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R 020038Z FEB 07 ZUI ASN-A00033000001 FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-00// TO ALCOAST BT UNCLAS ALCOAST 057/07 SUBJ: DEATH OF A COAST GUARD LUMINARY 1. I AM SAD TO REPORT THE PASSING OF A COAST GUARD LUMINARY. CWO KENNETH BLACK (USCG RETIRED) DIED ON 28 JANUARY AT THE AGE OF 83. 2. CWO BLACK LED AN INSPIRED LIFE, BOTH IN THE COAST GUARD AND IN THE YEARS TO FOLLOW. BORN IN 1923, HE ENLISTED DURING WORLD WAR II AND SAW ACTION AT THE INVASION OF OKINAWA. AFTER THE WAR, HE SERVED THROUGHOUT NEW ENGLAND AND THE GREAT LAKES IN VARIOUS CAPACITIES, INCLUDING AS A COMMANDING OFFICER OF A LIGHTSHIP AND A CUTTER. HE CAPPED HIS 32 YEAR COAST GUARD CAREER AS THE COMMANDING OFFICER OF STATION ROCKLAND, MAINE. 3. MANY REMEMBER HIM FOR HIS EXTRAORDINARY CONTRIBUTIONS FOLLOWING HIS CAREER. LARGELY CREDITED AS A LEADER OF THE LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION MOVEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES, HE FOUNDED THE MAINE LIGHTHOUSE MUSEUM AND BECAME WIDELY KNOWN AS "MR. LIGHTHOUSE." HIS INTEREST IN PRESERVATION BEGAN AS AN EFFORT TO SAVE HISTORICAL LIGHTHOUSE ARTIFACTS DURING THE MOVE TO AUTOMATION. HE STARTED WITH EXHIBITS AT COAST GUARD STATIONS, AND THEN AFTER RETIREMENT, HE SPENT YEARS TRAVELING AROUND NEW ENGLAND TO SEARCH FOR PIECES. AS THE WORD SPREAD, OTHERS STEPPED FORWARD TO DONATE MORE ARTIFACTS. THESE INCLUDED ITEMS OF ALL TYPES AND SIZES, EVERYTHING FROM PRICELESS LENSES TO FOG SIGNALING DEVICES, SOME OF THESE WEIGHING THOUSANDS OF POUNDS. 4. TWO YEARS AGO, WITH THE HELP OF COMMUNITY LEADERS, HIS COLLECTION WAS MOVED INTO THE MAINE LIGHTHOUSE MUSEUM, ESTABLISHED ON THE ROCKLAND WATERFRONT. JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO, IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT IT WOULD BE CONSOLIDATED WITH THE COLLECTION OF THE AMERICAN LIGHTHOUSE FOUNDATION'S MUSEUM OF LIGHTHOUSE HISTORY. THE MERGER WILL BECOME THE LARGEST LIGHTHOUSE MUSEUM IN THE UNITED STATES. 5. CWO BLACK COINED THE PHRASE, "LIGHTHOUSES ARE LIKE PEOPLE - THEY COME IN MANY DIFFERENT SIZES, SHAPES AND COLORS," WHICH NOT ONLY EXHIBITED HIS APPRECIATION FOR HISTORY AND PRESERVATION, BUT ALSO SHOWED HIS ABIDING RESPECT FOR PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE. 6. THROUGHOUT HIS 83 YEARS, HE PUT SERVICE FIRST, BOTH TO THE NATION AND HIS COMMUNITY. HE RECEIVED COUNTLESS ACCOLADES AND COMMENDATIONS, AND YET WAS KNOWN FOR HIS HUMILITY. CWO BLACK PRESERVED AN IMPORTANT PART OF AMERICAN HISTORY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS AND LEAVES A TREMENDOUS LEGACY. 7. ADM THAD W. ALLEN SENDS. 8. INTERNET RELEASE AUTHORIZED. BT
