On 7 December 1941, Hawaiian Coast Guardsman Melvin Kealoha Bell manned the Diamond Head radio station during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, warning commercial vessels that a surprise attack was underway. In 1944, RM1 Bell advanced to a wartime rate of Chief Radioman, becoming the first Pacific Islander to make Chief Petty Officer. During this time, he served within the U.S. Navy’s intelligence office helping crack the Imperial Japanese Navy’s secret codes. In 1958, Bell advanced to ETCM, becoming the first minority Master Chief Petty Officer in the Coast Guard. He is the first Pacific Island-American namesake of a Coast Guard cutter.