Admiral: ‘No Problem’ for County’s ‘CG Community’ Status

Photos by Don Tozer.
CAPE MAY – A ceremony held May 23 at Cape May Convention Hall put a public face on Cape May County’s submission of its application to be named a Coast Guard Community. In his remarks to the gathering of dignitaries, Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr., commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard said he had already signed off approving the application and, though the process requires a 90-day notice period, there would be “no problem” with the forthcoming designation.
The Coast Guard City Program, established by Congress in 1988, recognizes communities that support Team Coast Guard across the nation. To date, 15 cities have been designated as Coast Guard Cities and only one county, Camden County, Ga., has gained the distinction of being named a Coast Guard Community.
The county’s application, contained in a two-inch thick binder, is fronted by a local artist’s watercolor of USCG Signalman 1st Class Douglas Munro, the service’s lone Medal of Honor recipient, who died at Guadalcanal in September 1942 while saving trapped Marines.
Cape May County’s long relationship with the Coast Guard extends that far back. Although the Coast Guard has had a presence in the area since the early 20th century, the establishment of the training center dates to 1948. In 1982, the Coast Guard consolidated its training facilities and selected the Cape May base as its sole location.
U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-2nd) praised Papp for his long and distinguished career and for his commitment to Cape May County. LoBiondo also recalled a time in the 1980s when the county almost lost its Coast Guard facility. An effort to move the training facility to California was met with stiff opposition led by the late Sen.Frank Lautenberg.
The facility remained in Cape May County and local leaders saw that as an important time to intensify the partnership between the community and Coast Guard. The result, according to the admiral, was a marriage that would now be formally acknowledged.
The county’s application listed the myriad of programs that demonstrate the close relationship between the community and the Coast Guard: the Operation Fireside “home for the holidays” program, the Coast Guard Family Assistance Program, Coast Guard Day and many more were highlighted along with letters of support from the state’s congressional delegation, Gov. Chris Christie, state officials, freeholders, Cape May City, the president of Atlantic Cape Community College, and numerous business leaders.
Papp was presented with several plaques and resolutions from Cape May County, the Assembly, and the governor.
Speakers included Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton, Freeholder Will Morey, economic development liaison who worked to compile the report, and Cape May City Mayor Edward Mahaney, Jr.
Mahaney called the application a “status report on teamwork” and spoke of the importance of the Coast Guard relationship to the local economy. “Tourism is number one, but the Coast Guard base is number two,” he said.
The gathering had a second purpose. By the end of the month, Papp will step down as commandant of the Coast Guard and end his formal service that dates back to his graduation from the Coast Guard Academy in 1975. In many ways the day was a chance for Cape May to say goodbye to a close friend.
LoBiondo made a point of stressing the changing role of the Coast Guard following the Sept.11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Papp helped see the Coast Guard through the difficult transition, he said.
Although Papp will have retired prior to any official word on the designation of Cape May County as a Coast Guard Community, it was clear that his imprint on the partnership between the community and the Coast Guard will endure.
At the close of the ceremony, Mahaney presented Papp with a painting of Cape May to serve as a reminder of his involvement. The ceremony both commemorated the long service of Papp and the renewed commitment to continue the relationship of Cape May County and the U. S. Coast Guard.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.