The Emlen Tunnell is the fourth of six Bollinger-built cutters destined for operations in Manama, Bahrain, to support U.S. interests in southwest Asia and the Middle East....

Tunnell, who died from a heart attack in 1975 at age 51, lived a life of firsts, his achievements often made more difficult by the racial discrimination he encountered. He played football for the University of Toledo in 1942 but was knocked unconscious by a collision that broke his neck.

"Told he would never play football again, he turned to basketball at Toledo instead, but like many American men during this time period, he wanted to enlist in the military," the Coast Guard said in a news release.

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