Editing Alex Haley (section)

==Coast Guard career==
[[File:Alex haley US coast guard.png|thumb|upright|Haley during his service in the [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard]]]]
Haley enlisted as a mess attendant. Later he was promoted to the rate of [[Petty Officer Third Class|petty officer third-class]] in the [[Naval Rating|rating]] of [[Steward's assistant|steward]], one of the few ratings open to black personnel at that time.<ref>{{cite book |first=Jerrold M. |last=Packard |title=American Nightmare: The History of Jim Crow |year=2002 |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |location=New York |isbn=0-312-26122-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/americannightmar00pack/page/189 189] |url=https://archive.org/details/americannightmar00pack |url-access=registration }}</ref> It was during his service in the [[Pacific War|Pacific theater of operations]] that Haley taught himself the craft of writing stories. During his enlistment other sailors often paid him to write love letters to their girlfriends. He said that the greatest enemy he and his crew faced during their long voyages was not the Japanese forces but rather boredom.<ref name=USCG1 />

After [[World War II]], Haley petitioned the U.S. Coast Guard to allow him to transfer into the field of journalism. By 1949 he had become a [[Petty officer, first class|petty officer first-class]] in the rating of a journalist. He later advanced to [[chief petty officer]] and held this rank until his retirement from the Coast Guard in 1959. He was the first chief journalist in the Coast Guard, the rating having been expressly created for him in recognition of his literary ability.<ref name=USCG1 />

Haley's awards and decorations from the Coast Guard include the [[Good Conduct Medal (United States)|Coast Guard Good Conduct Medal]] (6 awards represented by 1 silver and 1 bronze [[service star]]), [[American Defense Service Medal]] (with [[battle clasp|"Sea" clasp]]), [[American Campaign Medal]], [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]], [[European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal]], [[World War II Victory Medal]], [[Korean Service Medal]], [[National Defense Service Medal]], [[United Nations Service Medal]], and the [[Marksmanship Medal|Coast Guard Expert Marksmanship Medal]].<ref name=USCG1 /> The Republic of Korea awarded him the War Service Medal, ten years after he died. The United States Coast Guard dedicated the cutter formerly known as USS ''Edenton'' to Haley by recommissioning it as {{USCGC|Alex Haley|WMEC-39|6}} in July 1999. The cutter currently serves from [[Kodiak, Alaska]].