Bringing People Home on the Great Lakes and Beyond
Faces of Service: Karl Willis
Bringing People Home on the Great Lakes and Beyond
Karl Willis learned the Coast Guard’s work from the deckplate up. Over 37 years on active duty, he rose from Seaman Apprentice to Commander, then spent another ten years as the Ninth Coast Guard District’s civilian Search and Rescue (SAR) Coordinator. Along the way, he personally ran thousands of cases as a boat coxswain, Officer of the Day, SAR Mission Coordinator, and SAR Coordinator.
His service took him along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts, but 20 of those years were spent on the Great Lakes, serving American and Canadian citizens alike. Ohio’s Lake Erie shoreline was a big part of his responsibility. Karl took part in large-scale ice rescues near Marblehead and helped develop ice-rescue training that Coast Guard members carried back to their units and shared with local police and fire departments. When a district faced an especially difficult case, he joined calls with specialists from around the country to recommend next steps. As he puts it, “Ten heads are better than one.”
Karl’s career also included counterdrug operations, major drug seizures, and deployments supporting Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The Coast Guard Combat Veterans Association named him its Outstanding Coast Guard Person for 1990–1992. His decorations include three Meritorious Service Medals, four Coast Guard Commendation Medals, two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, and two Coast Guard Achievement Medals.
Today, Karl continues to serve close to home. He recently spoke at the VFW in Amherst in honor of Coast Guard Day and has given presentations on ice rescue, search and rescue, and safe boating with the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Encouraged by his daughter Melissa, he also wrote TRUE NORTH, a memoir that preserves those experiences for his family and recognizes the shipmates who were part of them.
Karl is quick to credit the crews, watchstanders, and partner agencies whose work was essential to bringing people home.
“I want people to know the Coast Guard through the people who do the work,” Karl says. “Sharing these stories is one way to recognize my shipmates and pass along what we learned.”
This Veterans Day, NEOPAT is proud to recognize Karl Willis and his lifetime of service to those in peril on the water.
