| Oliver Fuller Berry | |
|---|---|
 Oliver Berry in September 1946 | |
| Born | March 8, 1908 |
| Died | September 13, 1991 (aged 83) |
| Place of birth | Marion, South Carolina |
| Place of death | Florence, South Carolina |
| Buried at |
Mount Hope Cemetery Florence, SC |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | United States Coast Guard |
| Years of service | 1928 - 1950 |
| Rank | Chief Petty Officer |
Oliver Fuller Berry (March 8, 1908 - September 13, 1991) was a Chief Petty Officer in the United States Coast Guard who was chosen to be the namesake for the twenty-fourth cutter of the Sentinel class.[1] He was one of the first Coast Guard aircraft technicians trained to work on helicopters.[2][3][4][5]
Early life[]
Berry was born in Marion, South Carolina, and graduated from The Citadel in 1928; originally an Officer in the United States Army Reserves he gave up his commission to enlist in the Coast Guard.
Coast Guard service[]
Berry became a highly skilled mechanic working on early Coast Guard aircraft both land based and seaplanes, he was also one of the world's first experts on the maintenance of helicopters and served as Lead Instructor at the first military helicopter training unit, the Rotary Wing Development Unit which was established at Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina in 1946; he also helped develop the rescue hoist.
That same year Berry played a role in a helicopter rescue out of a US base in Gander, Newfoundland that earned him a commendation. Helicopters were new to search and rescue and one was urgently required to search for survivors of a commercial airliner crash in Newfoundland; Berry was able to quickly disassemble one of the primitive helicopters of the time so its parts could be flown to Gander in a cargo plane and then quickly reassemble it in time to find and rescue several survivors. He was awarded the Silver Medal of the Order of Leopold II by Prince Charles, the Royal Regent of Belgium, for his contribution to the rescue of eighteen Belgian citizens.[6]
Legacy[]
The Coast Guard established an annual award named after Berry, issued to an outstanding aircraft technician who best followed Berry's tradition.
In 2015 the Coast Guard announced that one of the new Sentinel class cutters would be named after Berry. All the ships in that class are named after enlisted personnel who distinguished themselves through a heroic act. Bollinger shipyards completed the USCGC Oliver F. Berry (WPC 1124), and delivered her to the Coast Guard, in Key West, for her sea trials, on June 27, 2017. Commissioning took place at the vessels homeport of Honolulu, Hawaii on October 31, 2017.[7]
References[]
- ↑ Eric Haun (2017-06-27). "Bollinger Delivers FRC Oliver Berry to the USCG". Marine Link. https://www.marinelink.com/news/bollinger-delivers-oliver426884. Retrieved 2017-06-28. "Bollinger Shipyards said it has delivered the Fast Response Cutter (FRC) USCGC Oliver Berry to the U.S. Coast Guard on June 27, 2017 in Key West, Fla. The vessel’s commissioning is scheduled for October 2017 in Honolulu."
- ↑ "The Chief Oliver F. Berry Aviation Maintenance Award". United States Coast Guard. https://www.uscg.mil/history/aviation/bios/BerryOliverF.pdf.
- ↑ Christopher Havern (2015-02-20). "Coast Guard Heroes: Oliver F. Berry". United States Coast Guard. http://coastguard.dodlive.mil/2015/02/coast-guard-heroes-oliver-f-berry/.
- ↑ "2010 CHIEF OLIVER F. BERRY AVIATION MAINTENANCE AWARD RECIPIENT". https://www.uscg.mil/announcements/OTHER/OTHER_R031642ZSEP10.TXT.
- ↑ "The Cold War: 1946-1949". http://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/publications/1910/6%20Chapter6.pdf.
- ↑ "USCGC Oliver Berry (WPC 1124) Coat of Arms". https://tioh.army.mil/Catalog/Heraldry.aspx?HeraldryId=18391&CategoryId=10491&grp=3&menu=Uniformed%20Services. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
- ↑ "Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Berry (WPC 1124)". https://damontucker.com/tag/coast-guard-cutter-oliver-berry-wpc-1124/. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
External links[]
- Oliver F. Berry at Find a Grave
The original article can be found at Oliver F. Berry and the edit history here.