Honoring Sector Humboldt Bay MH-65 Dolphin Helicopter (CG-6549)
We have a soft spot for Coast Guard rescue flyers -- and this is but one of the reasons... Twenty-three years ago on June 8, 1997, four Coast Guard helicopter crewmembers were lost in an effort to rescue mariners in distress approximately 60 miles west of Cape Mendocino. Crewing the Sector Humboldt Bay MH-65 Dolphin helicopter (CG-6549) were: Lt. Jeffrey F. Crane, 35, of Marshfield, Massachussetts (CG Aviator #3188); Lt. j. g. Charles W. Thigpen IV, 26, of Riverside (CG Aviator #3310); Petty Officer 3rd Class Richard L. Hughes, 33, of Black Canyon, Arizona; Petty Officer 3rd Class James G. Caine, 26, of Hinesville, Georgia (CG Rescue Swimmer #425).