Harry G . Hamlet Harry Gabriel Hamlet ( 27 August 27 , 1874 – 24 January 1954 ) served as the seventh Commandant of the United States Coast Guard , from 1932 to 1936 . Early life and career . Hamlet was born in Eastport , Maine and was the son of Captain Oscar G . Hamlet , an officer in the United States Revenue Cutter Service . Upon graduation from high school in Dorchester , Massachusetts , he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . He was appointed as one of twelve cadets to the recently reopened Revenue Cutter Service School of Instruction on 12 April 1894 and received training aboard USRC " Chase " , the school ' s newly refitted training cutter . After completion of training , Hamlet was commissioned as a third lieutenant on 27 April 1896 and was assigned to USRC " Bear " and served aboard her during the Overland Relief Expedition which involved the rescue of whalers trapped in Arctic ice near Point Barrow , Alaska . Hamlet was promoted to second lieutenant on 17 January 1898 . Hamlet reported aboard the newly reacquired USRC " Thetis " at Mare Island Navy Yard in 1899 . After a refit , " Thetis " was assigned duty in Siberia to purchase reindeer for transport to Alaska . The reindeer were to be used to start herds in Alaska which were to eventually be used to supplement winter food supplies for Alaska natives . Hamlet was especially skilled at bartering with the Siberian natives and was put in charge of all negotiations for the cruise . He was later singled out by the captain of the " Thetis " for his skill in barter in dispatches to headquarters . In 1900 , Hamlet became one of the Revenue Cutter Service officers to attend the Naval War College in Newport , Rhode Island . Upon completion of his studies , he returned to duty aboard " Bear " , serving on patrol duty with the Bering Sea Patrol . On 10 April 1905 Hamlet was promoted to first lieutenant . World War I and postwar assignments . During World War I , he was assigned to the Third Naval District at Bensonhurst , New York and later joined U . S . Naval forces at Brest , France , assuming command of the . While in command of " Marietta " in the Bay of Biscay on 28 April 1919 , Captain Hamlet rescued a crew of 47 persons from the which was sinking at sea . This rescue was made extremely difficult and hazardous owing to high seas , which threatened to send the two vessels crashing together . In effecting the rescue , Hamlet displayed admirable seamanship and on 5 January 1920 he was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal . From 1919 to 1922 , he served as the Coast Guard ' s Chief Personnel Officer . In May 1922 Hamlet assumed command of at Honolulu , Hawaii and took her on a cruise through the Far East on the way to her new homeport of Boston , Massachusetts . From 1924 to 1928 , he served as Superintendent of the Philadelphia Navy Yard . From 1928 until his appointment as Commandant , he served as Superintendent of the United States Coast Guard Academy at New London , Connecticut . Commandant . Following the death of Frederick C . Billard , he was appointed as Commandant of the Coast Guard by President Herbert Hoover on 14 June 1932 . As Commandant during the Great Depression , he struggled with low budgets and limited appropriations . In response , Hamlet implemented a cost - cutting plan which called for decommissioning of vessels , closing of Coast Guard stations , manpower reductions , and a 25 % reduction in expenditures . Unfortunately , these measures led to calls to merge the Coast Guard with the United States Navy . With the support of Chief of Naval Operations , Admiral William V . Pratt , however , Hamlet succeeded in persuading President Franklin D . Roosevelt and Congress from taking such action . Later career . Upon completion of his term , he was succeeded as Commandant by Russell R . Waesche , and reverted in rank to Captain on January 1 , 1936 . He was retained on special duty in the office of Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau , Jr . . He also served as Chairman of the Personnel Advisory Committee to the U . S . Senate Commerce Committee , which was responsible for studying maritime issues and recommending legislation on improving the United States Merchant Marine . The Creed of the United States Coast Guardsman . The following creed was authored by Admiral Hamlet in 1938 : " I am proud to be a United States Coast Guardsman . " " I revere that long line of expert seamen who by their devotion to duty and sacrifice of self have made it possible for me to be a member of a service honored and respected , in peace and war , throughout the world . " " I never , by word or deed , will bring reproach upon the fair name of my service , nor permit others to do so unchallenged . " " I will cheerfully and willingly obey all lawful orders . " " I will always be on time to relieve , and shall endeavor to do more , rather than less , than my share . " " I will always be at my station , alert and attending to my duties . " " I shall , so far as I am able , bring to my seniors solutions , not problems . " " I shall live joyously , but always with due regard for the rights and privileges of others . " " I shall endeavor to be a model citizen in the community in which I live . " " I shall sell my life dearly to an enemy of my country , but give it freely to rescue those in peril . " " With God ' s help , I shall endeavor to be one of His Noblest Works . . . " A UNITED STATES COAST GUARDSMAN . Retirement . Hamlet retired from the U . S . Coast Guard on September 1 , 1938 , just after his 64th birthday . By virtue of his service as Commandant , his retired rank would have been Rear Admiral ; he was , however , promoted to Vice Admiral in recognition of his four decades of service . Upon his death at the age of 79 , he was interred at Arlington National Cemetery .