Coast Guard Station Chatham Receives New Crew Lounge
Coast Guard Station Chatham, located on the elbow of Cape Cod, is a multi-mission surf station, standing ready to respond to all maritime emergencies, including search and rescue.
The Coast Guard Foundation took up the cause to remodel and upgrade its crew lounge in 2015; and through the generosity of the Jack Sebastian family and friends, that dream became a reality this year.
A note in the local paper over the 2015 July 4 holiday caught his eye; Jack’s father Gene Sebastian served in the Coast Guard in the 1940s and he’d long heard stories of his service and the impact those experiences had on his father’s life.
Jack saw the needs in Chatham as an opportunity to honor his father’s Coast Guard career and show his support for the service that meant so much to his father. By the time the gift was made, Gene Sebastian’s health was suffering and he passed away in August. Gifts made to the Coast Guard Foundation in tribute to Gene upon his passing were used to enhance the fitness areas and crew lounges of Station Provincetown and Station Cape Cod Canal.
This year, right before the Independence Day holiday again, Jack Sebastian and his family visited Station Chatham (pictured in slideshow above), to meet the crew and see all the changes that were made on base through his generous donation in honor of his father.
The crew lounge has been relocated to the newly painted and carpeted second floor space where the inviting area now contains new furniture, TV, electronics, foosball table, darts and a computer station.
“The Chatham crew lounge project began with the single goal of providing this dedicated group of Coast Guard members a modern, clean, and equipped space to use in their downtime,” said Anne Brengle, president of the Coast Guard Foundation. “We are grateful to Jack Sebastian for taking the bold step to honor his father’s service to our country by partnering with the Coast Guard Foundation and supporting those serving at multiple local stations today.”
Coast Guard Station Chatham's storied history was highlighted recently with the release of Disney’s The Finest Hours, which told the story of BM1 Bernard Webber, a boatswain’s mate who led what is called the greatest small boat rescue in Coast Guard history, leading his crew out of the station in 1952 during what was essentially a winter hurricane to rescue 32 crew members from oil tanker the SS Pendleton.
