USCGC Point Thatcher : NMDS-82314

• USCGC Point Thatcher (WPB-82314) was an 82-foot Point-class cutter built for the United States Coast Guard in 1961, at the Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay, Maryland. • Originally designed for law enforcement, search and rescue, and coastal patrol duties, the Point Thatcher was part of a fleet of cutters that could be easily relocated and adapted for various missions. • The vessel was named "Point Thatcher" after Point Thatcher, a geographic feature in Alaska, following the Coast Guard tradition of naming these patrol boats after geographical points in the United States. • In 1965, the Point Thatcher was selected to serve in Vietnam as part of Operation Market Time, a mission to prevent the smuggling of troops and supplies by sea to the Viet Cong. • Before deployment, the cutter was modified for combat, including the installation of additional armament such as a combination .50-caliber machine gun/81mm mortar, extra radios, and other upgrades. • In Vietnam, the Point Thatcher was assigned to Coast Guard Squadron One, Division 13, and operated out of Cat Lo Naval Base, participating in interdiction and patrol duties along the Vietnamese coast. • The crew of the Point Thatcher often worked alongside US Navy and South Vietnamese Navy units, and the cutter saw frequent contact with enemy forces, including exchanges of fire with suspected enemy vessels. • In 1970, as part of the "Vietnamization" policy, Point Thatcher was transferred to the Republic of Vietnam Navy and renamed NMDS-82314. • The fate of NMDS-82314 after the fall of South Vietnam in 1975 is not well-documented; like many ex-USCG cutters, it was likely captured or scuttled during the final days of the war. • The Point Thatcher's service exemplifies the multi-role adaptability of the Point-class cutters, which served the USCG from the early 1960s through the 2000s in missions ranging from domestic patrols to overseas combat operations.