A Retrospective by Martin van der Ven (2025)
Nederlandstalige versie – 
Deutschsprachige Version
“Armed with the greatest weapon of all: Truth.”
With this motto, the USCGC Courier entered the Cold War. This ship was no ordinary naval vessel, but a floating relay station of the Voice of America (VoA). Between 1952 and 1964, it broadcast news, music and political programmes in up to sixteen languages to the Middle East, Eastern Europe and North Africa — always contending with the forces of nature, technical challenges, and deliberate jamming from the East.
From Cargo Ship to Floating Radio Station (1945–1952)
The story of the Courier began without fanfare: in January 1945, the Froemming Brothers company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, laid the keel of a new freighter. Originally named Doddridge, the vessel was launched later that year as M/V Coastal Messenger.
Designed for the transport of military and naval cargo, the ship served in the late 1940s with the Standard Fruit & Steamship Company and the Grace Line, operating along the coasts of North and South America. On one of these voyages, the Coastal Messenger ran aground off Venezuela — an incident that ultimately led to her being laid up in the reserve fleet.
In 1950, the US State Department conceived the idea of establishing a fleet of six radio ships that would serve as mobile relay stations for the Voice of America, broadcasting around the globe. In 1952, the Coastal Messenger was chosen to be converted into the first of these ships. She received new technical equipment, powerful transmitters — and a new name: Courier.
Originally, she was intended for deployment off the Korean Peninsula, but her course soon took a different, historically significant direction.
The Radio Ship USCGC Courier (WAGR-410)
The ship’s official designation was WAGR-410, meaning:
- W – Coast Guard
- A – Auxiliary (work vessel)
- G – Large
- R – Radio
Technical Data:
Displacement: 5,740 t
Length: 103.25 m
Beam: 15.34 m
Draught: 5.26 m
Propulsion: Norberg diesel engine, 6 cylinders, 1,700 SHP, single screw
Maximum speed: 19.6 km/h
Range: 24,273 miles
Crew (1952): 10 officers, 80 seamen, 3 radio technicians, 1 programme coordinator
On board were two Collins 207B shortwave transmitters, coupled to folded discone antennas: one medium-wave antenna for higher frequencies on the starboard bow, and another for lower frequencies on the port side. There was also an RCA medium-wave transmitter with an output of 150 kW. Its modulator and 9C21 output stages were cooled by a distilled-water system, while the Collins transmitters were air-cooled and produced 35 kW each. Three 500 kW three-phase generators supplied power, two of which could run the entire station at full load.
Commissioning Ceremony with President Truman
On 4 March 1952, the Courier was officially commissioned in Washington, D.C. President Harry S. Truman honoured the ship with these solemn words:
“The name Courier is aptly chosen. This ship will bring a message of hope and friendship to all who are oppressed by tyranny — a message of truth and light to those confused by the storm of lies the Communists have loosed upon the world. This ship carries a precious cargo: the truth.”
Trial Voyages and First Test Broadcasts
Before entering full service, the Courier undertook a six-week trial voyage that took her to La Guaira (Venezuela), 
Broadcasts ran daily from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., and were received not only in the Caribbean but also in Europe and New Zealand. A typical announcement ran:
“Voice of America broadcasting via the Courier, the floating station KU2XAJ in the waters of the Panama Canal. This transmitter is testing its electronic equipment with programmes in the Spanish language on 1510 kHz, 9690 and 6110 kHz. VoA technicians welcome reception reports to: Courier, Apartado 2016, Balboa, Canal Zone.”
Influence on Guatemala
Edgar T. Martin joined the VoA in 1952 as head of the frequency department. In 1954, he was appointed technical director, making him responsible for the research, planning, design, construction, operation and administration of the VoA’s vast and extensive broadcasting and communications facilities. In May 1988, Martin stated in an interview that the first missions of the transmission ship USCGC Courier were by no means mere routine or test voyages, as officially presented at the time. Behind the mission, officially described as a “Goodwill Cruise”, lay in fact a deliberate political operation in the context of the Cold War and the United States’ efforts to exert influence in Central America.
According to Martin’s account, the USCGC Courier was part of these covert activities. Before being stationed at its later official operational site off the Greek island of Rhodes, the vessel was deployed in the Caribbean and off Central America. Its purpose was to use radio broadcasts to influence directly the political situation in Guatemala.
Outwardly, the mission was presented as a friendly demonstration voyage – a so-called “goodwill cruise”. In reality, however, it was a tactical propaganda operation, known only to a small circle of VoA personnel – a few in the programming division and several technicians. During this operation, the ship visited a number of Central American ports south of Guatemala, strategically selected so that they lay within the range of the medium-wave transmitter, thereby allowing targeted influence broadcasts to be transmitted.
The mission was strongly criticised by the public and the press. Observers accused the Voice of America of wasting valuable resources by sending an expensive ship on what appeared to be a pointless cruise in the Caribbean, rather than deploying it for militarily or politically more relevant purposes – for example in the Middle East. Martin later explained that those involved had to accept such accusations in silence, as the true background of the mission was strictly classified.
