SINBAD OF THE COAST GUARD

By Vinny Del Giudice

This is a tale about a famed U.S. Coast Guard dog named "Sinbad the Sailor," a lost family snapshot of a boy named Ed embracing Sinbad - and detective work by a dogged Coast Guard auxiliarist to find Ed.

The dogged auxiliarist, in this case, would be your Denver-based editor who purchased a copy of the book "Sinbad of the Coast Guard," which was first published in 1945, from an online bookseller in Toledo, Ohio.

The family snapshot of Ed and Sinbad was tucked away in the old book.

Loveable Sinbad was an enlisted member of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Campbell during World War Two, and noted for enduring combat at sea, woofing ham and eggs at mess call and lapping up beer on liberty.

The brown-and-black pooch even attained rank of Chief Petty Officer, Dog (K9C) for his service as a moral builder.

Back to the old book:

Carefully taped inside the cover was a 3x4-inch, black-and-white image inscribed "Ed with Sinbad in 1948." That was the year Sinbad retired from sea duty and took up residence at a Coast Guard lighthouse.

Ed, judging from the photo, was about 13 or 14.

Upon further inspection the title page of the book was inscribed in pen and ink with the name of a Coast Guard chief gunners mate, most likely Ed's dad.

Through the magic of the internet, and with the clues provided, your editor was able to locate Ed's family in Washington state and share the frame in time.

By the way, the collie in the photo is believed to be the family's dog. 

Sadly, both Ed and his father the gunners mate are gone now, as is Sinbad who crossed the bar in 1951.

It is likely Ed's dad served alongside Sinbad on the cutter Campbell.

Photos: U.S. Coast Guard

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Campbell WPG-32 at New York Navy Yard in 1940