U.S. Coast Guard posthumously honor servicemen killed on ship called 'Tampa' during WWI

TAMPA, Fla. - Descendants of two service members who were killed in World War I have received Purple Hearts from the U.S. Coast Guard – 105 years after they were killed.

"My mother was a teenager when Jim went down with the ship," said Janet Irwin of Sebring, whose Uncle James Frost was killed in 1918. "My mother's family suffered when they lost their only son."

Lt. Frost of Texas was 30 when he was among 115 U.S. servicemen aboard the 190-foot Coast Guard ship, called "Tampa," off the coast of Great Britain.

On September 26, 1918, German U-Boats fired torpedoes, killing everyone aboard.

Thursday, Frost's belongings were laid out in front of a mosaic at the Tampa Bay History Center, in tribute to the sunken ship.

The Coast Guard presented a Purple Heart for Frost to Janet and her son.

Also in attendance was the family of a second serviceman who went down on the Tampa ship, Angus MacLean.

"I thank you for the honor of remembering Angus and his service and his life," said Melody Hoelle.

The Coast Guard recently found both families, as part of their efforts to renew the memories of those who sacrificed for a war that, President Wilson said, was a fight to make the world safe for democracy.

"These young men and women today are willing to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of the values that our nation stands for. Both for our citizens and for the world," said Capt. Michael Kahle of the Coast Guard.

The artifacts being donated to the Coast Guard's historian include a letter written by MacLean, who was from Tampa.

"I think of you often and wish I could see you again," the letter said. "The time will come when I'll drop in down there and give you a surprise. But I'm going to stay in this service until the war's over."

The surprise never happened, but his memory has indeed dropped in among his loved ones.

"I don't know how long it will be before I will come back," the letter said.

Now, 105 years later, their families have tokens of their sacrifice that show war is always personal.