Like all books of this nature, it never would have come to fruition without the assistance, encouragement, and inspiration of many organizations and individuals. This work began many years ago. The first seeds for undertaking this task were planted while I was assigned as a liaison officer to the Marine Physical Laboratory of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1982. I was fortunate to work directly with Dr. Fred Spiess and his Deep Tow group and also met and had conversations with many of the long-time professors and researchers of the Institution. During the course of my assignment, I made a number of presentations on the mapping and charting work of NOAA; questions, and I might add corrections to some of my more tenuous statements, that arose following these presentations left me aware of how woefully ignorant I was of the history and accomplishments of my own agency and its place in the history of physical science in the United States.

Since that time I have made a concerted effort to unravel and understand the roots of my organization, a path that led back through the formation of the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA Corps,) the Commissioned Corps of the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA Corps,) the commissioned and civilian elements of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the civilians and Army and Navy officers of the Coast Survey, and in its earliest incarnation, the Survey of the Coast.

The individuals who helped me unravel the odyssey of NOAA Corps and the many facets of its history (which I have been able to discover and review to this time) have been many. Within NOAA, I would like to specifically thank Ms. Grace Sollers, recently retired from the National Geodetic Survey, who graciously allowed me to review the historic works under her stewardship; Ms. Ruthanne Herriot, recently retired from the NOAA Central Library, who introduced me to the Rare Book Room of the NOAA Library and trusted me to peruse the collection for a number of years until her retirement; Ms. Carol Watts, head of the NOAA Central Library, who allowed me to wander through the stacks unfettered; Dr. Harris B. Stewart, former Chief Oceanographer of the Coast and Geodetic Survey and first Director of the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratories who warned me that there were mindless sorts who wished to throw out old records in the name of progress; Dr. Ned Ostenso, late Assistant Administrator of NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, whose abiding love for NOAA and its history provided a great inspiration; Dr. William Hooke, a meteorologist and physicist with NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, who snuck in among many surveyors, oceanographers, and geophysicists to encourage me to continue this work; Mr. Al Colman, formerly of the NOAA Records Center, who let me root around in the thousands of boxes under his care; Rear Admiral Francis D. Moran, former Director of NOAA Corps, who whet my appetite for NOAA Corps history by suggesting that I interview a few of the "old-timers" of the Coast and Geodetic Survey; Rear Admiral Christian Andreasen, former Deputy Director of NOAA Corps, and former chief of Nautical Charting in the National Ocean Service; Rear Admiral Sigmund Peterson, former Director of NOAA Corps 1990-1994; Rear Admiral Harley D. Nygren, Director of NOAA Corps 1971-1980; Rear Admiral John D. Bossler, Director of the Office of Charting and Geodetic Services 1980-1985; Rear Admiral Wesley V. Hull, Director Office of Charting and Geodetic Services, 1986-1990; Rear Admiral Austin Yeager, Director Office of Charting and Geodetic Services 1990-1994; Mr. Charles D. Kearse, recently retired and former Director of NOAA's Fleet Replacement and Modernization Program; Captain Hubert Paton, Coast and Geodetic Survey retired; Captain Harry Reed, Coast and Geodetic Survey retired; Captain Francis X. Popper, Coast and Geodetic Survey retired; Captain William Martin, Coast and Geodetic Survey retired; Commander Ernst Stohsner, Coast and Geodetic Survey retired; Captain Charles Burroughs, NOAA Corps; Captain Martin Mulhern, NOAA Corps; Lieutenant Commander Michael Abbott, NOAA Corps; Mr. Robert V. Hansen, presently of the NOAA Office of Constituent and Public Affairs; Mr. Richard Meyer of the NOAA Pacific Marine Center; Ms. Carol Baldwin of the Office of NOAA Corps Operations; and Ms. Sheila Schrier, formerly of the NOAA Fleet Replacement and Modernization Office, and now of the National Marine Fisheries Service; and Mr. Norman Porter, a former Coast and Geodetic Survey Officer and former United States Marine Corps Officer, who has remained a life-long friend of the NOAA Corps. I would also like to thank the present Director of the Office of NOAA Corps Operations, Rear Admiral William L. Stubblefield, who encouraged my obsession with NOAA Corps history for the period that I was on his personal staff and in the years that I have been retired.

Many individuals from outside of NOAA and its predecessor agencies also contributed to this work. The families of many former NOAA Corps or Coast and Geodetic Survey officers or civilians provided me with invaluable information which, if not used in this volume, certainly allowed me to develop a "feel" for what it was like to live in a Coast and Geodetic Survey family and also understand the nature of the professional work of husbands, fathers, grandfathers, and in at least one instance, great-great grandfather. Mrs. Elsie Karo, Mrs. William C. Russell, Mrs. Robert Earle, Mrs. David Whipp, Mrs. Paul A. Smith, Mrs. John Ellerbe, and Mrs. Fair J. Bryant provided memoirs and/or access to photographs chronicling the work of their late husbands. Children or grandchildren of Rear Admiral Leo Otis Colbert, Rear Admiral Raymond Stanton Patton, Rear Admiral John Bull, Captain William Scaife, Captain Carl Aslakson, Captain Gilbert T. Rude, Captain Maurice Hecht, Captain Roland Horne, and Captain George Anderson provided me with photographs, diaries, official orders, etc. all of which have aided in further recording NOAA Corps history. Major General George Kundahl, United States Army Reserve, provided me with access to his great-great-grandfather's pre-Civil War diaries which included a number of years on the Coast Survey. Dr. Ferdinand Hassler IV provided me with family documents containing information on his great-great-grandfather, Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler, the first Superintendent of the United States Survey of the Coast. Professors William Fowler of Northeastern University and Nathan Houser of the Peirce Edition Project at the University of Indiana at Indianapolis have provided comments and suggestions at various times in the completion of this first volume. Dr. Marc Rothenberg, editor of the Joseph Henry Papers at the Smithsonian Institution, was kind enough to read and re-read two versions of the manuscript to this volume and provided many helpful suggestions.

Ms. Marjorie Ciarliante of the National Archives and Records Center assisted me with a number of searches while the individuals working in the microfilm reading room of Archives II greatly helped me during the many hours I spent reviewing the correspondence of Alexander Dallas Bache. Likewise, individuals working in the manuscript reading room of the Library of
Congress provided much invaluable assistance in helping direct my searches for Coast Survey information residing in their collections.

Without the love and tolerance of my wife Kathryn and the forbearance of my children, this first volume would never have been finished. For a number of years I have had old books, old photos, and all manner of piles of information stuffed into various portions of our house. I suspect that this manifestation of my quest to unravel NOAA Corps history would have severely tried the patience of many less tolerant families.

It is my sincere hope that I have not omitted anyone who has helped or encouraged me in the work of chronicling the history of NOAA Corps and its ancestor organizations. If there are any egregious omissions, I offer my apology. The people who assisted me in this work are bound together by a love of the "old Survey" and a respect for its accomplishments. I can only hope that this work will meet some of their expectations.
 

Captain Albert E. Theberge, NOAA Corps (Retired)

September 1, 1998

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