SEMPER PARATUS MARCH

From Arlington National Cemetery web page

An unfamiliar name to many, Francis Van Boskerck was commissioned in the Revenue Cutter Service on May 20, 1891. 

While the motto “Semper Paratus” (“Always Ready”) had long been associated with the Revenue Cutter Service, no official recognition of the motto was given until the words appeared on the 1910 ensign.

In 1922, Van Boskerck was stationed aboard the cutter Yamacraw, chasing rum runners off the coast of the Carolinas and Florida. There, he wrote a poem.

Five years later, while in command of the Bering Sea Forces and stationed at the remote port of Unalaska, he composed an accompanying piece of music on an old piano.

With the help of two U.S. Public Health Service dentists, the words of Von Boskerck’s poem was fit to the music, thus creating the Coast Guard marching song, “Semper Paratus.”

He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.