Geography had glvel~middot ita slgnlficatlt role to play In the war that was t~t1dng form in Europe

Alberlcan factories were about to disshygors~ a stream of aircraft to be sent to Britalu uncler the Lend-Lease Act and the faste~t way for an a1rplalle to get to England was~nderlts own power The Army Air ForcFs worked out a route that aircraft coulq fly In short hops the great circle track froll~ Nova ScoUa to Scotland ran over southern Greenland

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AI~other strategic lactorwas the value 01 Greeblandas a site for weather stations DataI~oUmiddotectedIn Greenland hE~lpedmeteo-~~~~~~spredlct the weather for western

In r March 1941 the South Greenland Surshyvey ~xpeditlon consisting of diplomats navall and army officers anclan observer froml the Royal Canadian Air Force sailed flOn~ Boston In the cae CAYllGA to locate sl1ltaible slles fnr alr bases weather stations and ~)ther IniUtary installations

T~e Arnericans were ordered to avoid any unpl~asant confrontations th the Greenshy

~~~~~~~~eS~~~I~~)~)~ft~a~~a~~(~~~~I~~~~ Mor$enthau that GerIIlan propaganda has alre4dy made UIIICh 01 the ilssertlon that the (IHlt~ct of Greenl8nderswlth Amerlcalls HI resuilt In thtl erlslavernent 11lIsct~St~nation and 6ltIJnate extinction of the native populashytionI On April ~l thlll and the I)anish anlshybas~ador signed the HuHmiddotKauHmann Agreeshymen~ giving the United Slates the authority to blIUd and operate all basE~s and other deshyfens~ve facilities in Greenland

lhe survey expeditiol1 spent several IlHlIilhs In Greenland assisted by Ihe CAilliGA the N(lRJHIND and the latter vessels l()n~ airplllnt- that proved 1llvltlluable In scolating the terrain and the movelLnenls () the ke lIlay the NIJllTHIAND was ordered

Ttlle US COOS Guord cJnd the Gileelilcmd Polloi 3

Right Ths CGCMODshyOC Ivhlle on a

rescue mission tor torpedoed solJors

May 24 1941 found Itself In between the

Nazi battleship BISIARCK and attacking British

worshlps and alrcroft

back liO BOl1ltonfol a r~lt to be relieved the 240middotfoot cae Moqoc which had just made a trip to vlgtut ~earing Mr Charles Davies a representativ~ of the Pennsylvania firm that Imported cryo~ite

On May 18 the lNO c~tter8Iendezv()used at sea for an exchangcent of rnall bags and a conference between lcberg SUIlth and tjlle MODOCS comlIllandlng officerLCDR Har~Il1 G Belford A lew hour$later they rec~l~~d an urgent nullo messa~e that a conv~JlrI~~JI been attacked by a Gfrman wollpack off Cape Farewell with thelloss of several mfshychant ships The Coastl Guard cutters~ere ordered to look for sUlrvlvors though~pe

frigid water and storm~ weather oUeredlltshytie cause lor optimism

More or Less On stHi8ilr Trligser THE NOf1fILANDt~iANNOUNCING lH~

humanitarian nature bull f its mission wlth lights oversized fhiS and hourly radio broadcasts proceedetl to the site of the convoy fight but foundl only a collection of floating debris and emRty rafts The MODOC with Smiths approval ran down H weak rashydio signal identlfledas cornirlg rom the lifeboats (Jf a stE~lImm larned the MARCl)NI

whIch had been tCllpedltgted ab(mt a hutldred mnes to the south Thf Ismaller CGC GENfRM

GREFNE dlverted fTom al~O(~e anographlc sllr vey on Ntwloundland j~lm~d in the st~arch

At 730 pm May 2ft the lookouts on board the MODOC saw t~le shape of an enorshyII0US grey Wlllshill sud(lenly Inltt~riaUzt (lut

of the mist almost dead ahead The culteirs

ing onto the weather decks to llpptrltloll were even 1l10re Slilfshy

middotmiddotu bullbull eIght an elenI-looking bl pIa nes wemiddotacrlng British markings dropped out of the clouds alrnost directly overhead TheMltJl)oc hd stumbled Into the midst of HlvISVICIOHJshy(Jus atrattack on the German battleship BISshy

MARCK The signalman on the MODI)CS bridge

fl~ulhed a recognition signal he got no reshysponse but the Germuns apparently recogshynized thewhtte-hulled buff-funneled cutter lor what It was Belford ordered Ii pall of American ensigns spread out on the forecasshytlE andlantalL The aviators scored cme torshypedo hit on the BISMARCK braVing a barrage ofantl-alrcrtdt fire thtt (~allH~ frighteningly dose to the rvlotJocs bow

As the alrerlft disappeared Into the over-on the way back to their carrier three

Brltish warships the battleship PRINCE (IF

WALES and the cruisers NORFlltK and SUFFOLK

appeared obViously on the trail of the Gel man ship The PRINCE (l WALES alrnost a slidvQ of 14middotineh shells at the MCI)JOC before the British admiral realized his mistake

Neither t1H~ Monoc flOI the NORIHLANI) (~ver

found any survivors [rolll the convoy thmlgh the GENERAl GREENf pjltlu~d up two lilfeboats and 29 men fnml the MigtRCIJNI

leeberg Snlith COlluIHnl(~I in his report on the Incident lhat II Is fortunate that there were 110 anldents and mistaken idenshytities when an parties weurorc rl1lOIC (II less on a hall trigger

4- The US COlasl GJorltl1md tlleurol GreanlrJnd POIIOil

The Gre9nland Patrol IN JIJNE AND JULY 1941 THE AMERICAN

naval forces contregatlng around Greenlantl were organized officially Into the Greenland PalroL The Northeast Greenland Patrol with Iceberg Smith hi comnland consisted of the NCmTfILANID the woodeuroil1-huUed former surshyvt~y ship NCIRTH STl1R and an old friend of the Coast (Juanl nOlv flying a Nary pennant the USS BER

The BEAR a former seal catcher built in 1875 and llsed by the Revenue Cutter Sermiddot vice for years on the Bering Sea Patrol nmv sported a modernized Sllpt~rstructure and an aircralt The South Greenland Patrol UIIshy

der LCDR Belcher of the M(IDC)C Included tile cutter C(liVItNCI1E the COilst Guald IceshybreakiIlg tug CGC RAHlIAN and the Nail) auxshyIliary schooner BC1WI)CIlN III October the two conlIl1al1(ls were consolidated under CDR Srnith as the Greenland Patrol designated Task ForC(~ 248 url(kr the jurisdiction of the US Atlantlc Fleet

A rnerrlorandurn from ADtvI rlarold Stark the Chief of Naval Operations outlined the IIIISslIU 01 the GreenlandPatrol

1 NAVAl IIPERATICINSiVILL In REQUIREl) IN

1lllImiddot i()R TW() PURPOSES TilE FlnST PURmiddot pelSE IS 1(1 SIJPI(IRT THE ARMtIN ESTABLISHING IN

GRliENLANI) IRIIIII)ME FACILITIES FOR us~ IN FERRYshy

ING AIRCRfl TI) THE BRITISH lsus

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left During bitter freezing winter storms on the Greenland Patrol all hands of the USCGC NOIiIHAND would turn out to chip Ice rhe shiP hod to come about every three hours in order to remove the stablNtl threotemlng frozen water

2 T IE SECOND PURPOSE IS Tel DEFEND GREENshy

LAND I 0 SlEClFlGALLY TO PRrVENT GERMiN OPERlbull TIONS I NORTHEAST GRtENLAND

lceb~rg Smith was as Samuel Eliot Morishyson t e Navys operational historian put It alter t ewar being ordered to do a little of everyt~Jng - the Coast Guard Is used to that

The Army on the basis of the information

~J)~~~(~)~hi~(l~t~o~~ene~l~~~~~~~~i~i bases that it thought could be turned Into mjlital~ instaUations The most promistng of these~ras located on a glacal montlne ltI few miles rom the village of Narsarssuak

In J me H)41 a steady traffic ()llrmy freighters and tlOOp lIUISpolts began stl~alll11111lg from Argentla Nmiddot~~wfoundland to

