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The USCGC Courier - For some time, under "Articles, Research, etc.," "Potpourri," we have had posted a postal cachet and a postcard from the USCGC Courier, which for many years served as a floating radio station for the VOA. I have come across some other interesting Courier souvenirs, including a closeup postcard view of the ship maneuvering through the Panama Canal in 1952. (See the back of the card for some interesting text.) The CPRV collection also contains several copies of a VOA-issued USCGC Courier postcard. In addition, I have a cigarette lighter and two ashtrays depicting the Courier (metal ashtray, ceramic ashtray). The ceramic ashtray has on the back the inscription "Hand made in Rhodes, Greece by Ikaros Pottery." You might also find interesting two articles about the Courier: a detailed history of the ship from the October-November 1989 issue of USIA World (apologies in advance for the quality--it is a scan of a photocopy) (page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4), and a brief article in Ken Boord's June 1952 Radio News column which contains a closeup view of the balloon that held the antenna aloft. There is some interesting material about the Courier on the Internet. Have a look at Fred's Place http://www.fredsplace.org/reunion/cutter/0820.shtml and Jack's Joint http://www.jacksjoint.com/greece.htm for information about Courier crew members. And http://www.geocities.com/grampanewell/ for some nice pictures of the Courier and environs (pages 1-3). Kim Elliott conducted an interesting "Communications World" program about VOA history on February 23, 2002 which can be found at http://www.trsc.com/cw/cw_20020223.html The RealAudio version contains (at 8:55) a brief early audio report about the Courier. There is also a nice picture of a Courier patch at this URL. Addition January 2003: Photos of the Courier, one from 1952 (New York) and one from 1967 (Philadelphia). Addition April 2003: Photos from Dave Newell, President of the USCGC Courier Association. Addition September 2004: Another postal cachet from the VOA-Courier, and a QSL-card from SV0WV, a ham operator aboard the Courier. Operator Larry Mennitt was in Rhodes from 1959 to 1964, and served many tours of duty at VOA stations around the world thereafter. He was much in demand on the air because the "Dodecanese Islands" were considered a separate country in the ham radio world (as they are under the NASWA country list). Addition October 2005: Another postal cachet, this one issued on the occasion of the ship's visit to Detroit in 1967, three years after she left VOA service, and a "Welcome Aboard" sheet containing some interesting information about the ship's pre- and post-VOA service (Front, Back). |
