On the Scene with author and retired Coast Guard Capt. Steven J. Craig

Author and retired Coast Guard Capt. Steven J. Craig grew up in eastern Oregon. His father had served in an Army M.A.S.H. unit in South Korea during the Korean War, but America was mired in the Vietnam War when Craig came of age for military service; his father suggested the Coast Guard might be a better choice.

It was the start of a 38-year career in the Coast Guard and Coast Guard Reserve that included responding to the 9/11 attacks in 2001; providing community support following hurricanes Katrina and Ike; port recovery planning after the Haiti 2010 earthquake; overseeing the Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup; and serving as senior maritime planner for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Honolulu in 2011.

Craig’s first posting out of boot camp was Honolulu. It was there that he learned that his ship, the Coast Guard cutter Jarvis, had narrowly avoided being sunk after it ran aground and then lost power off the coast of Alaska in November 1972.

The story intrigued him. After retiring from the service in 2012, he began researching it. The research resulted in a book released last year “All Present and Accounted For.”

Craig, 67, will hold in-person presentations and book signings from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at the Village Books &Music store by the Friends of the Library of Hawai‘i. The store is located at 1142 Auahi St. Presigned copies of the book also will be available at Barnes &Noble Ala Moana. For more information, visit stevenjcraigbooks.com.

What got you interested in doing the book?

In 1973 I was stationed at Base Honolulu, and another crew member told me (the story). It stayed with me over the years. A couple of years ago I was writing a magazine article about the event and it sort of exploded — the more information I got, I realized I couldn’t do it as a magazine article. It had to be a book.

“All Present and Accounted For” is one of the most thorough accounts of a historical event I’ve ever read. How did you put it together?

I interviewed about 35 members of the crew and then got the ship logs, which gave me almost a minute-by-minute recording of the incident as it was happening. When I got the stories from the crew members, I basically had to figure out which time slot they happened in.

You went in to the Coast Guard as an enlisted man and retired with the rank of captain. What were the circumstances of you going from senior chief petty officer to a commissioned rank?

I was 35 and Roy Wedlund, my commanding officer when I was (stationed) at Westport, Wash., in a reserve unit, called me into the office one day and told me that I should apply for the Direct Commission Program, and so I did, and I was selected.

Do you have a “most memorable” mission from your years in the Coast Guard?

One of my best assignments was APEC maritime security coordinator for the 2011 APEC meeting. I had been working as a GS (federal employee) worker on port recovery and salvage planning for the Coast Guard in Honolulu when I was asked to take the one-year assignment to plan the maritime security portion of the event. I was the only subcommittee chair who was not with the Secret Service, which showed the confidence the Secret Service had in the Coast Guard.

Is there something about your career that might surprise people?

I served 38 years active and reserve and only served 45 days on a ship.

What’s next?

Everyone tells me that they should make a movie (about the Jarvis), and I feel like I owe it to the crew, so right now I‘m learning how to write a movie script.