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USCGC Tampa Honored on 100th Anniversary of its Sinking in World War One

September 28, 2018 - 11:15am
USCGC Tampa
USCGC Tampa

With this week marking the centennial of a German U-Boat sinking the the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Tampa during World War One, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., honored the memory of the 111 Coast Guardsmen, four Navy sailors and 16 passengers including 11 members of the British Navy. 

More than 20 of the Coast Guardsmen killed on the Tampa hailed from the Tampa Bay area. While the ship was run by the Navy during World War One, most of the crew were members of the Coast Guard. The Tampa was sunk in the Bristol Channel off the western coast of England on Sept. 26, 1918, less than two months before the Armistice. 

Castor attended a ceremony hold by the Coast Guard in Washington to honor the memories of the lives lost on the Tampa.

“I welcomed a number of Tampa families to Washington for the U.S. Coast Guard ceremony honoring U.S. Coast Guard Cutter ‘Tampa’ and her crew,” Castor said this week. “The USCGC Tampa was sunk by a German submarine U-boat 100 years ago today during World War I off the coast of England.  One hundred and thirty-one men, including 24 from Tampa, lost their lives on that fateful day in one of the worst maritime losses of life during wartime.  The service and dedication of the Coast Guard was celebrated along with the sacrifice of the crew of the USS Tampa.  We remembered the brave men we lost and acknowledged the long-lasting bond between a ship in service to America and a grateful city.

“The story of Tampa is the story of the bravery of all who have served in the U.S. Coast Guard.  It is the story of a patriotic and thankful community; of the talented men and women who are ‘Always Ready’ to serve our great country and save lives as part of the greatest maritime service in the world; and of sacrifice of those who served and paid that ‘last full measure of devotion.’  Thanks to the great work of dedicated Tampanians like Nancy Turner, Robin Gonzalez and others, the story of USS Tampa and her crew will never be forgotten,” Castor added. 

The Tampa is honored at the Coast Guard Memorial at Arlington Cemetery and at the Brookwood American Cemetery and Memorial in Surrey, England. 

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