USCGC Ingham is one of only two preserved Treasury-class United States Coast Guard Cutters. Originally Samuel D. Ingham, she was the fourth cutter to bear the name of Treasury Secretary Samuel D. Ingham and would become the most decorated vessel in the Coast Guard fleet, the only cutter ever awarded two Presidential Unit Citations. Her story began when the Treasury Department awarded a contract on 30 January 1934; her keel was laid 1 May 1935 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and she was launched on 3 June 1936 alongside her sisters William J. Duane, Taney, and George W. Campbell.
Ms. Katherine Ingham Brush christened her, and she was formally commissioned on 12 September 1936. Ingham earned her reputation in World War II, serving on convoy duty to protect ships ferrying vital supplies to Britain, battling stormy weather, German U-boats, and enemy aircraft. On 15 December 1942 she engaged and sank U-626.
After 1944 she served as an amphibious flagship and took part in three campaigns. Picture that layered history — the contracts, the launching, the convoys — settling into the ship itself.