Coast Guard Great Lakes District command honors lamplighter
May 22, 2026
Great Lakes District Public Affairs
216-902-6020/D9PublicAffairs@uscg.mil
CLEVELAND — Rear Adm. Russell Dash, Coast Guard Great Lakes District Commander, and Master Chief Petty Officer Christopher Mullins, Great Lakes District Command Master Chief, recognized the service of Alan Johnston, one of the Coast Guard’s final lamplighters, at his memorial service in Warroad, Minn., Thursday.
Johnston passed away while performing the Coast Guard aids to navigation mission on May 13, after he dedicated 48 years of service to maintaining navigational aids in remote waterways. The work was generational for Johnston, his father and grandfather also served as lamplighters, making his service part of a time-honored, three-generation family legacy.
“Alan Johnston’s passing is a profound loss for our Coast Guard community and marks a remarkable and generational legacy of service,” Dash said. “Most mariners never know the names of the people who maintain the lights and buoys that guide them safely through darkness, storms, and danger. But everyone on the water depends on them. Alan Johnston’s historic role as a lamplighter is a cornerstone of our navigational safety mission, and it is our honor to recognize his family’s enduring commitment to guiding others safely home.”
The lamplighter role dates back to the era of the U.S. Lighthouse Service. Historically associated with the Western River system and other isolated waterways, early lamplighters were responsible for maintaining minor, kerosene-lit navigational aids to support mariner safety. In the 1940s, the Coast Guard employed nearly 1,200 lamplighters, who often cleaned and filled the kerosene lights every 12-48 hours.
The eventual rise of battery-powered lights and Coast Guard personnel supporting aids to navigation operations caused less demand for the role.
Today, the position has become incredibly rare. Only two lamplighter positions remain active in the Coast Guard, both in the Lake of the Woods, Minnesota, region.
Modern lamplighters remain dedicated to maintaining aids to navigation in remote environments. Their work includes servicing and maintaining buoys, using personally owned boats and equipment. Lamplighters remove the buoys in the fall before the water freezes then replace the buoys each spring to ensure waterways remain safely marked year after year.
For more information, contact Great Lakes District Public Affairs at 216-902-6020, or via email at D9PublicAffairs@uscg.mil.
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