Friday, July 15, 2022

John A. Midgett Jr., Famous Coast Guard Captain, On Vacation in Elizabeth City, July 14, 1922

Famous Coast Guard in Civilian Attire

CAPT. JOHN A. MIDGETT JR.

For the first time in 15 years, Capt. John Allen Midgett Jr., America’s most noted Coast Guard Stationkeeper, took a vacation last week, and spent several days in Elizabeth City and Norfolk in civilian garb. Capt. Midgett is the same Rodanthe keeper who attracted the international recognition a short time ago when the King of England presented him wand his crew with medals for bravery when the British oil tanker “Mirlo” was burned off the North Carolina coast by a German submarine in 1917. In addition to the medals, the British Shipping Board presented him with a silver cup, a magnificent trophy which he keeps at the station. Capt. Midgett also attracted considerable attention in Washington, D.C., during one of the Liberty Bond drives, when he headed a detachment of Coast Guards who performed their life-saving drills as an advertising figure, and as a result of one of them over a quarter of a million dollars of bonds were sold to spectators. The above snapshot, caught by The Independent’s camera, shows him enjoying himself on a handsome yacht away from home.

From the front page of The Elizabeth City Independent, July 14, 1922

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