U.S. Coast Guard photo

Tomorrow the U.S. Coast Guard marks a special occasion: its 217th birthday.

So how many lives would you say the Coast Guard has saved since its start in 1790?

More than 1.1 million, according to the Coast Guard historian’s office.

Now, this is fun. To commemorate the birthday, the Coasties have put together this Top 10 list of their most significant rescues.

No surprise that the Hurricane Katrina operation tops the list.

Two other Top 10 rescues were in Alaska waters. Here are the Coast Guard accounts:

Prinsendam rescue
A fire broke out on the Dutch cruise vessel Prinsendam off Ketchikan, Alaska, on 4 October 1980. The Prinsendam was 130 miles from the nearest airstrip. The cruise ship’s captain ordered the ship abandoned and the passengers, many elderly, left the ship in the lifeboats. Coast Guard and Canadian helicopters and the cutters Boutwell, Mellon, and Woodrush responded in concert with other vessels in the area. The passenger vessel later capsized and sank. The rescue is particularly important because of the distance traveled by the rescuers, the coordination of independent organizations and the fact that all 520 passengers and crew and crew were rescued without loss of life or serious injury.

Overland rescue
In 1897, eight whaling ships were trapped in the Arctic ice near Point Barrow, Alaska. Concerned that the 265 crewmen would starve during the winter, the whaling companies appealed to President William McKinley to send a relief expedition. USRC Bear sailed northward from Port Townsend, Washington in late November 1897. With no chance of the cutter pushing through the ice to Point Barrow, it was decided to put a party ashore and have them drive reindeer to Point Barrow. Lieutenant David H. Jarvis was placed in charge. He was joined by fellow officers Lieutenant Ellsworth P. Bertholf and Surgeon Samuel J. Call along with three other men. Using sleds pulled by dogs and reindeer, snowshoes, and skis, the men began the expedition on 16 December. They arrived at Point Barrow, 1,500 miles later, on 29 March 1898. The expedition managed to bring 382 reindeer to the whalers, having lost only 66. For their work, Bertholf, Call, and Jarvis received a gold medal from the United States Congress.

Click here for the Coast Guard birthday press release.