March 31, 2017

The U.S. Coast Guard will hold a commissioning ceremony for the National Security Cutter (NSC) Munro on Saturday in Seattle..

Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft will preside over the ceremony, accepting the sixth NSC into the military service’s fleet.

The Coast Guard Cutter Munro, the fourth NSC to be homeported on the West Coast in Alameda, California, is being commissioned in Seattle to honor the Coast Guard’s only Medal of Honor recipient, Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro (1919– 1942), who is buried in the veterans’ section of Laurel Hill Memorial Park in Cle Elum.

Naming of the sixth NSC in honor of the former South Cle Elem resident pays tribute to Munro’s heroism and legacy. Munro was mortally wounded in action in the Guadalcanal campaign of World War II while providing covering fire during the evacuation of a detachment of 500 U.S. Marines who were under attack.

Known as the Legend class, NSCs are designed to be the flagships of the Coast Guard’s fleet, capable of executing national security missions, including support to U.S. combatant commanders.

NSCs are 418 feet in length, 54 feet in beam and 4,600 long tons in displacement. They have a top speed in excess of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 nautical miles, endurance of up to 90 days and can hold a crew of up to 150. These new cutters are replacing the aging High Endurance Hamilton class cutters (378-feet) that have been in service since the 1960s.