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A little more than a month after Haiti’s violent September coup, in which President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted from power, its shock waves were felt on the high seas. On 28 October 1991, the Coast Guard rescued 19 Haitians from a rickety 30-foot sailboat, the first drop in what was soon to become a deluge of men, women, and children heading for Florida through the perilous Windward Passage between Haiti and Cuba. Thirty days later, the Coast Guard had rescued 6,300 Haitian migrants at sea and, by early March 1992, the number of Haitians rescued had reached almost 16,000.
Such large numbers often obscure the human drama and triumph of each life saved. “Our sailboat flipped, and 48 of us were suddenly tossed into the open ocean,” recounted one Haitian through an interpreter. Within minutes, though, “a large white ship swooped in” to save them. “I thought I would surely drown, but then a hand reached down and pulled me out of the water. I immediately thanked God I was safe.”
Scenes like this have been played out hundreds of times since October 1991. As one crewman of a Coast Guard cutter put it, “They come north on these boats that are unseaworthy . . . and we pick them up. We prevent them from drowning.” The staggering numbers of people rescued transformed what would otherwise have been a relatively normal series of lifesaving operations into a test of the limits of the Coast Guard’s logistical flexibility. Almost every major cutter from the Atlantic and Gulf coasts converged on the area, joined by patrol boats, surface effect ships, Aerostat vessels, and any other available ship. Coast Guard HU-25 Guardian jets, HC-130 turboprops, and HH-3 and HH-65 helicopters from every air station along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts scoured the rough waters of the Windward Passage and directed cutters to the positions of migrants’ boats—which were rarely seaworthy, sometimes taking on water, and almost always overcrowded.
Once a boat was located and a Coast Guard cutter arrived on the scene, the rescue typically involved transferring its passengers by small boat to the cutter. Sometimes small boats had to make as many as 30 trips. Once all the passengers were removed, the boats were either burned or scuttled, since they posed both a health hazard and a hazard to navigation. The rescued Haitians were then given medical examinations, hot meals, showers, and toilet facilities. Temporary shelters were rigged on deck to protect them from the sun and sea spray.
Not a single Haitian was lost or seriously hurt in these operations that took place day and night, in all kinds of weather.
As political discussions in Washington concerning the fate of the Haitians dragged on, the number of the refugees on Coast Guard vessels burgeoned. By mid-November, some cutters had more than 500 people crammed on board; some of whom had been there for weeks. The cutters’ crews often worked 24-hour days to feed and care for their Caribbean “guests.”
On 18 November 1991, with the number of migrants on cutters endangering their ability to patrol safely, the USCGC
Confidence (WMEC-619) and the USCGC Dallas (WHEC- 716) were ordered to repatriate the 538 Haitians they had on board to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Repatriation was delayed, however, by a suit filed in federal court in Miami, Florida, by the Haitian Refugee Center and a consequent restraining order preventing further repatriation of Haitians.
This court order spurred more than 500 Haitians a day to attempt the crossing. As quickly as additional Coast Guard cutters arrived on the scene, they were filled to capacity. This situation prompted Seventh District Commander Rear Admiral Robert E. Kramek to state on 20 November, “In less than a week, my ships will be full and we won’t be able to stay out there and conduct rescues.” Soon afterward. Department of Defense spokesman Pete Williams, describing the situation on aboard the cutters as “intolerable,” announced preparations to house Haitian refugees temporarily at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
As the courts' rulings on the fate of the rescued Haitians shifted back and forth, the number of Haitians putting out to sea diminished in late December and early January. But, toward the end of January 1992, a record-shattering number of Haitians attempted the crossing. In one 24-hour period, the USCGC Mohawk (WMEC-913) and the USCGC Campbell (WMEC-909) rescued 1,072 Haitians from 16 vessels, with the Campbell ending the day with an amazing 734 people on board. By 1 February 1992, 6,653 Haitians from 106 boats had been rescued by 13 Coast Guard cutters.
The latest—and possibly the last—court ruling on the issue came on 31 January 1992. A federal appeals court in Atlanta, Georgia allowed for the repatriation of Haitian migrants.
Since then, the number of intercepts and rescues has dropped dramatically.
Approximately $1.9 million more than normal Coast Guard operating expenses was spent on this operation. But, the Coast Guard paid a price in other ways—additional under way days, extra work hours for the crews involved, and the wear and tear on equipment. Other Coast Guard missions— particularly off-shore law enforcement patrols—suffered as Coast Guard personnel and ships, especially the larger cutters, kept pace with the crisis. However, Coast Guard patrol boats and, at times, U.S. Navy vessels were able to pick up some of the slack.
Among the repatriated Haitians, there seemed to be little animosity toward the Coast Guard crews. Emotions have run high on both sides, and stories abound of Coast Guardsmen providing candy, toys, or simple compassion to Haitians. For example, cutters' crews almost always chose to eat after the Haitians had been fed. Some strong attachments grew between the people who risked their lives to be Americans, and the Americans who risked theirs to save them. “I’m not mad," said one migrant as he stepped ashore in Port-au- Prince, “They got us back here alive.”
Commander Tim Sullivan. USCG
board, reported that she was taking on 'vater 240 nautical miles east of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Another HC-130 from Elizabeth City attempted to drop three Pumps to the boat, but was foiled by the extreme weather. Two Elizabeth City HH -60s sortied and after using the Amer-
Pfoceedings / Naval Review 19<*2 ica for refueling and repairs, went on to the rescue scene. After two hours, one of HH-60s safely hoisted on board all nine survivors.
On 29 October, an Elizabeth City HC- 130, investigating the source of an emergency locator beacon picked up by satellite, discovered the dismasted 34-foot sloop Saorca with a crew of two, 130 nautical miles southwest of Bermuda. The Harriet Lane, dispatched to the scene, towed the dismasted sloop to Bermuda.
On 30 October, the single-handed sailing vessel Bosaro reported she was sink-
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