# Why is the Coast Guard underrepresented in fiction? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 19, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-coast-guard-underrepresented-in-fiction/641469 "2012-11-19T03:29:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-coast-guard-underrepresented-in-fiction/641469/62 "2014-08-29T20:25:17Z")
My dad used to work at Cape Hatteras as a park ranger, and knew some of the Midgetts. They are omnipresent on the Outer Banks. I see there are at least three Coast Guard museums; the first seems to be the biggest, and official, one: [http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg092/museum/](http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg092/museum/) > **[Coast Guard Heritage Museum](https://coastguardheritagemuseum.org/)** > > Welcome to the > Coast Guard Heritage Museum > **[Home | Virginia Beach Surf & Rescue Museum](https://www.vbsurfrescuemuseum.org)** ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-coast-guard-underrepresented-in-fiction/641469/63 "2016-02-05T17:37:16Z")
Bumped. > [@bunyupp](#): > > The Duffel Blog has a few [stories](http://www.duffelblog.com/category/coast-guard). (think Onion) Heh. Another good - and very accurate - Coast Guard article there: [Coast Guard Mostly Saves Very Stupid People, Study Finds](http://www.duffelblog.com/2016/02/coast-guard-saves-very-stupid-people/) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-coast-guard-underrepresented-in-fiction/641469/64 "2016-02-05T18:01:02Z")
I see the FINEST HOURS movie that just came out this past weekend – and promptly got _demolished_ at the box office, because it’s up against the latest STAR WARS flick, and the latest KUNG FU PANDA sequel, and that revenge-fueled DiCaprio western – happens to be a Coast Guard movie. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-coast-guard-underrepresented-in-fiction/641469/65 "2020-05-08T03:40:30Z")
Bumped. There’s an interesting article on the Coast Guard’s role fighting bootleggers and rumrunners in the February 2020 issue of _Naval History_ magazine: [https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2020/february/busting-smugglers-breaking-codes](https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2020/february/busting-smugglers-breaking-codes) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-coast-guard-underrepresented-in-fiction/641469/66 "2020-05-08T04:23:49Z")
Gale Gordon (in character as Mayor LaTrivia) regularly mentioned his service in the Coast Guard on the radio show “Fibber McGee and Molly”. Bill Thompson (as The Old-Timer) would mention serving with the Seabees. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-coast-guard-underrepresented-in-fiction/641469/67 "2021-08-11T20:08:27Z")
Bumped. I see the Coast Guard is featured in the new movie _CODA_: [CODA (2021) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10366460/) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2021, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-coast-guard-underrepresented-in-fiction/641469/68 "2021-08-12T12:33:28Z")
Are they even underrepresented? The smallest of the four war-fighting branches, the Marines, has 181,000 members. The Army has 485,000. The Coast Guard has 41,000. You don’t see as much of them because there just aren’t as many of them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-coast-guard-underrepresented-in-fiction/641469.md?page=3)