a�ended boot camp at the Coast Guard Yard near Baltimore . He then received orders to the North Carolina coast to train in amphibious operations and landing craft , also known as Higgins Boats , landing troops in North Africa and Sicily .
When that operation was complete , the boat transited to the Pacific theater . During the Ba�le of Saipan in 1944 , Sutphin helped oversee boat operations , including landing , loading , and salvaging landing craft as the USS Leonard Wood endured the heavy fire . During the conflict , he repeatedly risked his life to save others . He swam a towline to a landing craft stranded on a reef , saved another boat stuck on the beach under enemy fire , and came to the aid of eight Marines who a mortar round had struck . He provided first aid to the survivors and evacuated them to the nearest aid station .
Sutphin stayed aboard the Leonard Wood through May 1945 and participated in its eight primary amphibious operations . Sutphin was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his “ exceptional bravery under fire ” during the Ba�le of Saipan .
Article from Coast Guard News , April 21
30