The USCGC Ingham (WHEC-35) is a highly decorated Treasury-class cutter built for the United States Coast Guard, serving with distinction for nearly a half-century. Commissioned in September 1936, the 327-foot vessel was built for long-range cruising, multi-mission flexibility, and rugged durability. During World War II, the Ingham served as a vital convoy escort in the North Atlantic, braving treacherous seas and Nazi U-boat wolfpacks to protect merchant shipping. She earned a Presidential Unit Citation for her exceptionally heroic anti-submarine actions, which included hunting down and sinking the German submarine U-626. Decades later, the cutter was deployed to the Western Pacific during the Vietnam War, where she participated in Operation Market Time, providing close gunfire support for ground troops and intercepting enemy supply vessels along the coastline.
When the Ingham was decommissioned in May 1988, she was the oldest active cutter in the Coast Guard fleet and one of the most decorated vessels in American maritime history, having served in both World War II and Vietnam. Recognized for her immense historical value, she was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1992. Today, the immaculately preserved cutter lives on as a floating museum ship berthed at the Key West Maritime Park in Key West, Florida. Managed by the USCGC Ingham Museum association, the ship stands as a living memorial to the Coast Guard sailors who lost their lives in service to their country, offering visitors a firsthand look at the daily operations, engineering feats, and wartime bravery of the Coast Guard's historic "Treasury Class."
