This Day in Coast Guard History – Oct. 15

1846-USRC McLane ran aground while attempting to cross the bar of the River Alvarado during the Mexican War.

2001- On October 15, 2001, President George W. Bush announced that a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle had anthrax in it.  This followed a number of other anthrax attacks in Florida and New York.  The EPA requested Coast Guard assistance.  Members of the Atlantic Strike Team deployed to Washington, D.C., while Gulf Strike Team members were deployed to Florida.  Strike team members conducted entries into the affected areas, collected samples, and assisted in the cleanup of those areas.  The AST members in Washington coordinated entries into the U.S. Capitol, Hart Senate Building, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Government Printing Office, among others.  The GST members took samples and provided decontamination stations at the American Media Inc. headquarters building and post offices in Boca Raton, Florida, the site of the first reported anthrax attack.

(Source: USCG Historian’s Office)