PORT ANGELES — The men and women of the Coast Guard station in Port Angeles celebrated their storied history with a cookout on Friday.

Active-duty personnel, reservists, retirees and their families gathered at the station on Ediz Hook with Cmdr. Andrew W. Eriks, the commanding officer, to celebrate the service’s 225th birthday.

The actual birthday was Tuesday.

It was on Aug. 4, 1790, that the Coast Guard had its beginnings as President George Washington signed a measure authorizing a group of revenue cutters to enforce tariff and trade laws and prevent smuggling.

Homeland Security

Responsibilities added over the years have included humanitarian duties such as aiding mariners in distress.

The Coast Guard operates under the Department of Homeland Security but can be transferred to the Department of the Navy by the president (anytime) or Congress (during war).

Its motto is Semper Paratus (Latin: Always Ready).

The Port Angeles base — officially “Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles” — also celebrated its 80th anniversary.

“In conjunction with that, the Coast Guard has had a presence in Port Angeles for 150 years,” Eriks said.

With most dressed in civilian attire, Coast Guard personnel enjoyed sports activities, the cookout and games for all ages.

Coast Guard family

The annual celebration is an opportunity to bring together Coast Guard personnel “and the larger Coast Guard family, which is active-duty, dependents, retirees, auxiliary and reservists,” Eriks said.

“We just take the day to recognize our heritage and recognize that we have a great history.

“We want to acknowledge that we appreciate each other and the work that we do, and this is kind of giving back to everybody and saying thanks.

Personnel “are very proud of our heritage and the legacy of the Coast Guard — not only locally with our presence in Port Angeles and on Ediz Hook, but nationally with where the Coast Guard has been and where we are going moving forward.

“What we appreciate is the fact that not only do we have a community that likes us and enjoys our presence, but they also respect what we do, and we are very happy to be a part of the community.”

Dual mission

The Port Angeles station is a dual mission unit charged with both operational and support responsibilities.

Operational responsibilities include conducting search and rescue, as well as law enforcement and resource protection activities in an area that includes the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the northwestern coast of Washington around the Olympic Peninsula to the mouth of Puget Sound.

The base also provides logistical support to Coast Guard units in Port Townsend, LaPush and Neah Bay and to cutters including the Active, which is based in Port Angeles..

For more information about the Port Angeles base and its missions, click on www.uscg.mil/d13/ sfoportangeles.

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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.