~~~1~~s~~~i~EEJ~~~~ By $eptember the Anny engineers had

constl~lcted 85 buihUngs and thr~~e miles of acces~ roadsthe lel~p8 that were flown in

ve leJmiddot1bull e ~enI(IJl d s U15I a utOlllObue s ShorII- a clvlllln contractOlS lorce arrived to begin work I 11 the airileld Uself BLUm Volest 1 was to bedome the major Us Army Navy and COil8t tJUllld base In G ThousandsJreenland l)f ~llrcrllft vouid stop there for refueling on theIr ay to Britain

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Tih~1 US Ooosl 13U1Oird oruj th(~ lt3reenllond Patrol 5

Rlght Navy Station 119 aka New Clcamiddot

go on Jan Maven Island on Nov 23

1943 eGC NonnLAND delivered 4 1officers and men J1ncludlng

30 tons of equipment to establish a radioshy

direction ffnder station

AirctlDe

THEA~IeRICANS~ STATfOND AT THEBLl lIEbases led astrenuous and mOllotonous exisshytence Ilostnever saw 1 Greenlander the Army In keeping with ttle Danes prewar policy declared aU Grej(inland settlements

cfflhnItl to AnlelkaJlbull Ibull~Is bullIIhe USbullorllconsul Penfield a1l1lilUflC Ule A1Ilerlcan pubshylic vipound the NaHonal GeqgraililhIc that our nrctlc soldIers live in~lodel ca1nps in a womanless world NI~rIYall barracks comfortably Insulated ag inst the cold have running watel and toHetalUlUES Like other American camps this Ole boasts a moHonshypicture theater barberhop and an elaquoceJlmiddot lent llbraryl saw newsIeels of hllH days football games almost as soon as I would have at hOlne I

The facUlties were ind~ed reasonably sanshyitary but neither the Ar11Y nor the contracshytors ltould do any~hlng a out the wealher In the wInter the blllldmgs ould be buned Ullshy

del the snow and the wi~ds at BUllE West I reached 120 tIlph men iluld to crawl fronl

~u ildiI1S tOb Ull(I~Ilg onfl~ Olfi~~r St11r )~)~ n~casually oul of Ius hut as hUlled agalust a waH 20 feet awav tld bro e both his amUL

Not the least of keb~rg Smiths worries was the pOSSIbility that the Germans might be operating In Grerenland as welL Intercepted radio sign Is Indicated thll weather stations hidelen arnong the coastal

111 (lUlllt abullirISWere sen(ims rl~IOImiddotImiddotS (II developshying storrn patterns to Bellm and to U-boats operating In the N()[th~Uantic The Gershyluans Weil~~ rUHlored to ge plamling a largeshyscale landmg on the east ~~oa5t

6 The US Coosl Guord and tlle Greerdond Patrail i i

While the BtUIE bases were under conshystrucuon the only aircraft aValllble VIere the single-englned flloatplanes attached to the NORlHLANl) USS BEAR and C(iC N(JHlll SrAR

