The coronavirus limited in-person attendance at Friday’s commissioning of the new Coast Guard Cutter Robert Goldman, but the colorful and patriotic ceremony was live streamed.
Vice Adm. Scott Buschman, the U.S. Coast Guard’s deputy commandant for operations, presided over the ceremony to formally commission the 154-foot USCGC Robert Goldman, the Coast Guard’s 42nd Sentinel-class cutter that will depart for service in Bahrain later this year.
The cutter was built at Bollinger Shipyards in Louisiana, and operates with a crew of 22 men and women, according to Bollinger Shipyards’ website.
Mrs. Eleanor Goldman is the ship’s sponsor.
The Robert Goldman is the second of six fast-response cutters (FRCs) planned for service in Manama, Bahrain. The cutter is named after Pharmacist’s Mate 2nd Class Robert Goldman, remembered for heroic and selfless actions as a member of the joint forces serving in the Pacific theater during World War II.
Each fast-response cutter is named for an enlisted Coast Guard hero who distinguished himself or herself in the line of duty. Robert Goldman enlisted in the Coast Guard in October 1942 as a pharmacist’s mate. In 1944 he reported for duty aboard the Coast Guard-manned, 328-foot landing ship, Tank-66, taking part in a campaign to retake the Philippines from the Japanese. On Nov. 12, 1944, a Japanese kamikaze plane flew straight for the men gathered on the starboard side of the landing ship’s stern. Goldman watched as the enemy fighter crashed into the deck and exploded. His back was on fire from the aviation fuel; his right leg received shrapnel from the crashing fighter, and he suffered severe shock from the sudden crash and resulting carnage. Disregarding his own injuries, Goldman courageously treated the wounded and dying. For his heroic deeds, Goldman received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star medals.
The Coast Guard took delivery of USCGC Robert Goldman on Dec. 21, 2020, in Key West. They will transit to Bahrain later this year with sister ship, the Charles Moulthrope, which was commissioned Jan. 21 in Portsmouth, Virginia.
