65 Summer 2025 Proceedings Walsh’s 50 men had taken 750 German troops, liberated more than 50 American prisoners, captured Cherbourg’s port, and helped clear the harbor of enemy mines and obstructions. By Walsh’s third day in Cherbourg, the Navy decommissioned his unit and designated him as Cherbourg’s assistant port director. His unit had not only secured Cherbourg and saved American lives, but also sped thousands of troops and millions of tons of ammuni- tion, equipment, and war materiel to the front lines. For his achievements and selfless devotion to duty, Walsh received the Navy Cross, the Navy’s highest recognition for heroism beside the Medal of Honor. Walsh’s duties did not conclude with the success- ful capture and operation of Cherbourg’s port. After a month of shipping operations, the Navy assigned Walsh to lead a naval reconnaissance party of 400 men to exam- ine the French ports of Brittany, including the port of Brest. As part of VIII Corps of GEN George Patton’s Third Army, Walsh’s men completed this mission by the end of August 1944. Next, Walsh’s unit joined forces with the First Canadian Army to open the Port of Le Havre. Once again, his men came under enemy fire as soon as they entered the city, but they completed the mission within two weeks. After Le Havre, Walsh contracted a severe case of viral pneumonia. He was hospitalized in London and returned to the States. During the next year, he helped oversee the permanent transfer of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation from the Commerce Department into the Coast Guard. Meanwhile, Walsh’s health problems persisted, and, in 1946, the service placed him on the retired list due to physical disability. With the onset of the Korean War, he returned to active duty in 1951. He served as liaison officer between the Coast Guard and Treasury Department and later served as aide to the assistant secretary of the department, overseeing Coast Guard affairs. Walsh finally retired as a captain in 1960. Quentin Walsh passed away in May 2000. His career spanned some of the most eventful years in Coast Guard history, including Prohibition, World War II, and the postwar modernization of the service. He played an important role in the service’s missions of law enforce- ment, fisheries management, combat operations, port security, and organizational change. In recognition of this, the Navy will soon christen the USS Quentin Walsh (DDG-132), an Arleigh Burke-class Flight III guided mis- sile destroyer, in honor of his historic record of service. About the author: William H. Thiesen, Ph.D., is the Atlantic Area historian for the Coast Guard. He earned an M.A. from East Carolina University’s program in maritime history, and a Ph.D. in the history of technology from the Uni- versity of Delaware’s Hagley Program. His books include Industrial- izing American Shipbuilding: The Transformation of Ship Design and Construction, 1820–1920, and Cruise of the Dashing Wave: Rounding Cape Horn in 1860. His articles appear frequently in naval, maritime, and Coast Guard publications and the online history series, The Long Blue Line, featured weekly on the My Coast Guard website. The Long Blue Line blog series has published Coast Guard history essays for over 15 years. German prisoners march out of surrendered Cherbourg, France, under U.S. Army guard, in June 1944. Navy photo Construction on the future USS Quentin Walsh (DDG-132), an Arleigh Burke- class guided-missile destroyer honoring Coast Guard CAPT Quentin R. Walsh, began in November 2021. Though a Coast Guardsman, Walsh led Navy Seabees in the liberation of Cherbourg, France, from German occupation, and the reopening of Cherbourg Harbor. Navy illustration You can access hundreds of service stories by visiting https://bit.ly/LongBlueLine. For more information
