William C. Hart was a sailor in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

. He first enlisted on September 3, 1924, when he was 26 years old. He was promoted to Boatswain's mate and was in command of CG-213 when it effected a daring rescue of a stranded tugboat in November 1926. During this rescue Hart dived into dangerous seas to rescue a member of the tug's crew who had fallen overboard. According to his Coast Guard biography: ''"Hart jumped overboard and affected the rescue at great personal risk, as the two vessels were not more than 8 feet apart in the raging seas."'' For this act of heroism Hart was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal. In 1927 his heroism in fighting a gasoline fire earned him a commendation. In 1933 to 1939 Hart served in the

US Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

, where he rose to

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

. He re-enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1939, and was quickly promoted to chief boatswain's mate. When the US entered

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Hart was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

. Hart retired from the Coast Guard in 1950.

Legacy

In 2010, Charles "Skip" W. Bowen, who was then the Coast Guard's most senior

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

, proposed that all 58 cutters in the Sentinel class should be named after

enlisted Enlisted may refer to: * Enlisted rank An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or ...

sailors in the Coast Guard, or one of its precursor services, who were recognized for their heroism. In 2014 the Coast Guard announced that the 34th cutter would be named the USCGC ''William Hart''. The ''William Hart'' is homeported in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, William C. 1898 births 1963 deaths United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel