Who founded the Coast Guard Auxiliary?
As explained in “The Coast Guard Auxiliary Past and Present,” the idea of a civilian component of the Coast Guard had many supporters, but the officer most responsible for the Auxiliary’s establishment was Adm. Russell Waesche, the Coast Guard commandant during World War II. Working mariners and pleasure boaters have always had a close relationship with our sea services. During the American Revolution and War of 1812, hundreds of commissioned privateers wreaked havoc on British shipping. At first surfmen at lifesaving stations were part-timers. During the Civil War, the government was loaned or purchased private vessels, often with their captains in tow. The Navy supervised harbor patrols during World War I. And from the beginning of the twentieth century yacht club members urged the formation of a civilian auxiliary. Malcolm Stuart Boylan who lobbied in Washington for the establishment of the Auxiliary was influential. However, without the backing of Admiral Waesche, the 1939 Auxiliar
