During the Normandy invasion of 6 June 1944, a 60-cutter flotilla of wooden 83-foot (25 m) Coast Guard cutters, nicknamed the "Matchbox Fleet", cruised off all five landing beaches as combat search-and-rescue boats, saving 400 Allied airmen and sailors.
On 29 January 1945, the , a Coast Guard-manned Liberty ship, exploded off Guadalcanal, Solomons Islands, while loading depth charges.