Coast Guard People

Charles Robinson was the third Keeper stationed at the Sleeping Bear Point Life-Saving Station. He had ancestral ties to the Odawa people, as his grandparents were of Odawa heritage.

June Townsend Gentry served in the Coast Guard SPARS during World War II, one of a few Native American women who enlisted in this branch of the military.

Corrine Koshiway Goslin (Otoe) was one of six Native American women to enlist in the US Coast Guard SPARS during World War II. Her service freed men up to fight overseas. Over her life, she showed a commitment to patriotic service, to her tribe and to her country.

Nellie Locust enlisted in the SPARS of the US Coast Guard during World War II. As a Spar, Locust freed up a man to fight overseas. For Locust, service was part of her patriotic duty, as an American and as a Cherokee.

Dorothy Stratton was the Director of the SPARS, the women’s reserve branch of the US Coast Guard during World War II. Her leadership during the war worked to integrate women into home front military posts and gain respect from their male colleagues. Her effort reflected a lifetime of work for women's inclusion and leadership.

Lula Mae O'Bannon was one of six Native American women who enlisted in the US Coast Guard SPARS during World War II. Her service took her across the United States, providing support to the war effort.

Lula Belle Everidge was one of several Native American women who enlisted in SPARS, the women's branch of the Coast Guard during World War II. During the War she served up and down the East Coast to free men up for service overseas.

Seamen Mildred Cleghorn Womack (Otoe) was one of six Native American women from Oklahoma to serve in the US Coast Guard during World War II.

Dr. Olivia J. Hooker, a survivor of the Tulsa race massacre, blazed a trail as the first Black woman on active duty in the US Coast Guard.