His account therefore confirms that the first operational deployment of the USCGC Courier formed part of the United States’ psychological warfare efforts in the run-up to the 1954 coup in Guatemala. The mission, officially described as a test voyage, in fact served as a targeted political influence operation – the Courier’s first real tactical mission, and the beginning of the ship’s later legendary career within the Voice of America. [source 1] [source 2]
Broadcast Base: Rhodes
On 18 June 1952, the Courier returned to New York. A month later, she set out across the eastern Mediterranean — via Tangier, Naples and Piraeus — finally arriving in the harbour of Rhodes on 22 August 1952. On 7 September, she officially began broadcasting.
Rhodes — the mythical island of the sun god Helios and the site of the ancient Colossus — provided a symbolically charged setting for this “ship of truth”. The island, part of Greece again since 1948, lay close to the Cold War’s geopolitical fault line.
After years under Italian and German occupation, Greece was still deeply scarred by civil war when the Courier dropped anchor. The location was both strategic and symbolic: Greece had just joined NATO, and the presence of the American broadcast ship stood as a visible sign of Western solidarity.
The Courier was usually moored by the Fort of St Nicholas at the Mandraki harbour mole, though at times she lay at anchor about one nautical mile off the Agios Nikolaos lighthouse.
Unusual Aerials – and a Tale Involving Cows
For its medium-wave transmissions, the Courier initially used a tethered balloon antenna measuring 10.7 by 21 metres and filled with 4,250 cubic metres of helium. Five of these expensive balloons were kept on board. The system proved unreliable: strong winds often tore the antenna loose, sending it drifting — sometimes as far as Turkey.
This led to a curious diplomatic aftermath: several Turkish farmers were compensated after claiming their cows had stopped producing milk, having been frightened by a fallen balloon (Paul R. McKenna, Naval History Magazine, April 1991).
Eventually, the fragile system was replaced by a mast-supported inverted delta-loop antenna. For the conversion, the Courier was taken first to Malta, then to Thessaloniki, where new antenna installations were fitted. According to the Australian journal Radio & Hobbies, the ship even transmitted directly from Thessaloniki harbour for a time.
Between Jamming and Static
On medium wave, the Courier operated on 1259 kHz, while on shortwave it relayed VoA programmes in sixteen languages to the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
Unlike the offshore radio stations of the 1960s–1980s, the Courier did not broadcast outside territorial waters but within Greek jurisdiction — with the full consent of the government in Athens. This was diplomatically significant: the Courier belonged to the US Coast Guard and was under the control of the United States Information Agency (USIA), not the Navy. Her mission therefore remained officially civilian — a symbol of cultural rather than military presence.
Incoming VoA programmes were generally received from Tangier or directly from the United States. As the ship’s own transmitters interfered with the receiving aerials at the stern, these were shielded with a so-called “birdcage” — an improvised Faraday cage. Even that proved insufficient, and a separate receiving station was built on the nearby Monte Smith (also known as St Stephen’s Hill). The signal was relayed to the Courier by UHF radio — a far more stable and interference-free solution.
The Courier’s call sign was NFKW. Her main tasks were to play recorded programmes and relay live feeds. But the airwaves were contested territory: from the East, Soviet and allied jammers tried to block her transmissions. It was a constant game of cat and mouse — electronics against electronics, or, as the Americans saw it, “truth against Communist propaganda”.
Curiosities and Incidents
The Courier’s immense transmitting power caused some unexpected side effects. 
New arrivals were often greeted with a practical joke: a fluorescent tube that glowed brightly without being connected to anything — powered only by the ship’s radio emissions.
The Mediterranean also held its surprises. One night, a fishing boat ignored repeated warnings to keep away. When the Courier began transmitting, St Elmo’s fire — bluish discharges of electricity — danced along the aerials. A flash jumped to the mast of the fishing vessel, apparently striking its radio. The boat fled at full speed — and was never seen again.
Once, the Courier even served as a ferry: at the request of the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of the Dodecanese, she transported him and a group of scouts to the nearby island of Kastellorizo — all while regular broadcasting continued.
Life on Board and on Rhodes
Married crew members were permitted to bring their families to Rhodes. A small American community soon developed on the island, complete with homes, shops and a school where Greek teachers also taught.
At first, many islanders viewed the Americans with scepticism, but attitudes quickly changed. The Courier community stimulated the local economy, created jobs — and not infrequently led to friendships or even marriages between islanders and crew members.
The End of a Mission
After twelve years serving as the “Voice of Freedom”, the Courier prepared 
On 17 May 1964, the final broadcast went out over the airwaves. The technical equipment was handed over to Greece, and the ship began her voyage home — via Naples, Barcelona and the Azores. On 13 August 1964, the Courier reached the American east coast.
Two years later, she was recommissioned as a training vessel for the Coast Guard. In 1972 she was finally decommissioned, and in 1977 scrapped.
What remained was her legacy: a ship that fought not with weapons, but with words — and whose aerials for many years stood as symbols of a free and uncensored world.
Conclusion
The story of the USCGC Courier represents a unique chapter in the history of international broadcasting. It shows how, in the early 1950s, radio technology, diplomacy and ideology converged in the Mediterranean — and how a single radio ship became a symbol of faith in freedom.
