Launch 5
Encyclopedia
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is the uniformed volunteer component of the United States Coast Guard and was established on June 23, 1939 by an act of Congress as the United States Coast Guard Reserve, and was re-designated as the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary on February 19, 1941...
Facility as well as for volunteer non-profit environmental, public safety and educational work. Launch 5 enjoys a rich history beginning with her construction and dedication in 1966 and continuing to this day including valuable missions and enjoying substantial media exposure. Her crew is a group of volunteers who donate time and money to keep her afloat and to take her to public service.
In addition to being a working vessel, Launch 5 serves as a floating memorial to the officer she was named after, Patrolman Henry Walburger, who was killed in the line of duty in 1964. The vessel goes by both names - Patrolman Walburger and Launch 5. All NYPD Harbor Unit patrol launches are given a numbered designation welded to the outside of the wheelhouse. Patrolman Walburger was assigned No 5. She is fifty two feet in length, powered by twin diesel engines and weighs 25 tons.
History
While there are many stories to tell regarding Launch No 5's voyage through time, what follows are some highlights in her history.Slaying of Officer Henry Walburger
At 6:45 a.m. on July 27, 1964, Patrolman Henry Walburger and his partner were dispatched to an apartment building in the 9th pct. of Manhattan for a possible burglary in progress. When they arrived, Walburger ascended the fire escape to discover a white male holding two black females hostage. The white male shot Patrolman Walburger through the window and he died.Construction and commissioning of Launch No 5
Van Schaick Island
Van Schaick Island is an island in the city of Cohoes, New York. Van Schaick is a part of the delta of the Mohawk River at its mouth with the Hudson River. The island has been referred to by numerous names including Quehemesicos, Long, Anthony's, Isle of Cohoes, and Cohoes Island...
, Cohoes NY. One of them was to bear the number "No 5". Years later, photos of her construction surfaced through a chance meeting with a retired shipbuilder who worked in the yard at the time.
On November 18, 1966 Launch 5 was christened the Patrolman Walburger in a dedication ceremony attended by department brass, Henry's widow and children. After a ceremonial ride with the family, Launch No 5 began an approximate 30 year career as a very active patrol launch in the Jamaica Bay
Jamaica Bay
Jamaica Bay is located on the southwestern tip of Long Island in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, and the town of Hempstead, New York/hamlet of Inwood...
area of New York City - saving lives, property and enforcing the law.
Demise of Launch No 5
Sometime in the early nineties, as a new fleet of aluminum launches were being put into service in the New York City Police Department Harbor Unit, Launch No 5 was sold as surplus to a private party who eventually let it sink in the Passaic RiverPassaic River
The Passaic River is a mature surface river, approximately 80 mi long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey,...
. She lay on the bottom of that river, sinking deeper and deeper into the mud, for about a year.
Raising of Launch No 5
In 1998, Greg Porteus, a retired New York State TrooperNew York State Police
The New York State Police is the state police force of over 4,600 sworn Troopers for the state of New York. It was established on April 11, 1917 by the New York Legislature, in response to the 1913 murder of a construction foreman named Sam Howell in Westchester County, which at that time did not...
whose father served aboard Launch 5 as a member of the NYPD Harbor Unit in the sixties and seventies, learned about Launch 5 lying on the bottom of the river and decided to embark on the project of raising and restoring the vessel. The project turned into a journey of its own taking in excess of four years and many thousands of dollars to accomplish. But many friendships and loyalties were built along the way. Launch 5 had her hull below the waterline completely replaced, was repowered with brand new Caterpillar diesels. She continues to be improved with new navigation systems, generator, etc.
Resurrection of Patrolman Walburger's spirit
In the summer of 2002, the restoration was completed and she was rededicated to Patrolman Henry Walburger. The original dedication and name plaques were donated and affixed to the wheelhouse where they remain today. Patrolman Walburger's son Henry Jr., a retired NYPD detective, became an active crewmember and member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary along with Greg and the rest of the Launch 5 Crew.Launch No 5 today
Since her rededication in 2002, Launch 5 has been very busy again as a volunteer vessel - saving lives, providing security and public safety and helping to keep the Hudson River clean. But counted among her most proud achievements are the dozens of people who have been brought together through her restoration, service and her role as a floating memorial to the slain patrolman. In fact, she has come to symbolize the memories of all officers slain in the line of duty - and she carries those spirits with her on every active mission.Missions
As a volunteer facility for the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Launch No 5 has participated in hundreds of "routine" safety and homeland security patrols. But she has also been called upon for more distinguished missions such as:- Security for the Queen Mary 2 on her maiden voyage out of New York Harbor
- NY Harbor tour for 10 wounded Army soldiers from the Iraq war
- USCG Admiral transport for the Republican National Convention in 2004 and a change of command in 2006
- Tour of the Hudson River to West Point with Congresswoman Sue Kelly Video
- Homeland Security Science Mission - mapping Loran in NT Harbor http://launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Missions/Loran/index.htm
- A multi agency rescue drill http://launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Missions/Drill09JUL2005/index.htm
- Helicopter Rescue Demonstration http://www.force67.com/Missions/Helo20030503/Photo/index.php
- As a platform for the filming of a U.S. Navy documentary during Fleet Week http://launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Missions/FleetWeek2003/index.php
- As safety boat for the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial http://www.exploreny400.com/Home.aspx
Media
Launch 5's activities have drawn some media attention as well. Numerous newspaper articles have been written about her and her crew. Two impressive internation magazine articles have been written as well. One of them was a seven page tribute which was published in Passagemaker magazine. The other one was a centerfold photo spread in Professional Mariner magazine. She has appeared in numerous TV News spots and was featured in the opening scene of and episode of the Law & Order TV series (View video). In January 2006, Launch 5 and her crew were filmed for a pivotal scene in Steven Soderbergh'sSteven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and an Academy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing commercial Hollywood films like Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and the remake of Ocean's Eleven, but he has also directed smaller less...
upcoming movie Guerilla - a film about Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
- which was released in 2008.