Michael Day will probably be best remembered for one VHF radio call he made as a Coast Guard lieutenant on September 11th in New York Harbor. From our post on the 2oth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks:
There are moments in history when an individual makes the right choice at exactly the right moment, and against all odds, it makes all the difference. Such was the case on the morning of September 11, 2001, in New York Harbor when LT. Michael Day made the call for “All available boats.”
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Sorry, totally blocked here but hats off anyway.
Same here - no shade on Admiral Day, but Webroot says the OldSaltBlog is pfishing.
All Available Boats” — RDML Michael Day’s Radio Call on 9/11
Posted on January 8, 2026 by Rick Spilman
Last week, Rear Admiral Michael Day retired after more than 40 years of service in the US Coast Guard. Over his career, he served in a range of responsible positions, in locations ranging from the Arctic to Taiwan and throughout the United States. including as Commander of Sector New York from 2015 to 2018.
Michael Day will probably be best remembered for one VHF radio call he made as a Coast Guard lieutenant on September 11th in New York Harbor. From our post on the 2oth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks:
There are moments in history when an individual makes the right choice at exactly the right moment, and against all odds, it makes all the difference. Such was the case on the morning of September 11, 2001, in New York Harbor when LT. Michael Day made the call for “All available boats.”
LT Day was supposed to attend a meeting in the World Trade Center on that clear Tuesday morning in September. Before he arrived, a commercial airliner flew into the World Trade Center’s North Tower. Just over a dozen minutes later, a second plane hit the South Tower. In less than two hours, both buildings would collapse in a maelstrom of fire and debris. New York City’s emergency response center had been in the World Trade Center complex and was buried in the rubble.
When the towers fell, the US Coast Guard lost much of its communications. LT Day was dispatched in a cutter to serve as a “relay to pass information.” What he saw was nightmarish, out of the smoke, myriads of people driven by the fire and ash to the water’s edge, in desperate need of rescue. With communications down, LT Day was on his own
At this moment, it could have gone disastrously wrong. The US Coast Guard has a wide range of jobs and responsibilities, both civilian and military, from maritime safety to drug interdiction to combat operations in times of war. It would have been easy for LT Day or his superiors to fall back on rule-driven procedures, to try to take things by “the book,” even if in this case the “book” simply didn’t apply.
Under normal conditions, the Coast Guard would be expected to take charge of a rescue. But in this case, there were far too many people who needed saving and far too few Coast Guard cutters. Rather than trying to assert conventional control, Day picked up his radio handset.
He called on his VHF radio, “All available boats. This is the United States Coast Guard. Anyone wanting to help with the evacuation of Lower Manhattan, report to Governor’s Island.”
LT. Day realized that he had a powerful resource in the waters around him — the mariners of New York harbor. They brought special skills and knowledge to the evacuation. Having worked the waterfront, these mariners knew it better than anyone else and that local knowledge was critical. They were also part of a community. They knew and understood each other. Having worked together, they knew that they could rely on one another. And as mariners, they were more than ready to do anything necessary to help those in trouble.
The mariners of New York created a spontaneous and nearly miraculous evacuation as the Coast Guard helped to coordinate. Rather than try to impose top down order to the rescue, the Coast Guard provided guidance and leadership but largely let what happened happen.
It must have taken great courage and presence of mind for a Coast Guard lieutenant to organize an ad-hoc rescue to help create the wonder that has become known as the “Great Manhattan Boatlift.”
Michael Day, the lieutenant who made the initial radio call, was appointed on-scene commander for the evacuation. More than 100 boats from more than 60 companies responded to LT Day’s radio call. The evacuees would be carried to safety by ferries, fireboats, tugs, private yachts, dinner and excursion boats — virtually anything that was afloat in the harbor. Before the tumultuous day’s end, an estimated 500,000 people would be evacuated, an evacuation larger than that at Dunkirk in the early days of World War II.
LT. Day has now retired as Rear Admiral. He went on to serve as the Commander of the Fourteenth Coast Guard District, responsible for directing Coast Guard operations throughout Oceania, including Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and activities in Singapore and Japan.
Rear Admiral Day also served as the Military Advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security, providing counsel to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary regarding policies, plans, and other affairs between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense. He also previously served as Executive Assistant to the Commandant and Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard. Previous notable assignments also include serving in the Strategy and Policy Directorate (J5) for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Commanding Officer of the Pacific Strike Team, where he participated in a variety of emergency responses in locations ranging from the Arctic to Taiwan and throughout the United States. Rear Admiral Day also served as Commander of Sector New York from 2015 to 2018.
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So does my service.
Thank you, sir! That was great.