CAPE MAY — Members of the Somers Point-based group Lawson’s Pride attended U.S. Coast Guard cutter Lawrence Lawson’s Change of Command ceremony Aug. 6 at the base on Cape May Harbor.
“It was a beautiful day and a beautiful tradition,” group President Janice Johnston said. “The whole crew was there and the camaraderie between the crew members and commander is just amazing.”
Lt. Peyton Bowler took over from Lt. Nicholas Kamwela in a time-honored tradition that formally restates, to the officers and crew of the command, the continuity of the authority vested in the commanding officer, according to the USCG.
Bowler, a native of Syracuse, N.Y., graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in government. He has more than three years of sea time earned from tours as the law enforcement officer aboard cutter Bear in Portsmouth, Va., and as executive officer on cutter Charles Moulthrope in Manama, Bahrain.
Bowler most recently served ashore within the Enlisted Personnel Management Division of Coast Guard Personnel Service Center in Washington, D.C.
Lawson’s Pride was formed to assist the officers, crew and the families of the cutter, which was commissioned March 18, 2017, and is based in Cape May Harbor.
The organization is committed to helping the 24 officers and crew members and their families while they are stationed in Cape May.
It provides funds for Family Readiness programs, a key component of morale, with particular attention to health and welfare during emergency situations and tragedies.
The group is a mix of military veterans and others who are dedicated to showing their appreciation for what the Coasties do for the area.
“Their families are here and most are from somewhere else, living in barracks with children,” Johnston said of the crew. “A lot of them are away from home and their spouses are out to sea sometimes for weeks at a time.”
The group works with the Cape May Coast Guard Community Foundation on different ways to benefit the crew, such as holding a food drive during a government workers furlough and hosting outings.
“Lawson’s Pride provides a unique support system for the crew of the Lawrence Lawson. For crew members who are from all over the country and get assigned to move to Cape May, Lawson’s Pride provides a very welcoming community for the local area and works to support the crew with separate events throughout the year,” according to LTJG Conner McKittrick, executive officer of the Lawrence Lawson.
Johnston said the group enjoys its time with the crew.
“The men and women are just amazing, so educated and enthusiastic about what they do,” she said.
Last August, the group took the crew on a kayak trip and barbecue. Another outing is planned for this fall, but duty calls and it will have to wait — the cutter is on call through mid-September.
Johnston said the group is organizing its big fundraiser for the end of September or beginning of October, when it hosts a dinner at a local restaurant with a cash bar and tons of door prizes.
“It’s a lot of fun, they come with their families. It’s nice for them to relax; they do a lot of serious work,” Johnston said.
The group also delivers a Thanksgiving meal to the crew and holds a luncheon at Christmas.
“A lot of them are here with families, small children, and they move around and do not have that family support. We try to give them a little bit of a break,” Johnston said, noting that the group has donated care packages of necessary items to new mothers.
“We take for granted what they do out on the water; they save a lot of lives,” Johnston said. “This is our opportunity to show we appreciate what they do.”
The Lawrence Lawson is a Sentinel Class patrol ship built by Bollinger Shipyards in Louisiana.
According to the USCG, the ships are used for maritime security, border protection and law enforcement missions. With excellent seakeeping and long endurance, they operate effectively in coastal and offshore environments while supporting search and rescue operations.
The Lawrence Lawson is primarily devoted to search and rescue, and interception of drug and people smugglers. The vessels are capable of a full speed of at least 28 knots (32 mph) and have a range of 2,950 nautical miles.
They are designed to support a crew of about two dozen for missions of as long as five days.
The vessel is named in honor of Lawrence O. Lawson, who served as the United States Lifesaving Service’s station keeper in Evanston, Ill., and who led the crew of his oar-powered surfboat into icy, stormy waters in the widely celebrated rescue of the entire crew of the steamship Calumet on Nov. 28, 1889.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Cape May Star and Wave
