Bailey Taylor Barco (February 14, 1846 - November 4, 1901) was a stationkeeper and Captain with the United States Life-Saving Service—one of the agencies later merged into the United States Coast Guard. He led a rescue at his station Dam Neck Mills in present-day Virginia Beach, on December 21, 1900.[1]
A severe storm had grounded the schooner Jennie Hall, which was being beaten to pieces on its sandbank.[1] Barco decided the surf was too severe to launch his station's surfboat. But his crew was able to send a line to the vessel, and bring off most of the surviving crew with a breeches-buoy.
The last surviving crew member was too numb with cold, and required assistance.[1] Attempts to carry a rescuer out to the schooner with the breeches-buoy were unsuccessful, so Barco and one of his crew made several attempts to use the surfboat to reach the stranded man. They finally succeeded, and were able to put two rescuers aboard the vessel, who were able to assist the last man to mount the breeches-buoy.
Barco was a fisherman, machinist, boat builder, and wrecker by trade. With his wife, Virginia Williams Barco, he had nine children, seven of whom survived; many of their descendants continue to live in the Virginia Beach area. Barco oversaw construction of the Chapel by the Sea in Dam Neck,[2] a daughter church of the Eastern Shore Chapel where he is buried.
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Christopher Havern (2014-01-22). "Coast Guard Heroes: Bailey T. Barco". US Coast Guard. Retrieved 2016-12-15. Bailey Barco's exemplary courage, fortitude and initiative in this valiant rescue reflected the highest honor upon himself and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Life-Saving Service. For extreme and heroic action, Barco was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal on Oct. 7, 1901.
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Susan Schept (2010-03-22). "Enlisted heroes honored". United States Coast Guard. Archived from the original on 2011-12-03. Retrieved 2013-02-01. After the passing of several well-known Coast Guard heroes last year, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Charles "Skip" Bowen mentioned in his blog that the Coast Guard does not do enough to honor its fallen heroes.
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Eric Haun (2017-02-08). "FRC Bailey Barco Delivered to the USCG". Marine link. Retrieved 2017-02-09. The U.S. Coast Guard has taken delivery of USCGC Bailey Barco on February 7, 2017 in Key West, Fla. The vessel is scheduled to be commissioned in Ketchikan, Alaska in June, 2017.
^"Bollinger delivers latest Coast Guard cutter". Houma Today. 2017-02-08. Retrieved 2016-12-15. This vessel is named after McCormick, awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal on Nov. 7, 1938, for his heroic action in rescuing a fellow Coast Guardsman in treacherous conditions where the mouth of the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean in northwest Oregon.
^"Acquisition Update: Coast Guard Unveils Names of FRCs 16-25". US Coast Guard. 2014-02-27. Retrieved 2016-12-15. The Coast Guard recently announced the names of 10 Sentinel-Class Fast Response Cutters (WPCs 1116-1125) through a series of posts on its official blog, the Coast Guard Compass. Like the first 15 ships in the class, each ship will honor a Coast Guard enlisted hero.[dead link]
^"U.S. Coast Guard announces name for first Sentinel-class cutter". 2010-03-22. Archived from the original on 2010-03-25. Retrieved 2013-02-01. Previously designated to be named the Coast Guard Cutter Sentinel, the cutter Bernard C. Webber will be the first of the service's new 153-foot patrol cutters. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen approved the change of the cutter's name to allow this class of vessels to be named after outstanding enlisted members who demonstrated exceptional heroism in the line of duty. This will be the first class of cutters to be named exclusively for enlisted members of the Coast Guard and its predecessor services.