Snlith sent his three planes 011 countless long lonely fIlghts over the fjords and the mountaIns searciling fOI signs of erlcmy acshytivity He also was largf~ly responslbh~ lor the (reatlon of the Greenland Sledge Patrol a contingent of intrepid Eskimos ilnd Danish hunters who recruited by the Greenland gOitmunent and suppHed by the IJS Army SpEmt the war I)atrolling the coastal regions on dog gh~ds Ihe NOHTHLN1) ijth ttlO Darlshylllbmiddotspettklng inlerpleters on IHlllrd beltarne the nerve c(~nter lor ltle Slerlge Patrols operations

On Sept 4 H141 a Umiddotbl)ll tlHpedoe( the US destroyer vhldl was passing through Greenland waters callyIng il shipshyment of mail to the newly-established Arl1erishycan military bas~ in IcelalHL 011 SepL 11 President Roosevelt dellverell a radio adshydress denoundng the IH~haviol of the Gershymans in the North AtlarlUc and wilrning thflt Iron1 now Qll if Gennall (II Italian vessels ()f var Ent(~r th( walers the pr(ltetti()11 (II whIch is necessary (II Arnelican defense they do so at their own periL

A fe~ days tarliel th(i~ Patred llad repclrted 10 the NCIRrlnr~lJ lIull a suspiclousshyloclklng party 01 luen had lancl(id near the entrltluce 01 FltltlZ Joseph Fjord On Sepl 12 the NOlrnitANI) spolled a fishing trawh~r flyshying N(Hweglan cCllolS In Kenzle Bay smne 500 lnHes If) title south llle Ib()iUcUng party Srnitll sent aboarrl the shIp whose

nanle was the found a sophisticated radio SElL Questioning oJ the BUSKOfS crew established tllat It had Indeed dropped off a

a radio tnmsl11iUer one of the NCIRIIIUlND$ oUtcen

ill

l1cCluskey went a 12 armed men They

posed hunlers shack alld sUlrtclU11ded

whlleltkCluskey kicked In the were three 5urprlsed but not pattlcularly belligerent German radiomen who llromptly slrrendered offeted McCluskey a cup of coffee and started building a fire to heat It He confiscated a Gerlllan codebook just beshyforell went into the flames The BtlSKOE and ltstr~~W were senl to Bost)ll for lntermneflt The NOI~TfltND had made the flrst Amerlcan IHlvalcapture 01 World War II

NewSblps for the Arctic ICEBERG SMITHS EXPERIENCES OF 1941

convinced him that he needed more ships During the winter wtth the approval of the Coast Guards Commandant ADM Russell Waesche he acquired to sturdy New Engshyland fishing trawlers that could operate in the shallow waters in support of the navigashytion aids pallles Slnlth gave his new comshymands names from the Eskimo language CGes AIVAKLAK ALATOK AMAROK ARLUK

ATAK ARVEK NANOI( NArsEK and NOGAK Nlne

wee cOllll1lissioIHcl by young Coast Guard andeNSs three of then Academy gradshy

uaeg and the otlu~rs from thi~ recently exshypa~lded eoast Guard Reserve In Iatter (1lIe~l)ry was LTJG ThOInlui S LaFarse a mashyInlll~middottl~t and pbcllographer He appalently dr Wned when his ship tht~ dlsapshype red in the Gulf of St Lawrence In Decemshybe 1942 probably a vl(~tlm of icing

