In 1914, a proposal to combine the U.S. Life-Saving Service and the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service was put forth, and met

with the approval of the heads of the two Services.

On January 15, 1915, the two organizations were merged to form the U.S. Coast Guard. 

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The new U. S. Coast Guard continued the lifesaving traditions of its predecessor and was soon put to test.

On August 16, 1918, at the height of World War I, the lookout at the Chicamacomico Station, North Carolina, spotted a British tanker, the Mirlo, hit by a torpedo.

The shout of the lookout began a rescue by the station crew, under the command of John Allen Midgett, that has become

a legend in the annals of the Coast Guard.

Twelve years later, in 1930, Midgett and his crew received one of Great Britain's highest honors, The Grand Cross, for their bravery.