The families of two Coast Guardsmen killed during World War I will receive their relatives' Purple Heart medals Thursday during a ceremony in Tampa, Florida.
Fireman Angus Nelson MacLean and 1st Lt. James Frost died on Sept. 26, 1918, off Wales, when the Coast Guard cutter Tampa was attacked by a German submarine.
The Tampa took a direct hit amidships from a torpedo and sank within three minutes, resulting in the biggest loss of life in a single day for the Coast Guard — 111 members. Four U.S. Navy sailors also died, as well as 11 members of the Royal Navy and five civilians.
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During World War I, the Purple Heart, which was created as the Badge for Military Merit by Gen. George Washington in 1782 and is given to service members who sustain injuries or are killed as a result of enemy action, was not being awarded. Even though the medal was revived in 1932, it wasn't authorized for Coast Guardsmen until 1942 and, at the time, only for those who served in World War II.
The Purple Heart was made retroactive to WWI in 1952 but, according to the Coast Guard, the Tampa crew was overlooked. In 1999, then-retired Master Chief Petty Officer James Bunch proposed that the medal be awarded posthumously to the crew.
The idea was approved by then-Commandant Adm. James Loy, and the service has been trying to track down family members ever since.
“More than 100 years…