he NANOI( wait commanded by LT Magshynu GMagnusson a native of Iceland with 30 years of seagolnJS experience In 1940 M bullgnusmiddotson had beeu serving as Danish conmiddot suto Boston upon the Oerl1lan Invasion 01 De~bull lark he resIgned and joined t~ Co~st Guard Aft$r summamiddot

~~~~~~~IdbI~~t convelted trawler of

iueOld weather Ice fogsnowstorms and pi uty of hard wl)rk were far worse than any of the expectathms of my crew of green p tentlal saHols But there they were ~ COlmiddot ped up In that little tub month after mnth in bad weather wet to their skins re gtardless of whether they were on the lookshyOtl watch ortn their sacks I SIlW those kids st nd in water up to their armpits In water thft had a temperature of 34 degrees workmiddot In from six In mOllling to almost midmiddot nl ht floatln~alldroilingoil barrels ashore I SliwWorkall day and well Into the

Below The leGe Sroms In 7942 was part of a new glmeratlon of supply S~iP5 The 230400t terder had 0 sfrengthEtned hull tor Icebreajklng light antJ-submqrlne armashyment sonqr the equlpmen~ to handle a seoplan~ ond 0 spacious cprgo hOld

Right The CGC AMAllOl( fo~m9rly

known as the steel trawler nK was ol1e of 10 shallow-watershy

capable trawlers assigned to Gresnshyland to support aids

to navlgotlon

night unloading tons oflshark meal whose odor could be smelled Iqr illites their hands

t~Jrn and bleedlngcr~lnt~ e ~pa ~ues onbull rbull pllee

the sharkskin I 8awthe~1 hang 011 With one hand and brt~ak icl~ wlthlthe other 20 out of 24 hours In a (iSimph S~e with the slllpOll her beam ends and the temp~~rature at 5 deshy

grees beJow ze ro C bullbullsr bullltlaold~ un bull bullytire h rldsleepy but th~Y worked UIlo grln on ther

faces not lor one day bu for three days ~

By the fall of 1942 t e navaLarcllltects were incorporating he ~XI~)l1lenceso(the Greenland ~atlol Into aIIlew generation ltIf ships The 230-fo~)t tenqer cmnmisshysloned on SefgttlHl that fear WiS deshysigned speclflcdly to ger~e a a supply ship fomiddotmiddotr the BLUm bases Th~StOIUS combined a hull strengthened for Ie breaking with a light anti-submarine arament sonar the gear to handle a seaplaqe and a capacious cargo hold In mld-194q three of the m~w

180-foot tenders of thel eaelus class the

Cac s CmiddotIlbull RL ISEVERltlREEN ~ld LAUREL we re cISshy51gilled to the Greenl~md middotatro These versamiddot tile little ships built on te Great Lakes had been designed primarIly ~lll buoy tenders In Greenland waters they pecame freighters light Icebreakers and cQvoy escorts

Aids to Nevllgatlon I

TilE ESTABLlSliMENT ~l~ TIIE HI-UIE BASES brought more se~lgolnlf bull r~lffl( to Greellland than It hlH evetmiddot seen Ploy to war the Danels h ad operated 0fe staUon 11 Greellland the onIY othe extant ~llds to IUIishyIgatlon were heaps of r cks on prominent

p()iJlts and posts on which kerosene lamps could be hung The complicated and hastily cl81ted geography created at It~ast as great a danger toshlpplng as the U-boats did Late in 1911 the COMt Guard undertook to estabshylish a system oI aids that would make the fJordsand coastal waters of Greenland tolershyably sale for navigation In a more temperate climate the installation of such equipment would have been a simple matter in wartime Greenland It turned into a minor epic

Iceberg Smith plilced LT Frimk Plshmael LTJG Carl W Rom and LT Ioseph Iv Pl~IVllcek In conunand of three working parshyties (Ishmaels with nine men was the largest) In the course of two years they set up range IJghts shore markers and radio beacons at UlOre than 50 sites pausing only lor the worst of the winter weather In JanshyuaryandFebruary

CondUions were primItive in the extreme The Coast Guard ships always In demand for convoying and traIISport dutleselseshywhere deposited the working parties on shore and left them to their own devices They had to buUd theIr own Ilvin~l quarters frequently consisting of tar paper-covered wood shacks with sleE~plng bags lrlslde and cook for Uu~mst~lvt~sj placing their faltll in Inshygenully and undiscrlminating palates (1lavHceks recipe for snow ice~-crealn

two bowlfuls of snow add sugar to taste then throw tn ltI dash of fruit juke or extract for flallof The result Isnt bad)

Even more challengIng was the task of

IJ bull Thl2l U s CCJost GUClrd and IhEI Greenlcmd Polloi

II

settlng llp theequlpl11ent where It belonged SteE~1 gJrdels sacks of col1crete electrical generators and gasoline drums got hauled up dlfl laces by hand-cranked winches and slloved over the lee on sleds

In November 1l42 the NORTHIAND landed apart) of 41 officers and men and 30 tons of equll)lnent on Ian ~llayen Ii NorlAeghlIl-QCCUshypled island north of k~land to set up a hlghshyfrequency direction Inder station The

Left Crewmembers from the CGCLAUlltl unload 011 and supshyplies at Simiutak South Greenland a fight-beacon base Feb 11 1945 Simiutak broadly translated means cork-tn-o-beffle and refers to a rock or Islet partially enclosing or stoppering the mouth of an anchorage Thiellt Ice olded dockshyIng and prevented damage from rocks on either side of the anchorage

coastGUardSmen set up a small battery of anU-middotalrcraft tlilachlne gUllS leading the NorshyWegla~ inhabitants to nickname the Installamiddot tlon I ew Chicago

At he time the United States entered Ihe Secon~ WOIld War a team of electronics exshyperts was working on the detaHs of a new long-r~mge alc1s-to-navigatlon system called lorani In late 1942 the Navy llegall setting up a ~haln 01 loran statlllnS running across

I US CoostGuard and the Greenland PlJh()I bull 9

Inset LT John A Piltchord Jr pilot of

the NC)lTHIANDS Gtumshymon J2Fmiddot5 Duck prior to takeoffln the Nov 28 1942 rl3scue of an

