Rear Admiral James S. Gracey, USCG, Commander Ninth Coast Guard District
James Steele Gracey is a former United States Coast Guard admiral who served as the 17th Commandant of the United States Coast Guard from 1982 to 1986.
Gracey was born in Newton, Massachusetts and is the son of Ernest J. Gracey and Edna S. Gracey. Following graduation from Needham High School in Needham, Massachusetts, he accepted an appointment to the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. Following graduation in June 1949, he agreed to remain at the Academy until the following September as a tactical instructor.
From 1951 to 1953, he was stationed at the Port Office in Boston, Massachusetts. He entered Harvard University in 1954, receiving a Master of Business Administration in 1956. From July 1956 to July 1960, he served at Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, DC, as a Branch Chief in the Supply Division. During the following two years he commanded the buoy tender Mariposa out of New London, CT. The ship serviced aids to navigation along the seacoast of Connecticut and Long Island and broke ice on the Hudson River
From September 1962 to April 1965, he served as Comptroller, Second Coast Guard District, St. Louis, MO with collateral duties that included Cadet Procurement in Kansas and Missouri. He then transferred to the Third Coast Guard District staff in New York to serve as assistant Project Officer for the conversion of Fort Jay, Governors Island from an Army post to a Coast Guard facility. His duties included developing the organization for the host command and planning all the Island’s "humanities." For that duty he was awarded the Secretary of Treasury Commendation for Achievement Ribbon. From March 1966 to June 1969, he was Executive Officer of the Coast Guard Base at Governors Island for which he received a Coast Guard Letter of Commendation.
Gracey served in a number of Flag Officer assignments prior to becoming Commandant, including Commander of the Cleveland-based Ninth Coast Guard District, with responsibility for the Great Lakes area; Commander of San Francisco-based 12th Coast Guard District and Pacific Area, with responsibility for the Pacific Ocean area; and Commander of the Governors Island, New York-based 3rd Coast Guard District and Atlantic Area, with responsibility for the U.S. Eastern seaboard and Gulf Coast.
