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Thomas Johnston Don , DCAPT-E
Tom Don served in the USCG from 1965 to 1995 . Add three more years in the Reserve and you get a total of thirty-three years . He continues his services in the USCG Auxiliary .
Tom Don ’ s father and brother also served in the USCG , making it the ‘ unofficial ’ family business . Tom ’ s dad owned and operated a successful woodworking business . It is there that the family came in contact with many NYC-based Coast Guardians . Don Senior volunteered in 1941 to protect our ports and harbors from enemy saboteurs . The Don family was with the Auxiliary and the USCG from the very beginning !
Tom ’ s father attended meeting and trained in the old USCG HQ in lower Manhattan . Because Tom ’ s father operated a “ defense related business ” he was exempt from service in the Armed Forces but he volunteered anyway . This excellent example was followed by his two sons , Andrew and Thomas . They both served their country during the Vietnam era in the USCG . Andrew Don served 6 years and Tom made a long and productive career in the United States Coast Guard .
Thomas Johnston Don District Captain — East
U . S . Coast Guard Auxiliary 5th District-Northern Region
Trained at TRACEN in Cape May , Tom served along the Atlantic coastline both at sea and shore . In New Jersey , he was a Coxswain based in many of the stations that our District supports . He also went to sea for 4 years on the USCGC Hornbeam where he ‘ squared away ’ attitude and hard work made him a decorated Coast Guardian .
Information taken from the Summer 2021 edition of Division 7 ’ s newsletter .
Written by Dennis McCullen Division 7 Historian