Army 8-7 FIVlng Fortress crew 40 miles

inland Pritchard and his odloman

A(M Ic Benjamin Botshytoms were lost the next day following bad weather on 0

second attempt for the remaining surshyvivors Two of the

irmy QViiotors were later rescued

the No one aerial wouldbe ericksd

The $~t

mandedaba worst time ltgtfthe year joint AcflnV-middotiltRlJmiddotVshy

Coast Guard constnlCU(n team arrived at Frederlcksdaal Nov 11 ~942 The party atshytempted to set up hous keeping in canvas lents which promptly wre scattered by (I

Greenland gale By New Years Eve the Anny engineers had erected ani Impressive cone~shytion of sturdylooklng J1

ooden ngs that night the WIl1d rose a 165 mph and as the LT commanding the oast Guard con tinshy

gcent repJrt ed llWhen lal~ t seen blli~di ngswere headed in the ge~eral dlrectloll 01 Boston Mass Th~ soh~tlon tUfl~t~d out to he a row of metal Quons~~t huts Imbedded

11n(n and burltd under middotlleijli~~II Ions of sand which had tfl be exshyun bull from the frolt~n bead wHll dynashy

The Greenland loran staUon went on on ]ilafell 11 1~J4a

On Nov 21 1943 Iceberg SnIUJI who in the Spilte of wUthne PlOIIIOliollS had atshytained the rank of RADit 15 placed in comshyrnand of the Navys Task 24 1vith jushyrlsdidlon over Iceland as well as Grecnland Commodore Earl G Rose was given cornmiddot mand of the Greenland Patrol

The Loss of the Northlands Plane ON Nov 28 1942lIIE NOlrlHLAND

now under the command 01 CI)R Frands C Pollard received a messlge the Army had nlade contact wilh tIle crew o a Bmiddott 7 Flying Fortress Ihat hud down em the jCE~ cap about mileslnllan(1 The luller had receIllly ex(~hllnged its obs()lescerlt

ij 0 bull nIEl U8 (oosl Guord ond 1~le Gr8tmland Polled

i I

S()C-4 fIIoatplane for a Grunnnan J2F-5 Duck ittld the wounded amphibiUl f1ovll by 11 101m A Prilehald Jr Despite a heavy logPrUchard and his rashydicllna[ ARM 1lt Benjarnln Bottoms look off and lllltlnaged to locate the crashed H-17

The Iand around it was badly crevassed but there was a smooth field coveleel with snow four Iniles away Pritchard (~arefllily

set his DuckwHh its landing gear nlracted down (In the snow

L~Idng Botlorns in the plane to mainlltlill radio c(mtltlcl with the NORlHLAND Pritchard sel (Ilf on loot In the (lirectlon of the 13-17 Till Allny flyers who had been on the ice cal) for tWI) veeks were practically frozen and orl the verge of slarvatioll but they gave hill an enthuslnstic w~~kolne Three of

IIU11 were injurt~d fIitehard decided to escort them back to his plarle and fly them to the It~t urnillg lah~r for the

Artn bade 10 the Duck but under the ctrcumSlances It could not gel of the ground with more than three people on boar~ One of the Army men had to remain behi4d as the plane rose from the snow By the tIme Pritchllrd rell(hed the coast dark ness Ihad set tn but Pollard ordered the Nl)RT~lANDS searchlights turned on to serve

as a IbeaconIhe ltutters crmII lined the rails and cheered as the Duck taxied alon~slde

Early the next morning Prilchmd and Bottqll1S took oft again 10 pick up another load ~)f survivors from the 13-17 Shortly after the Quck disappeared (rorn view the weathshyer d~sed iill and lolll1lnl ordered Pritchard back to thlO ship A few rnlnutes lal~~r the cutshy

t~rs JadiOI~iCked~l~llottOlns l~e~sag that l he [luck had lal1tkd on the ICf~ cap ltISelin As th~ weaUlergrew vorse the signals from

I

Left LrPritchards Grumman J2Fmiddot5 Duck amphibian aircraft taxis away from the CGC NOifTHLMiD Pritchard and Bottoms would eventually each receive a pasthumas award of the Distinguished FIV~ Ing Cross ENS Richard L Fuller would later lose MO toes to frostbite during an aHamp to rind Pritchards plane

Th~~ U8 ClI051 GtKlrd Clndlhe Greenlond Pohc bull 11

Right The cuffers $10lt15 NOflINliANC and

EV[lt13fIEfN at base BUE ~Vest Ion Nov 6

1944 The NCIIifLAND hod fl1Ceived damshy

ages In the Ice in Septernber The GGCs

$r(JlIrS AtN) Efl~18)(lEtiljl

towl3o iJornlll~AND first 10 iceonel then to BINI A NovV seoshy

flOlng lug then to~ed the cutter to Boston

and bock

I I

I

LI~bullbull11 btl_

liThe cretLv of a cuttcentr that arrived at the scene of a sin~ingttrith ot)es and ca1go net~

trailing in the ~vaur wouldttCltch ~lplessly as men dt01V11ed and f~oze to death unable to grab the li~les that ttere waiting to Jull them I to safety 11

i I

the plane grew an4 faded out On Dec from tbe NQRm-

LANl) to search for Pritchards as well as for the 8-17 After more than a month of fighting the Greenland winter they gave up an~ returned to the ship

An Army aircraft spottEki the wreckageuro of the Duck lour months later but Prltchard and BOttOU18 iere Ileve~rfOUlld B()fh were awarded Dlstlnguis ed Flying Cross posthumonsly The re ainlng slIlVlvors from the 8middot17 were even uallv rescued by Navy and Army aircraft i Convoy Duty

GREENLAND WAS HE EDGE OF THE Battle of the Atlantlc thl~ I flgl1t to the death

between the German U-boat lorceand tile AmerIcan shipbuild ing industry An Ii ~

and British designers developed an alserlal of weaponry thateventuaUy would help tUIlil

the tlde- radar IUlproved soundmiddotdetectlorl eflulpment more powerful depth chargs and imprOed depth eharge-throwlng equipshyment The first ships equipped with new gear were the big Navy destroyers the Coast Guard cutters were given low prlorily The 327-foot Treasury-dass cutters with their roomy huUs and hospital facUlties turned out to be good escorts and were put on the transatlantic rullS The duty 01 es- cOltlng the cmlvoys to and frorn Greenland feU to t~e older smaller cutters that had been builtin the 19208 and 305 for searchmiddot and-rescue work and law enforcement As the Coast Guard prepared for war the navy yards kladed them down with addlUcmal guns depth charges sound gear and lIlen in the hope that the cutters could fun(~t1on as miniature destroyers At best they made admiddot eq uate escorts

