USCGC White Alder
Panel 1:
USCGC WHITE ALDER/WLM-541
7 December 1968
In memory and honor
of those shipmates who loyally served
the United States Coast Guard
onboard the CGC WHITE ALDER.
They gave they gave the ultimate sacrifice.
On December 7, 1968, the USCGC WHITE ALDER, a
132 foot buoy tender, had finished a long hard day’s
work by successfully decommissioning 22 low water buoys.
At 6:29 pm, bound for her homeport of New Orleans with
a mere 14 hours to go, the WHITE ALDER tragically
collided with the upbound Steam Ship Helena, a 455 foot
Taiwanese freighter. With barely enough time to sound
her danger signal, the WHITE ALDER was hit broadside
to starboard sustaining such severe damage that she sank
immediately in 75 feet of water, sending 17 of her 20
crewmembers to an early grave.
Coast Guard and Navy master divers attempted
recovery operations, but were only able to recover 2
members due to the immediate silting over the ship.
The Coast Guard elected to leave the remaining 15
crewmembers entombed in the cutter which to this
day remains buried at the bottom of the Mississippi
River at MM 195.3 near White Castle, Louisiana.
Latitude 30°12’01”N
Longitude 091°10’02”W
Panel 2:
Crewmembers Who Lost Their Lives
CWO Samuel Brown, Jr. – Commanding Officer
ENC William Vitt
EN1 John Rollinson
CS2 Charles Morrison
QM2 John Cooper
YN2 Joseph Morin
BM3 Guy Wood
EN3 Walton O’Quinn
SN Frank Compisano
SN Richard Duncan
SN Roger Jacks
SN Steven Lundquist
EN Maurice Cason
SA Walter Abbott
SA Larry Fregia
SA Ramon Gutierrez
Crewmembers That Survived
BMC Richard Batista (on leave)
BM2 Richard Kraus
FN Bruce Kopowaki
SA Lawrence Miller
“Mourn not for him,
he sails with one more divine.”
Marker can be reached from South River Road north of Government Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
