Becoming A Surfman in 1938

Abstract

In 1938, Surfman was an enlisted rating in the United States Coast Guard. The rating was equivalent to third class petty officer for pay and other purposes. Since Congress in 1848 had established the first Lifesaving Service stations along the New Jersey coast there had been generations of surfmen who manned the small stations located generally along our shores, including the Great Lakes. In 1915, the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service and the Lifesaving Service became the U.S. Coast Guard under the Treasury Department. Until the 1940’s, one entering the Coast Guard had a choice of the Cutter branch or the Lifesaving branch.