Gideon walks his beach patrol

Designed in the spring of 1943 for Coast Guard Beach Patrol Station N-27,Security Station 3, Gaviota,Ca.. A beach patrol was primarily a security force whose functions were: Detect and observe enemy vessels operating in coastal waters and to transmit information on these craft to the appropriate Navy and Army commands. - Report attempts of landings by the enemy and to assist in preventing landings. - Prevent communication between persons on shore and the enemy at sea. - Function as a rescue agency. - Police restricted areas of the coast. --- First patrols were only one man armed with flares. Then men traveled in pairs armed with rifles,or sidearms and flare pistols. The pairing allowed one man to hold a suspect, while the other went for assistance. In August 1942 the two man patrols started to be replaced with a dog and his handler. The peak population of dogs used by the Coast Guard was 3,649. In September 1942 horses were also authorized and the mounted portion of the patrol became the largest segment of the patrol. - Published in DISNEY DONS DOGTAGS, Abbeville Press,1992, p74. Also found in WDC&S #34, July 1943. Recently found as colored cover to restricted telephone directory of June 1st 1943 for use by U.S. Coast Guard Beach Patrol * 11th Navdist.