The North Atlantic slanuned the little ships around Illke corks splUinggear out omiddotf lockers and men out of bunks Wht~n the weather conditions were righI freezing spray could coat the superstructure of a rolling ship with tons of ice creating stabUlty problems the naval architects had never envisioned Below decks ste(lm h(latmiddot

lllg yslems made ships and creWSlIweat mel found themselves sliding across decks that were soakt~d with eondensatloll Arthur Tur k a machinists mate on board the MtH IlC swore he saw footprlnts on the shijlS engIne room bulkheads

B eaking ice in the paths of the convoys ltldits SpeCiill set of hazards A lead that seened to streich lor mIles could close up JIl In Ilutes suddenly subjecting the cutters huH to tons 01 pressure from shIfting Ice Whel the ice (lid crack It got 811ckedlnto 111Oj ellers berldlng and breaking blades A

ship with a damaged screw could head to Boston for repaIrs only when time and duty alshylowed more than one crew had to tolerate a nerve-fraying patshytern of hull vibratlons that lastshyed for weeks

Nervous tension seilSlckness mel lack of sleep were combined with a rarely-mentioned but alshyways present sense of lear for every Coast Guardsman knew how vulnerable his ship would be to a Gennan lorpedo At the beginning of the war most of the cutters had the portholes in their hulls welded shut but their designers had rIOt bothshyen~d with watertight compartshyrnentalion

fhe escorts were Ughting an Qmlnous rar(~ly seel enerny who usually announced his pn~sence by blasting theuro~ bottonl (Jut of an unsuspecting mershydlanl shlp - al(l could only bf~

detected in th e form 01 vague

Left Three PSImiddotSA Catalina patrol bombers 111 fbtmClllon off the Greenland coast at 7000 feet n June 1945

s~Undli In the earphones of a sonar operashytOifThe defects of 19408 souucldetection g~ar were exacerbated by the murky arctic wter with icebergs temperature layers wllales and schools of fish complicating the ecihoes

Ilhe convoy fights carne lofol1ow a deshyprbsstns pattern A Inpoundrchtll1tluan vould su~ldenly eliiplode the escorts yould dash toltl1e sltene r~lSClle l few waterlogged SUrVlvors the sonar operators wouldmiddot pick up an echo that they hoped represented a 0shyboat the clltters would drop depth charges an~ aU hands would try to convince themshysel~es that the echos disappearance meant th~ submarine had btlen SIlIk (kcaslonally so~eone saw or smelled an oil sUck that llllht have come fronl a damaSld U-boat bU~ JW one could be sure No viE~ssel 01 Ihe Gr~enland Ptrol was ever officially credited wit~ sinking a Umiddotboat

lin ilter whose temperature often actualshyly ljIlOpped below n degrees a hurnlUl beshylngls limbs began to go numb in a matter 01 mh~utes The crew of a (~uUer that arrived at Ihel scene 01 a sinking with ropes and cargo net~ trailing In th~~ water~l()uld watch helpshylessly as men drowned and froze to d(ath unalble to grab the lines that were waiting to pul them to safety Vlhen the Army transshyport DorcHEsTER was torpedoed Feb 3 ] 943 the escortlng cutters OIrolANCHE and ESCAN1BA

thOlght themselves lucky to save 2H9 of the pound104 IIIIen on board

(in June 13 1~ll~ the CGCs MII)JVE

TMfA STORISI1nCI ES(~NAI i ancI tilt tug1 RARIshyTAN were eStorting a convoy from BUHE WeJt I to Newfoundhlnd At5IO am th(~ rnel~ [lll th(~ S1(RIS brhlge SIV ltl cloud [ll yelshylow land black smoke gush up from the Es-

I The U$ COCISllU(IOr and Vi) 1feeuroIn~~lnq foroi i

I )

3

RIght eGC EASIW1ND crewmembers Iransshy

fer captured Nazi radio and weather

station supplies bock to the ship Oct 4

1944 Locallng ond destroying enemy

weather statIons was the job of the Sledge

Patrol

CANABA Ihmiddotere were no IIsonar contacts and

no radio signals from the ESCANAEIA but the 165~foot cutter sank in I tlhree nlnutes The STORlS and RARitAN plck~dmiddotup two survivors neither of whom had 81lfwhat had hapshypened The rest of th~ EscANABAS crew of 103 including Its cOiIulandlng oUkcr CDR Carl Peterson were lostf

Eventually the Coast Guard worked out the retriever system i-thereby a volunteer in a rubber suit would JIlll11 P overboard with a rope and tie ltaround th~ survivors lorso When the Anny frelgh~er NEVlDA WiU sunk Dec 16 194~~ tbe C)II~(HF vasbull poundlbl e to resshycue 29 men - about ha~f of Its crev

Patrol Bomblng Sq~adron

THE LITTLE FLOATP~ANES ATTACHED TO the Greenland patrolt shJps had demonshystnlled the value of tI e airplane in arctic search-and-rescue WOImiddot~ On Aug 6 11)41 Pashytrol Bombing SCJ uad 0n 6 a Navy unll manned entirely by C middotast Guardsrnen beshygan operating from BLlIE West I and Argenshytill Bombing Ii comma~ded by Coast Guard CDR DB McDlannld Vas to earn a reputashytlon as one of the busieuro~)l and most effective i1 Coast Guard avlatlonlhistory

Like every (llher ~oast liuard unit in

Greenlald BombinSG Ilad to doabull Hltleuro ()1

1

everything Its 12 PBr-5A Ciltalinas searched for U-boats lind Gennan weiltllel

statiollS escorted C(~~I~OYS (leHvfred r~litlil reported on the mo fJ~lents tll the lee rId on several dozen oeca~lonll gUided rescue parties to crashed Allty and N~vy aircraft By Novernbel 1914 B~)lnblng b had nown 6381l98 rniles In H825lflylng IHlUlS searchshyIng more than JlnilUol1 squlllemHes ol ice cap and oceul

On the afternooll 011 Feb 13 I L(Dn

- _---- _ _-~bull middotmiddotmiddotmiddot 1

