Light Hearted ep 344 – Rear Admiral Bill Merlin, U.S. Coast Guard Retired
From Light Hearted by Jeremy D'Entremont, U.S. Lighthouse Society
May 3, 2026 · 46 min
About this episode
The episode features a conversation with Rear Admiral Bill Merlin about his distinguished career in the Coast Guard and his involvement with the U.S. Lighthouse Society.
Bill Merlin had a 34-year career in the Coast Guard. After graduating from the Coast Guard Academy in 1956, he served on Coast Guard cutters in the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Caribbean. He eventually served as the Twelfth District Chief of Operations and Chief of Staff in San Francisco. That’s where he met Wayne Wheeler, founder of the U.S. Lighthouse Society. Bill was instumental in the early days of the Society. He retired in 1990 as a rear admiral. He was awarded the Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States. Bill is currently the treasurer on the U.S. Lighthouse Society board of directors. We talked about his distinguished career and also about his view of the place of lighthouses in the world today. Early in his Coast Guard career, Bill Merlin served aboard the USCG Cutter Androscoggin, based in Miami, Florida.
People in this episode
Host: Jeremy D'Entremont
Guest: Bill Merlin
Topics covered
- Coast Guard
- lighthouses
- military career
- U.S. Lighthouse Society
- operations
- leadership
Keywords
- Coast Guard
- Bill Merlin
- lighthouses
- U.S. Lighthouse Society
- military service
- leadership
- operations
- retirement
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Lighthouse Society
Places: San Francisco, Miami, Florida
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