Edwin J. Roland

[1] In addition to his duties on the cutters, he was captain of the Coast Guard football squad that won the President's Cup in competition with teams from the Army, Navy and Marines in 1931.[1] Returning to the Coast Guard Academy in 1934, he served until 1938 as an instructor in physics and mathematics, and as assistant coach of the football, basketball, and baseball teams.[1][Note 1] From December 1944 to March 1946, he served as the first commanding officer of the newly commissioned USCGC Mackinaw, the first heavy-duty icebreaker built for Great Lakes service.[5] For his meritorious service while commanding Mackinaw, he was awarded a Coast Guard Commendation Letter that cited him for icebreaking on an unprecedented scale while keeping shipping lanes open for both military and merchant vessels carrying urgently needed war supplies.With confirmation by the Senate, he was promoted to flag rank effective 1 July 1956 and promptly assigned duties as commander, First Coast Guard District in Boston, Massachusetts.[1] On 23 April Roland was appointed by President John F. Kennedy as commandant of the Coast Guard and was promoted to the rank of admiral, both of which were confirmed by the Senate and made effective on 1 June 1962.[1][7] One of the first responsibilities that Roland undertook as commandant was to implement the recommendations of a staff report on U.S. Coast Guard roles and missions that was ordered by Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon.[8] The U.S. Coast Guard acquired additional responsibilities in March 1963 with an agreement with the Navy relating to icebreaking duties in Arctic and Antarctic research missions.[9] On 9 July 1963, Roland received the Legion of Merit from Secretary Dillon in recognition of his outstanding record in maintaining a military readiness posture "unparalleled in the peacetime history of the Coast Guard".[11][12] Roland agreed to supply Point-class cutters and their crews to the operation, fearing that if the U.S. Coast Guard were left out of the Vietnam War that its standing as an armed service would be jeopardized.[19] On 15 January 1965, Roland received Italy's highest award, the Commendatore (Knight Commander) of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, for the U.S. Coast Guard's many years of assistance to Centro-Internazionale Radio-Medico, a humanitarian organization which arranges medical first-aid at sea for injured and sick seamen.