John J lt1cCubblns CAtalina on a roulJlle flight Just west of Cape Farewell happened upon a BrUlsh Navy travller 111vIS SIampoTHELLA The little ship had bet~n disabled by a damaged shalt beltlrlng in a storm on the North AUantlc convoy run a month earlishyer and Its radio had burned out the STRlTHELlAS crew had almosl died of thirst and starvation McCubbln contltlcted the cutshyter MOD(le which took the stricken trawler in tow for Greenland WhPI the British crewshymen sighted the ]I()IJI()C they sellt a semaphore signal ltIe Clue and all )we our lives to YC)u You did a Inasterpiece o(vork SOlueday perhaps we will be able 10 SII(IW

our appreciation

The War AgainstGerman Weather Stations

THE GERMAN HIGH COMMLND PPARENTLi never seriously considenl(l lpound~unchlng a fullshy

scale offensive tn GleenlaJld but did contino ue to value It as a W~~iltlH~Ii SIlIIJOI1 The eemmiddot voys occasionally sighted long-nlnge (iershyman aIrcraft and the AI1)(~ricarl olfiicers blauled s~~veral AllIed plallt craslles (HI boshygus radIo signals emanating flOlll enerny transnlilters hldden in the coastal IIH)Unshy

talns In the spling of I 113 the Sledge lliltrollrlshy

c()unl(red a snlall (ll Gerrnan se)ldIers on the east eoast A Danisl rnernber of the patrol olanaged to ovltrpower lJlle of the Cierman officers and after a Inonthmiddotlollg jOllrney of 30(1 lllHes (Iver ice delivered him into US ctlstody lhe NrJlrrHLINIJ and NOlUl with 26 Arlny C()lnlnandos three DanIsh 40 sl(~d (tlgS a eOIIsldershyable quanllt) dog f()od on were given OlitlS tcate the (Icrrnan base and destroy It

_

rhe expedition with NORrH STARS captahl Carl C von Paulsenl In cOlnmuld set out with hilgb hopes but ac(omplished Ilttle The woorhln-hulled NORIH STAR got damagt~d in the ice and the task force had to make ltI detour to the Navy repair facility in Iceland Von bullbullbullbullbull Paulsen shifted his flag to the

Lett The first German prisoner from a copshytured Nazi weather station on Shannon Island stepsaboord the NORiHLAND Sept 1944 Army 652nd Infantry soldiers accompanied crewmembers as Ships Landing Force

Inset The German prisoners loter enjoyed dinner on the NORUilANDS mess deck

~IP Q~ltthelce

AmiddotdQwmiddotnon Sept llfJ44 the NORmiddotnILAND patr gtHlns off Great Koldewey Island spotmiddot ted trawler that refused to respond to1 recoj5ll1uon slgnals The cu~t~rs captaJfl tCD~ RW Butcher called his crew to battle statl~ms and gave chase

BItcher was worried Ihat his quarry mighr~middot make lor 0pl~n water where the slug-

Sl Sh middotOR1HlAND prObabl IOtdd 1Je unable 10keep up but the Gennan captain chose Inmiddot steae to try to lose the Coast Guard cutter in th Ice

Tlten~ enslierl a thlee-hour chase over

SOIIl 70 mnes Iiilll the Nil)RTIUANDS torwar (1a-Inc 1 gun firing at the tnlwIer whenever lit apPI~red between the ice floes Iu~t as the gunntrs were findlng the range the German vess1I was suddenly roded by a plir of exshyplosifmsand qUickly SIUlk srutUed by lis creW_Imiddot

The NORnIIAND plcked up three lifeboats contllning eight offlcers and 20 enlisted fllen hhe senior Germm ofliceurotr a navy comshymander cerelnonlously handed his sword over ~o Butcher who llung It in tbe NcmTHshyLlND~ wardroom

NOfmnANllAlter an extensivepatrl)~IIQmg

thEl east coast it was established that the Genmm party had tried to take over the Sledge Patrol station on Sabine Island but that a forlte of AmerIcan bombers had deshystroyed it and the Gennans had been evacushyated by air fhe American landing party capshytured one Gennan officer who claimed he was il doctor von Paulsen suspected that the BlaB was in fact a Gestapo agent

In July HII44 the NORTlIIAND and the STORIS embalkt~d a force of Army troops and set out to destr(ly a German weather slatlon thaI the Slf~dge Patrol had found on the east coast near Shannon Island Once again the GenIHlns fled before the Coast Guard arshyrivedlhe Americans c)lmd a slnall meticushyIOllSly canlollflaged building a stockpile of gasoline drums food and ammunition and C()]]lponents of a Iltmg-range radio transmitshyter Vl(~dged In the Ice about four miles from the sllOre stalJoIl was an abandoned German

apparently nanled CCHIERG which had been then~ for some HIlle its

htlU had been dQInagt~d by nre and holed by an explosion and two anti-aircraft guns had been fromlhe ships deck and set

lhe us CCKlS Guord (JndtheGreenlancl PCltroil Hi

I (

Right llJt1Zi NaIV Auxshy1ICIIV VesselExfIINshy

SIINE the onv Gershynon vessef

taken at sea by Amerlcan forces durshy

Ing the war FollowshyIng (7 12-dav search st(lrted Oct 2 1944 tJiS ship surrendered

afrer Iie CASIlAijNO loncJed three 5-nch

wlvoes alongside the trawler

EASTWI III the autlllllll of

en coes EASTWINO

by the famous naval Gibbs and Cox I The Wlnd-clas latest le~breaker were

munitions some elaborate rologicaJ equipment and

sene-soaked secret documents [)elrman commander was about to

Thomas then turned his attention 10 the Shlp his plane hud spoUed The vessel a

~tvely Sl11~U tubby Ship~middot bullbullbullbullbull 3 Iength of 269 feuro~et and II beam of 631lelilt l3 but their diesel power plan~1 genelated a reshyspelttable 12000 IIolsepQwer A removable propeller at the bow was Intended to clear

~~J~r~~~~EU~~~cd~~~ back and forth Thedr w beam enabled the ships to (carry a subtanUal armanrent two twirl 5Uuh dual-pur pose njounts three quadrupJe4011lll1 a mOullts six 201l1n1RIHi alrcraft two depth~

charge tracks six lJiI H(ldgehog anti-submarine veapon

The designers alsn lo~nd room for a J2F aircraft and a pall of de~rlcksto handle It The EASIVIND SOUltIWINPIST~ lRIS allmJNIJRIIl~ LAND llth the desIIPlati~ll Utill and the EASIWINDS CAf~1middotthalileiSmiddotW Thomas

