"Plan One, Acknowledge"
and the Coast Guard's Military Baptism of Fire
Story by William H. Thiesen, Ph.D., Historian, Coast Guard Atlantic Area
Were such a reminder necessary, I feel sure that the splendid record of its forbear, the Revenue Cutter Service, in all the
previous wars in which this country has engaged, would serve as an incentive to the officers and men of the present Coast
Guard to maintain unsullied its past reputation for heroic deeds in battling the Nation's enemies.
— Treasury Secretary William McAdoo
McAdoo wrote the words above to Coast Guard
Commandant Ellsworth Bertholf Friday, Apr. 6, 1917,
the day Congress declared war on Germany. That same
day, the Navy's communications center in Arlington, Va.,
transmitted the code words "Plan one, acknowledge" to
Coast Guard cutters, units and bases throughout the United
States. This coded message initiated the Service's transfer
from the Treasury Department to the Navy, placing the
Service on a wartime footing.
Prior to World War I, President William Taft's
administration had nearly disestablished the Revenue
Cutter Service, the Coast Guard's predecessor service, as
a cost-cutting measure. Taft proposed to dismantle the
Service and distribute its assets and missions between
Coast Guard boat station crew at Quonocontaug, Rhode i sland, dressed in their World War i uniforms. Coast Guard Collection
Rese R vist Magazine
a l ight on Yeste RY ea R
36 RESERVIST � Issue 3 • 2017