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by Dyke C. Hendrickson (Author)
In 1790, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton asked President George Washington to fund a fleet of revenue cutters that could halt smuggling and collect taxes in U.S. waters. Today, from northern Maine to southern Connecticut, the Coast Guard provides the might and the oversight to ensure that the coastlines are safe and navigable. From icebreaking and harrowing rescues to the global war on terror, the service plays a unique role in the region. Author Dyke Hendrickson profiles the varied careers and contributions of the brave men and women throughout New England who ensure the service remains Semper Paratus-Always Ready.
Author Biography
Dyke Hendrickson is an author-journalist living in Newburyport, Massachusetts, birthplace of the Coast Guard. Several years ago, he wrote a multi-part series for the Daily News, the local newspaper, on the history of that city. He realized that a concise overview of the maritime community had never been put in book form. Hendrickson then researched and wrote Nautical Newburyport: A Story of Captains, Clipper Ships and the Coast Guard, published by The History Press in 2017. He is currently the outreach historian for the Custom House Maritime Museum in Newburyport. In that role, he speaks at schools, libraries and historical organizations to fulfil the museum's goal of taking history to the people. This is his fifth book. Hendrickson lives not far from the sea in Newburyport with his wife, Vicki Hendrickson. They have two children: Leslie, who lives in New York, and Drew, who is a resident of Somerville, Massachusetts. Hendrickson is a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College with a degree in history, and he did graduate work at the University of Maine, Orono. He has been a writer and/or editor with the Portland Press Herald, the New Orleans Times-Picayune and the Boston Herald. Most recently, he was with the Daily News in Newburyport.
