Coast Guard thanks community for immense support

The Tri-City area opened its arms to U.S. Coast Guard personnel during recent tough times, and for that personnel are eternally grateful, Coast Guard officials said.

Roughly 100 Coast Guard personnel are stationed in the Morgan City area.

The partial federal government shutdown that lasted from Dec. 22, 2018, through Jan. 25 affected many Coast Guard members, who kept working despite not getting paid during that time.

Local groups held fundraisers and tried to assist Coast Guard families any way they could.

President Donald Trump signed a bill Jan. 25 temporarily ending the partial shutdown for three weeks.

Coast Guard Cmdr. Heather Mattern, commanding officer of Marine Safety Unit Morgan City, said people in St. Mary Parish have been extremely generous helping and supporting Coast Guard personnel and their families during the shutdown.

“We’re not sure if this is over yet or where this is going, but … knowing that we have this kind of community support behind us is reassuring going through these stressful times,” Mattern said.

The physical donations made to the Chief Warrant Officers Association and Chief Petty Officers Association, both nonprofit organizations separate from the Coast Guard, were greatly appreciated. Personnel were especially thankful for the emotional support, too.

Those two nonprofit organizations include active-duty and retired Coast Guard members. The local community has provided many donations to those associations, which allow them to help their members, said Chief Warrant Officer Cory Claybrook, president of the Chief Warrant Officers Association.

“It’s just very humbling and emotional the amount of support the community has given us,” Claybrook said.

Senior Chief Monica Vidal represents the Chief Petty Officers Association.

“We have people, like retirees, people that have no idea who we even are … who came forward just to try to help out,” Vidal said. “It was just incredible. It really was everybody.”

Coast Guard members want to ensure they reciprocate that close relationship they have with the community.

“This has really, truly driven home to us the importance of community, and that we have re-committed ourselves to making sure that we’re giving back as much to this community as they’ve given us,” Mattern said.

Personnel serving in the Coast Guard “are transient beings” and generally move to different places every couple of years.

“Sometimes you don’t always get that sense of community, and this was a reminder that Morgan City has truly accepted us as part of the community,” Mattern said.