CG Auxiliary Celebrates 82 Years of Service

Photo: National Archives

The Coast Guard Reserve Act of 1939, the result of the hard work and dedication of people like Admiral Russell Waesche and Malcolm Boylan, was introduced on the floor of the House of Representatives by Congressman Schuyler Otis Bland of Virginia as House Bill 5966 on April 24, 1939 and became law with the signature of President Franklin D. Roosevelt two months later on June 23rd, 1939. The newly named Coast Guard Reserve was formally created “to be composed of owners of motorboats and yachts” and specifically a civilian organization. At the time, the Coast Guard did not have an armed Reserve component as the smallest branch of the American Armed Forces, unlike the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marines which all created Reserves before America’s entry into World War I. With America’s entry into World War II, the Congress repealed the Act on February 19th, 1941 and replaced it with the Coast Guard Auxiliary and Reserve Act of 1941. The new Act created Auxiliary as it is known today and a true military Reserve for the Coast Guard.