By all accounts, Douglas Albert Munro was a talented young man. But none of his youthful achievements hinted at the fact that he remains the only member of the United States Coast Guard awarded the Medal of Honor for valor in combat.
Douglas Munro
Born in Vancouver, Canada, in 1919 to a British mother and American father, Munro moved with his family to central Washington State as a young boy. He was a Boy Scout and quite musical, playing in the orchestra and dance orchestra; in 1934, the local Junior Drum and Bugle Corps, including Munro on a horn, won the national championship. He was part of the state championship high school basketball team but also wrestled and tumbled.
After graduation, he enrolled at Central Washington College of Education and grew increasingly interested in global affairs. In September 1939, with the threat of World War II growing, he enlisted in the military. He chose the Coast Guard, because, as he told his sister Patricia, it “focused on saving lives, not taking them.”
Munro, climbing the superstructure of the Spencer. Image courtesy of the US Coast Guard. Photo Credit: The National WWII Museum
As a fresh recruit, Munro received on-the-job training as a quartermaster, responsible for equipment maintenance and navigational publications and instructions, and prepared for the signalman rating exam, a role designed to standardize communication between Coast Guard and Navy personnel and vessels during wartime synergy. He was also certified as a coxswain, allowing him to pilot smaller vessels.
On September 27, 1942, Signalman First Class Munro found himself off the coast of the island of Guadalcanal, the first major U.S. offensive in the South Pacific. His initial role in the pitched battle against Japanese forces was to deliver landing craft full of Marines to the beaches. But at a critical point in the battle, he watched as a large detachment was trapped on shore by enemy gunfire.
“With no regard for his own safety, he piloted his own boat directly in the line of fire and using a .30 caliber machine gun and his boat as a shield, he kept the Japanese forces at bay.”
Focused on saving lives, Munro led a mission of several boats to rescue the beleaguered Marines. With no regard for his own safety, he piloted his own boat directly in the line of fire and using a .30 caliber machine gun and his boat as a shield, he kept the Japanese forces at bay. This enabled the other boats to successfully rescue all of the Marines, including those wounded. Among those evacuated was future Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. John Basilone.
Telegram to Munro's family following his death in combat.
As it departed, one of the heavily laden boats snagged on a coral reef. With enemy fire intensifying on this straggler, Munro again went to provide a physical shield as able-bodied Marines jumped into the water to lighten the load and float the craft. In the process, 22-year-old Douglas Munro was struck in the back of the head by a Japanese bullet. Unsurprisingly, his final words were of concern for others: “Did they get off?”
The actions of Douglas Munro, engraved on the back of his Medal of Honor.
After receiving her son’s posthumous Medal of Honor, his mother Edith chose to continue his legacy of service by enlisting in the Coast Guard herself. She completed boot camp and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant at age 48, and spent two years advocating for the SPARS program, which advocated for women’s roles in the service.
To date, Munro is the only member of the United States Coast Guard to have been awarded the Medal of Honor. Fittingly and in recognition of his service and his bravery, three United States warships have been named in his honor and three Coast Guard facilities bear his name, including the United States Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
United States Coast Guard ship "Munro," named for Douglas Munro in remembrance of his brave actions.
“For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action above and beyond the call of duty as petty officer in charge of a group of 24 Higgins boats, engaged in the evacuation of a battalion of marines trapped by enemy Japanese forces at Point Cruz, Guadalcanal on 27 September 1942. After making preliminary plans for the evacuation of nearly 500 beleaguered marines, Munro, under constant strafing by enemy machine guns on the island, and at great risk of his life, daringly led five of his small craft toward the shore. As he closed the beach, he signaled the others to land, and then in order to draw the enemy's fire and protect the heavily loaded boats, he valiantly placed his craft with its two small guns as a shield between the beachhead and the Japanese. When the perilous task of evacuation was nearly completed, Munro was instantly killed by enemy fire, but his crew, two of whom were wounded, carried on until the last boat had loaded and cleared the beach. By his outstanding leadership, expert planning, and dauntless devotion to duty, he and his courageous comrades undoubtedly saved the lives of many who otherwise would have perished. He gallantly gave his life for his country.”
Signalman First Class Munro's MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION