USCGC Munro (WHEC-724)

USCGC Munro (WHEC-724)

USCGC Munro (WHEC-724) is a High Endurance Cutter of the United States Coast Guard, named for Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro (1919–1942), the only Coast Guardsman to be awarded the Medal of Honor. The vessel is currently commanded by Mark A. Cawthorn (June 2011 – Present), and as of September 4, 2007 is stationed in Kodiak, Alaska.

Munro was commissioned on September 27, 1971, at Avondale Shipyard in New Orleans, Louisiana. The tenth of twelve 378-foot (115 m) cutters, she was the first to be named after a Coast Guard hero. The previously commissioned 378-footers had been named for former secretaries of the Treasury, a tradition that began in 1830 when a cutter was named for Alexander Hamilton.

Secretary of Transportation John A. Volpe and Douglas Munro's mother, Edith, were on hand to commission the Munro. The ship's original complement included 17 officers and 143 enlisted men, under the command of the ship's first Commanding Officer, Captain John T. Rouse.