Jen DeSalvo

Chicago-resident, Captain David Truitt has been serving with the U.S. Coast Guard for 60 years. His entire life, he says, he worked on a rescue boat. The boat he captained. On the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw ship, Captain Truitt sat in a lounge below deck sharing stories with the ship’s Commanding Officer Jeannette Greene. The two appeared to be enjoying each other’s company while sitting next to a solid wood table donning a perfect etching of a ship no longer in service.

Chicago resident, Captain David Truitt, has been serving with the U.S. Coast Guard for 60 years. His entire life, he says, he worked on a rescue boat - the boat he captained. But it wasn't until the holiday season more than two decades ago that he started a tradition now known as Chicago's Christmas Ship. While doing good deeds for Chicago residents, Truitt and his fellow “Coasties” noticed that some homes were having Christmas parties. Those home had Christmas trees.