Scotch Cap Light was built in 1903 on the southwest coast of Unimak Island, Alaska, earning it the distinction as the first light established on the state’s outer coast. The original lighthouse was a 45 foot wood tower built atop an octagonal wood building. In 1945, BMC Anthony Petit was assigned as its keeper and placed in command of a five-man crew. All of the men were killed on April 1, 1946 when a massive tsunami struck and destroyed the station following an earthquake centered in the Aleutian Islands.
In honor of Chief Petit’s sacrifice and that of his crew a U.S. Coast Guard 175-foot Keeper Class Buoy Tender homeported in Ketchikan, Alaska bears the name USCGC Anthony Petit (WLM-558).