GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (WZZM) -- An important piece of U.S. Coast Guard history has been retired from service.
Thursday, a special service was held in Grand Haven to decommission the last remaining 41-foot rescue boat, which had been in service for decades.
Jeff Carie was 13 when the Coast Guard rescued him and his brother from a dangerous situation on the water in 1978.
"I was out on Lake St. Claire. We got caught in a bad storm and didn't have the right survival equipment," Carie says. "Subsequently, I joined the Coast Guard in 1982."
Carie is one of about 40,000 people who've been rescued by the 41-footers.
US Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Paul Zukunft said the last remaining 41-footer, 41410 out of Muskegon, was "truly the little engine that could."
He says it's an honor for him to see the people who operated these vessels.
Petty Officer Michael Keiran was the last driver of 41410.
"It's been such a part of so many people's lives -- it's been such an honor to finish it off," he said.
It gives way to a new generation of rescue boat, like a 47-footer on-hand for the Coast Guard Festival.
For Carie, 41410 has meaning for several members of his family, too.
"My daughter had also worked on this particular vessel from 2009 to 2011. Tthree generations of my family have been connected to this boat."
The vessel heads to Milwaukee next week, and then a decision will be made about whether it will be stored with the Coast Guard or sold to another party, like a museum.