~~~~m~~~ea~ ~~~ On Oct 2 the EsnvIN~)S aircraft slghtt~d

what its observer caUed 1a big ship about a 100 InlIes north 01 Shannqn Island A dil) latshyer the same plane fIY~iIg on pallol over

~~~ a~i~ ~p~)~~7y~I~middotid~middot~tmiddotr~bullon lhe bench The EAST liND headed for 1Ill~

lalter sile and having ~loken through 12

11lIIes of ll~ Ckice UI1dierf()middot~er 01 di1 r knf~s~ put a lauellng party ul1(le~ LfJG Alden LewiS ashore The Coast Guar~LllllelJ ltaptured 11 dozen Gellllan lnilltary personnel several

l83-foot trawler named EXTERNSTEINE was fishynally locclted frozen solid in the ice 01pound Shanshynon Island OcL 14 The EASTWIND with the SCIUTHIVIND providing support rammed through the ice until its 5-inch guns were withIn range After three salvoes from the EA=lTVINDS forward gun mount landed alongshysIde the trawler a blinker signal flashed ve give up The EASTWIND proceeded to within 200 yards of the German ship and sel1it a prlze crew of 32 menlhey took

ElNE whleh they unoUlciltllly reshyEAST BREEZE to Iceland The Navy

shIp - the only German surface at sea by American lor(~es durshy

Ing the war- tht~ more prosaic name eALLAO

the (8mpaign against the weather stashytions marked the end of Amerkan ltlcHons

st the Germans inGr(~enland

AddltionafReadlng THE MClST cmIPREHENSIVE ACC()IJNT ()F the Coast Guards operatiOJls in Greenland is (~reel1shyland Patrol the second of the 30 monoshygraphs ln the unpublished sellesThe Coaltt GilaId al 1Var prepared by the Coast Guards historical sectl()l shortly after the war The Greenland volume was written by Pauline de Brodes The lllonograph seties Ias till b1Sis for the standard published source on tbe Coast GlIltllds wartllm~ (lclivishyties lVlalcolrn FWUloughbys The Us (~()ast

JI6_Ihi us C005t GUClC and nlle (rEHnIond Pololl

i

II

Patrolling the ~old Front Minfral Dt~posits Crucial for Aluminumtroduction Spark XJXlII Interest

I

IN 19411 IIOST AMERICANS WHOKNEW wid~ belt that the Eskimos caU the storls a if that Grccnland eXlsted thQUIShtOflt ag a Inaijs offloatlQS icebE~rgs rlUllling fmm ll few

nondescript white blob the tops of yar~ls to several city blocks wIde During the their world mapsThat the place mlght have wln~er G~eenland is almostisolated from the any miUtary slgnlflC1ince to the grcatpowef8 res~of the world only shlps eqUipped for had occurred to scarcely anyone -least of bre~klng Ice can force their way into the all to the people wilt) lIved there But In the fjor~lfl Few have reason to try nml five years Greenland was to become a l~ the spring and SUlllmer the climate of small but signUkaint theater of war and was 90u~hern OrJeenlalld 1amp relatively congenial to confront the Us Coast Guard with some wltl temperatures warming to the 50s as of the mostardtlous duties it had ever been chU~ks of glacial icermnble down the fjords called upon to perform on heil way out to sea The storls proshy

pened by the current drifts westward arO~nd Cape Farewell the southern tip of the lisland and eventually dl~appears As

themiddotl ow melts and the wind dies the little J

~El~Uements take ana pleasantly rustle

GREENLAND Isa largely deserted island of about 827000 square mJles most of which lies above the Arctic Circle Sclentists believe that thelnteshyrim Is covered by mountains alld steep gorges but since prehistoric times the) have been burh~d under a mass of Ice that covers 80 percent of the land area (li the Greenland ke cap evt~r melted the worlds oceans would rise by about 20 feet) In the wInter the arctic winds blow unimpeded for hundreds or mlles over the ice cap covering ltwHh snow and driving the temperature as low as 90 degrees below zero

The coastline Is penetrated by hlindrE~ds

01 narrm1 ljords some of them luttlng10 mIles Inland POI most of the year Greenland Is virtually surrounded by a 20- to 30-mlleshy

I

lookj wlth bright red and yellow buildIngs adlllpg eolor to the rocky jandscape There areiwtrees but enough grass grows along 8mll OfthefIords to stlstain herds of sheepand he clilimblnatlon of warID air and high humlldHy produces frequent drizzle and mistbull Summer visitors to Greenland are surshyprtsd by the swarms oJ mosquitoes

In11940 most ofthe 20000 or so Inhabishytant~ llved in villages along the southwest coast paying ceasual homage to a handful of unif9rmed bureaucrats representing the forshyelgolministry of Delunark The Daneshad bee~ governing Greenland as a colony for sevetalhundred years supplyIng the Green-

Left A largeJv oesertmiddot ed Isand of about 827000 square miles mars than 80 pershycent of Greenland s covered by a mass at Ice Winfer temperashytures con reach 90 degrees beow zero

Th3 us COOII GU(Jrd and the GrElenionltj -I







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