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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Sponsor

Honored by:

Citation to accompany award the Coast Guard Commendation Award, the Coast Guard Auxiliary Award, and the Coast Guard Special Operations Award.

CDR Gary Trotta is cited for outstanding performance and skill while serving as a key member of the Operation Guarding Liberty Task Force following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001. Demonstrating unparalleled devotion to duty, CDR Gary Trotta reported to Station New York immediately following the attacks and assisted with logistics for the next seven days as the station swelled in size from 60 to more than 250 members.

Over the next four and a half months, CDR Trotta flew from Chicago to New York for critical administration and management assignments. His efforts were key to enforcement of nearly two dozen safety and security zones in a 400 square mile area and the protection of more than 150 key assets critical to the economic, political, and moral stability of the country, including the United Nations Complex, Statue of Liberty, and the greatest concentration of oil and chemical facilities on the East Coast.

CDR Trotta demonstrated extraordinary adaptability in the conduct of the largest port security operation in the United States since World War II, involving more than 60 cutters, boats, and aircraft from more than 143 Coast Guard units, and Coast Guard Auxiliary Division units nationwide.

CDR Gary Trotta's dedication to his nation and the Coast Guard following the horrific events in lower Manhattan was instrumental in restoring the public confidence in transportation security, allowing New Yorkers and citizens throughout the country to carry on following the devastating attacks.

CDR Trotta's diligence, perseverance, and devotion to duty are most heartily commended and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard.