Lieutenant Jeffrey Crane spent seven years as an enlisted aircrewman with the United States Coast Guard before attending Officer Candidate School (OCS). After finishing OCS, he successfully completed Naval Flight Training and received his wings as a Coast Guard Aviator.

While responding to a vessel in distress call in heavy seas and 45-knot winds off the coast of Cape Mendocino, California, Crane, along with three crewmates from CG6549, died when their MH-65 Dolphin helicopter went down.

“The crew of Coast Guard 6549 made the ultimate sacrifice in an attempt to save the lives of those in peril on the sea,” said Commander Brendan Hilleary, Sector Humboldt Bay Response Chief. “Let us always remember these men that their sacrifice may stand as an inspiration to all of us who continue to stand the watch.”