There are ‘still tears’: Coast Guard, families honor crew members lost in Cuyahoga sinking 48 years ago

Coast Guardsmen, survivors and families of those lost gathered at Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown to honor the crew’s memory and reflect on the tragedy that unfolded 48 years ago.

Coast Guardsmen, survivors and families gathered in Yorktown to honor the 11 crew members who died in the sinking of USCGC Cuyahoga 48 years ago. A Coast Guardsman salutes a case displaying a model of USCGC Cuyahoga during a remembrance ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, at Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown, Va. (Kaylyn Barnhart Batista/Stars and Stripes) YORKTOWN, Va. — Nearly five decades after Coast Guard Cutter Cuyahoga sank in the Chesapeake Bay, the loss of 11 crew members remains a solemn chapter in the service’s history. Coast Guardsmen, survivors and families of those lost gathered Tuesday at Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown to honor the crew’s memory and reflect on the tragedy that unfolded 48 years ago.

“Even after 48 years, there’s still tears in these families’ eyes. They want to remember. They want to come here and have a moment to see that their loved ones do matter,” Capt. Scott Rae, commanding officer of Training Center Yorktown, told Stars and Stripes. A family member carries a white rose in honor of a loved one lost in the sinking of USCGC Cuyahoga 48 years ago during a remembrance ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, at Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown, Va. (Kaylyn Barnhart Batista/Stars and Stripes) Family members bow their heads in prayer during a remembrance ceremony on