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This commemorative KA-BAR fighting knife is the perfect gift for friends and family who are service members of the United States Coast Guard. A special design includes an engraving of the U.S. Coast Guard motto: "Semper Paratus" which means "Always Ready." The KA-BAR blade features a quote by Representative John Howard Coble: "I think in the wake of Katrina, the Coast Guard may well have been the only entity or agency that came out of that exercise free of fault and free of blame."
"Semper Paratus" is the motto of the USCG as well as the being title of their official marching songThe original lyrics were written by Captain Francis Saltus Van Boskerck in 1922, in the cabin of USCGC Yamacraw, in Savannah, Georgia; he wrote the music in 1927, on a "beat-up old piano" in Unalaska, Alaska.
The current verse, as well as a second chorus, were written by Homer Smith, 3rd Naval District Coast Guard quartet, Chief Cole, Walton Butterfield in 1943. In 1969, the first line of each verse was changed. Verse 1 and chorus shown below:
Verse 1
From Aztec Shore to Arctic Zone,
To Europe and Far East,
The Flag is carried by our ships
In times of war and peace;
And never have we struck it yet,
In spite of foemen's might,
Who cheered our crews and cheered again
For showing how to fight.
Chorus
We're always ready for the call,
We place our trust in Thee.
Through surf and storm and howling gale,
High shall our purpose be,
"Semper Paratus" is our guide,
Our fame, our glory, too.
To fight to save or fight and die!
Aye! Coast Guard, we are for you.