Richard H. Patterson


Richard H. Patterson was a chief petty officer in the United States Coast Guard, recognized for saving the crew of his vessel, Point Welcome, after the skipper and executive officer were taken out of action during an aerial attack, in Vietnam, in 1966.
Patterson was born in 1931, and grew up in Florida. He enlisted in the Coast Guard as a young man, and by the mid 1960s he was a chief boatswain's mate.

Aerial attack on ''Point Welcome''

U.S. Coast Guard cutter Point Welcome was on a three-day patrol, near Vietnam's demilitarized zone when, during the early morning of August 11, 1966, she was attacked by a United States Air Force Martin B-57 Canberra, in a case of mistaken identity. Standard procedure for small patrol vessels, like Point Welcome, was to run without lights, after dark, in areas where enemy vessels might be encountered.
The first strafing run ignited a fuel can on the vessel's fantail, which Patterson was able to extinguish.
The second strafing run hit the bridge, killing the ship's captain, Lieutenant David Brostrom, and injuring the helmsman, and executive officer Ross Bell. Patterson proceeded to the bridge, and took command of the cutter, executing a series of high speed maneuvers that prevented the B-57 from hitting her again. Even though the rudder was damaged he was able to steer by differentially controlling the cutter's two propellers.
When the B-57 abandoned its attack, after running out of ammunition, he proceeded to the nearest base, until new Air Force fighters arrived to continue the attack. Patterson then grounded the vessel, and ordered the crew to abandon ship. He first made sure the wounded were equipped with life jackets, and were paired with an able-bodied crew member.
Patterson was awarded a Bronze Star for his actions.

Legacy

In 2002 the Coast Guard named the recreation center at Training Center Petaluma near Petaluma, California after Patterson.
In 2007 he was inducted in the Surface Navy Hall of Fame.
In 2010, Charles "Skip" W. Bowen, who was then the Coast Guard's most senior non-commissioned officer, proposed that all 58 cutters in the Sentinel class should be named after enlisted sailors in the Coast Guard, or one of its precursor services, who were recognized for their heroism. Patterson was to have been the namesake of the 17th cutter. However, the Coast Guard announced the seventeenth cutter was to be named after another hero, Donald H. Horsely, after a request from Patterson's relatives.