The new US Coast Guard Cutter Clarence Sutphin, Jr. will be officially commissioned this week at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in Manhattan.
Sutphin earned a Bronze Star for his heroism during the Battle of Saipan in 1944 according to the New York Navy League. He risked his life to save a group of Marines who were struck by a mortar, and helped salvage stranded boats that had come under enemy fire.
Sutphin grew up in Valley Stream and raised his family in Huntington. His children told Newsday that he never spoke much about the battle so they were surprised to learn about the Coast Guard’s plan to name the new ship after him.
Sutphin died in 1992.
