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As almost everyone knows, my daddy, Pat Dearth, was a veteran of the United States Coast Guard… a multi-mission, maritime, military service and the smallest of the five Armed Services. The Coast Guard’s mission is to protect the public, the environment and U.S. economic interests in the nation's waterways, along the coast, on international waters, or in any maritime region as required to support national security.  One of our favorite tour stops for the past several years has been the beautiful city of Southport, North Carolina. While the salubrious breezes, the rich heritage and stunning scenery are out of this world, what truly makes Southport special is the people.  Rick and Jean Sessa are two such amazing individuals who reside in Southport that we have come to call our “Goomba and Aunt Jean”. We have had many a good time with them throughout the years at the 4th of July celebrations and performing at Rick’s American Legion post. Because of dad and my personal connection to the Coast Guard, Goomba was able to pull some strings and get us an amazing personal tour of the Oak Island Coast guard station.  They may be the smallest of the 5 armed forces branches, but on an average day, the Coast Guard conducts 45 search and rescue cases; saves 10 lives;saves over $1.2M in property; seizes 874 pounds of cocaine and 214 pounds of marijuana; conducts 57 waterborne patrols of critical maritime infrastructure; interdicts 17 illegal migrants;escorts 5 high-capacity passenger vessels;conducts 24 security boardings in and around U.S. ports; screens 360 merchant vessels for potential security threats prior to arrival in U.S. ports; conducts 14 fisheries conservation boardings; services 82 buoys and fixed aids to navigation; investigates 35 pollution incidents; completes 26 safety examinations on foreign vessels; conducts 105 marine inspections; investigates 14 marine casualties involving commercial vessels AND facilitates movement of $8.7B worth of goods and commodities through the Nation’s Maritime Transportation System. Wow.  The United States Coast guard’s official birthday is today… August 4th… so to all Coast Guard veterans and to the men and women who are serving right now… Semper Paratus! -Erinn xoxox
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