Charles L. Calhoun

This article is about the United States Coast Guard and Navy enlisted man. For the blues musician who used Charles Calhoun as a pseudonym, see Jesse Stone.

Charles Luther Calhoun (April 20, 1925 – February 24, 2002) was an American military enlisted man who served briefly in the United States Navy during World War II and then in the United States Coast Guard where he would rise to become the first Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard.

Charles L. Calhoun
Charles Calhoun
Born	(1925-04-20)April 20, 1925 Ocean City, Maryland
Died	February 24, 2002(2002-02-24) (aged 76) Santa Rosa, California
Allegiance	United States of America
Service / branch	United States Navy United States Coast Guard
Years of service	1943–1946 (Navy) 1946–1973 (Coast Guard)
Rank	Torpedoman Second Class (Navy) Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard
Battles / wars	World War II Vietnam War
Awards	Legion of Merit Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon Combat Action Ribbon Navy Presidential Unit Citation

Biography

Charles Calhoun was born April 20, 1925, in Ocean City, Maryland, and lived very close to the coast throughout his childhood. His grandfather was a commercial fisherman who taught Calhoun how to fish as a boy. He joined the United States Navy in 1943 at the age of 17 and was trained as a torpedoman. He served on the USS Lunga Point in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. He participated in many of the bloodiest battles of the theater, including the battles of Leyte Gulf, Luzon, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. The Lunga Point's crew received the Navy Unit Commendation for "extraordinary heroism and action against enemy Japanese forces in the air, ashore, and afloat" following a kamikaze attack on the ship. Calhoun was honorably discharged from the Navy on February 21, 1946.

Coast Guard

Calhoun returned to Ocean City and worked in the post office for a short period, but enlisted in the United States Coast Guard with a friend on September 20, 1946. He enlisted at the rank of Boatswain's Mate Second Class due to his Navy experience. His first assignment was to a small station in Ocean City. There he saved a man who had fallen from a jetty into the water and broken his hip. Calhoun was awarded the Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon for the rescue. He would later serve with Coast Guard Squadron One aboard the USCGC Point Orient during the Vietnam War. The cutter sighted and fought enemies on her first patrol, making the Point Orient the first Coast Guard cutter to fire shots in the Vietnam War.

Calhoun meeting with President Richard Nixon.

Calhoun learned of the creation of the new office, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard (MCPOCG), while working as a career counselor. Calhoun sent in an application for the job, and centered his application essay on his belief that the office should be used to promote communication between enlisted sailors and their command. He was accepted and was made the first MCPOCG by then-Commandant of the Coast Guard Willard J. Smith on August 27, 1969. He undertook numerous projects during his tenure in the office, including working on the board that led to the creation of the Cutterman Insignia, implementing a program of local advisors who reported to the MCPOCG office to hear enlisted personnel issues, and beginning the movement towards the Coast Guard wearing their own style of uniform rather than Navy uniforms with a few defining patches and pins. Calhoun retired from the MCPOCG position on August 1, 1973. He would eventually die in Santa Rosa, California on February 24, 2002.

Awards and decorations

Badge	Coxswain Insignia
1st row	Legion of Merit | Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon
2nd row	Combat Action Ribbon	Navy Presidential Unit Citation with one bronze service star	Navy Unit Commendation
3rd row	Coast Guard Good Conduct Medal with 1 silver service star	American Campaign Medal	Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with bronze award numeral 2
4th row	World War II Victory Medal	Navy Occupation Service Medal	National Defense Service Medal with 1 bronze service star
5th row	Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal	Vietnam Service Medal with 3 bronze campaign stars	Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
6th row	Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation	Philippine Liberation Medal with 1 bronze campaign star	Vietnam Campaign Medal

• 7 gold service stripes.

Legacy

In October 2019, the current Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Jason M. Vanderhaden announced that Commandant of the Coast Guard Admiral Karl L. Schultz had selected Charles L. Calhoun as the namesake for the tenth National Security Cutter USCGC Calhoun.

References

Citations

References cited

• Calhoun's official Coast Guard bio and eulogy
• Larzelere, Alex (1997). The Coast Guard at War, Vietnam, 1965–1975. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-1-55750-529-3.