ABSTRACT
During World War II, the Coast Guard was under the operational control of the navy, and Waesche presided over the largest expansion of Coast Guard services in American history. Enlist ment increased by more than fifteenfold under his direction, and the Coast Guard participated in every major invasion of the war. In addition to its traditional duties, the Coast Guard maintained the security of ports, patrolled the Greenland coastal waters, escorted convoys, took part in antisubma rine patrols, rescued survivors of sunken merchant vessels, and even captured two German saboteurs who landed in Florida and on Long Island. Waesche, promoted to vice admiral in 1942, had command over these operations.
