Honor Among Friends!

A handful of retired classmates of the Canadian Naval College and I took on a 50th year class project. Our goal was to replace a faded photo (photos above) of one of our own, who had fallen three days before Christmas, 1964, while on loan to the United States Coast Guard. We completed this task in March of this year.

A 'Press Release" put out by the Coast Guard on March 31, 2010 by LT Todd Vorenkamp, detailed the story behind the visit.

McKinleyville, CA - A group of former Canadian military officers visited Coast Guard Group Humboldt Bay to remember fallen shipmate Royal Canadian Navy pilot and U.S. Coast Guard exchange aviator, Sub lieutenant Allen Alltree, on Wednesday.

Sub Lt. Alltree was killed near Trinidad, CA., in the tragic crash of Coast Guard helicopter CG-1363 on December 22, 1964 while on a rescue mission.

In December of 1964 the "Storm of the Century" had hit northern California. The Eel River was well above the flood stage and local emergency services were overwhelmed. The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office requested assistance from Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco to evacuate 16 stranded persons in danger of being engulfed by the rising waters on Cock Robin Island. The island, at the mouth of the Eel River was 200 miles north of San Francisco. That morning, a Sikorsky HH-52A Seaguard helicopter was airborne with Lt. Donald L. Prince, USGC, pilot; Sub Lt. Alltree, copilot; and James A. Nininger, Jr., Aviation Electricians Mate second class, USGC, crewman.

The helicopter arrived on scene at about 2:50 p.m., and, in spite of rain, fog, and extremely high winds, commenced rescue operations. Late in the afternoon, after having rescued at least 20 people from the raging flood waters, the helicopter landed its last 5 survivors at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds in Ferndale, CA. Mr. Bud Hansen, a local dairy farmer, volunteered to assist the Coast Guard crew in finding more neighbors before darkness made the searching impossible. The helicopter departed in "terrific winds and heavy rainfall." Now in darkness, they made three more rescues, hoisting Mrs. Marine Bahnsen, Mrs. Betty Kemp and her baby, Melanie.

Darkness had settled and fuel was getting low. The crew flew north towards the Arcata Airport where they had fueled earlier in the afternoon. With low visibility the crew was forced to fly offshore. Due to power failures from the storm, the airport lighting was inoperative. The crew realized they had missed the airport when they picked up a radio bearing north of Trinidad. In turning back to the south, the extremely high winds pushed them inland where they impacted the terrain at 1200-feet above sea level, coming to rest in a stand of Redwood trees. Due to the terrible weather conditions, it took rescuers five days to locate and hike to the wreckage site where they found the helicopter completely demolished and all on board deceased. Medical experts reported that death for all had been instantaneous.

Sub. Lt. Alltree and the rest of the aircrew posthumously received Air Medals for meritorious achievement in aerial flight. In October 1998, Bud Hansen was posthumously awarded the Meritorious Public Service Award for his selfless act of heroism, in putting his neighbor's interest above his own.


My classmates from L to R - Ken Scotten, Ed Vishek, Wilf Lund, Finlay Sterling, Myself, and Larry Lott with Captain Chris Martino, Commanding Officer, USCG Humboldt Bay Air Station.)

"It was our honor to host these Canadian officers and their families for today's ceremony," said Lt. Todd Vorenkamp, public affairs officer for Group Humboldt Bay. "As an exchange pilot, Sub Lt. Alltree was a member of our Coast Guard family, and it is a privilege to meet his Canadian shipmates and hear stories about someone who was a member of a crew that heroically gave their lives while saving others."

Royal Canadian Navy Captain Wilfred Lund (retired) contacted the Coast Guard in January and expressed a desire to gather some Canadian classmates of Alltree and update the photo of Alltree in the Coast Guard's Humboldt Bay memorial. Lund and the other officers had discussed a visit to the USCG Air Station after a reunion last year After several days of rain, the skies cleared for Wednesday's event. "Al brought us some good weather," said Captain Lund before the ceremony.



Each member of the contingency of retired Canadian naval officers had a specific contribution to make in the ceremony. My part was to present the new photograph to the Commanding Officer, Captain Chris Martino (seen in the photo above with me). I reminded the gathering that the Coast Guard has an unwritten creed: "When people are in trouble and life is in peril, you have to go out. And you don't always come back."

After the ceremony, Captain Martino, Commanding Officer of the Humboldt Bay Air Station shook hands with each of us and in his palm he held the Coast Guard Medallion shown here, giving one to each of us. It was a moving experience, and it reminded me of how fortunate we are to have such dedicated and professional members in our Armed Forces, and of the sacrifices that our young men and women make every day.


The security and freedom we enjoy is not free.

Note: Captain Mac spent altogether approximately 9 years in the Royal Canadian Navy. He has been a naturalized American citizen for over 40 years. He says, "I am proud of my Canadian heritage, but also very proud to be an American, which took an active decision on my part. I am an immigrant in the great American tradition. I am an American by choice."