The mission of the U.S. Life-Saving Service was to rescue those in peril from the sea. To serve that mission, the federal government built coastal …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The U.S.S. Astoria (CA-34) had many important roles during its nearly ten years of service for the U.S. Navy. In April 1939, the ship completed …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The U.S.S. Coos Bay served with both the U.S. Navy (1942-1946) and the U.S. Coast Guard (1949-1966). The ship’s navy crew earned two battle stars …

Oregon Encyclopedia

In the years after the Civil War, the U.S. government built up its military defenses by developing short-distance or sea-going coastline battleships. One notable feature …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The U.S.S. Oregon City (CA-122) was the namesake of its class of heavy cruisers. Designed, ordered, and built during World War II, it was an …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The U.S.S. Peacock, a ten-gun, three-masted sloop, was the first ship outfitted by the U.S. government for scientific exploration. Part of the U.S. Exploring …

Oregon Encyclopedia

The U.S.S. Sederstrom (DE-31) was named for Delmore “Verdi” Sederstrom of Salem, a U.S. Navy officer who died during the Japanese attack on Pearl …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Three commissioned U.S. Navy ships have been named Umpqua in honor of the Native American tribe or the river in southern Oregon. The first was …

Oregon Encyclopedia

Ulysses S. Grant, a native of Ohio, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1843 and embarked on a career in the U.S. Army, rising …

Oregon Encyclopedia

In 1940, the U.S. Army identified twenty thousand acres straddling the Umatilla and Morrow county line, eight miles west of Hermiston, as the site …

Oregon Encyclopedia