USCG to commission 46th Sentinel-class cutter

The U.S. Coast Guard will commission the Coast Guard Cutter John Scheuerman (WPC-1146), Patrol Forces Southwest Asia’s fifth Sentinel-class cutter, into service at the Port of Tampa, Fla., at 10 a.m. ET.

Adm. Karl L. Schultz, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, will preside over the ceremony. Mr. Michael Scheuerman, a nephew of Seaman 1st Class Scheuerman, is the ship’s sponsor.

The cutter’s namesake is Seaman 1st Class John “Curtis” Scheuerman, a native of Toledo, Ohio. Scheuerman enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves on October 16, 1942, at the age of 18 and volunteered for amphibious assault craft duty. He was assigned aboard the USS Landing Craft, Infantry (L) 319 where his battle station was to man a 20mm gun mount atop the ship. On September 9, 1943, during the amphibious invasion of Italy, Seaman 1st Class Scheuerman unhesitatingly manned his exposed gun location to direct gunfire against an enemy plane conducting strafing attacks against his ship. He was mortally wounded in the attack, but his efforts contributed to the protection of his ship and crew against further attack. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.

The USCGC John Scheuerman was officially delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard on October 22, in Key West, Fla. It is the 46th Sentinel-class fast response cutter. Each of these cutters carries the name of a U.S. Coast Guard enlisted hero. While the cutter is commissioning in Tampa, it will homeport in Manama, Bahrain, as part of U.S. Coast Guard Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA).