‘TRICARE for Life’ and
‘TRICARE Senior Pharmacy’
Became Law
President
Clinton signed into law Oct.30 a two-pronged health care initiative for current
and future Medicare-eligible military beneficiaries that has a vastly expanded
prescription drug benefit – Full Story begins on Page 9
·
`TRICARE for Life'
and `TRICARE Senior Pharmacy' ·
The Whiskey Mine ·
The Final
Judgement ·
CGC SPAR
Launched ·
Market Time ·
The Asiatic Crew
of the Planetree ·
A Typical Coast
Guard SAR Flight AND MORE
à
In this Issue
Became Law
·
Posers
`TRICARE for Life' and `TRICARE Senior Pharmacy'
Became Law
November 2, 2000
Effective
Oct. 1, 2001, any Medicare eligible military beneficiary who has
enrolled in Medicare Part B will have TRICARE as second payer to their Medicare
benefits. This means TRICARE will pay out-of-pocket costs for any services
covered under Medicare, including 20 percent co-payments on doctor care and
deductibles for hospital stays. In addition, beneficiaries will be eligible for
all TRICARE benefits not covered by Medicare. TRICARE plans an elaborate effort
to inform individual beneficiaries on details.
The
TRICARE Senior Pharmacy Program, its official name, will begin April 1, 2001,
six months sooner than TRICARE for Life. A TRICARE official said an easy way to
explain it is it's ``the exact same benefit''
Coast Guard Cutter SPAR Christened and Launched
Marinette, Wisconsin 8/12/2000 -- Under a beautiful Wisconsin Sky the brand new Coast Guard Cutter Spar was christened by Attorney General Janet Reno and launched at the Marinette Marine Corporation today in the presence of 80 to 100 World War II Coast Guard SPARs and another 2000 or more guests.
Preceding Ms. Reno were remarks delivered by Congressman Stupak, Senator Kohl, Vice Admiral Josiah, Coast Guard Chief of Staff and Mr. Dan Gulling, a representative of the Builder. The prospective Commanding Officer, LCDR Joanna Nunan brought tears to everyone's eyes when she described her emotions when she would be announced on board her new ship; "SPAR ABOARD" As a female Coast Guard Commanding Officer of the SPAR, she represents all of the 11,000 SPARs who served so notably in World War II.
The audience was entertained by the Coast Guard Band with stirring marches one of which surprisingly was the "Alte Kamaraden" Some 60 SPAR's and a few others formed on the dock and marched in formation and in uniform to their seats of honor in front of the podium.
Coast Guard Sea Veterans of America President Larry Stefanovich, Secretary Ken Long, Board Member Jack Eckert & his wife Joana, Jim Gheller & his wife Janet as well as several of the SPAR’s were in attendance.
By 12 Noon the SPAR's, Dignitaries, invited guests and onlookers left the shipyard.
The Spar will be commissioned next
spring and be homeported in Juneau, Alaska taking the place of the
decommissioned CGC IRONWOOD.
THE WHISKEY MINE
By Harold Doan
Though this was supposed to be a secret in the late fifties I doubt its disclosure will do any harm now.
There were some bad floods in Northern California in the winter of 1956 or 7. Water in the Eel River rose high enough to flood out a warehouse which contained a large amount of liquor of all kinds. The labels and federal tax stamps were mostly washed off and there was fear that somehow the stuff was contaminated. So the entire lot was written off.
Since the Alcohol Tax Unit and the Coast Guard were both under the Treasury Department at that time it was decided to destroy the booze and bury it on the Coast Guard property near the Coast Guard Lifeboat Station at Samoa, California, near Eureka. The liquor was loaded into dump trucks and amid great secrecy a bulldozer dug a trench in the sand, the stuff was dumped in and the bulldozer tan back and forth over the bottles. (I am sure that must have been a tough job and the bulldozer operator could be excused if he didn't break every bottle.) Sand was pushed over the top ... of course, a case of booze went to a few people here and there with a stern admonition that the news was not to be spread.
My friend Joe Elliott was stationed there at the time and told me about "the whiskey mine." I did nothing about it as I was a newly commissioned ensign then and felt it would be wrong for me to go "prospecting."
A year or so later I was Exec on the CGC ACTIVE, a Buck and a Quarter visiting Eureka and moored at the Samoa Lifeboat Station. It was a day or two before payday and the Chief Engineman on the ship was bored with card games and paperbacks and wanted to go ashore that wouldn't cost him anything. I told him about the buried treasure and he left.
When he came back to the ship I knew he had found it because his fingers had many cuts from broken glass, his trousers were stained red from wading in wine, and his eyes wouldn't focus.
After a few days he shipped a footlocker of "mineral samples" to his home in Monterey. He said he had a fine time guessing what was in a bottle by the shape, glass color, etc. etc. etc.
Note to Commander Map ... Am sailing in that direction. Doan ... Send Treasure
From "This - *?#!@*? Was The Coast Guard" by Esther Stormer ©1985 Reprinted by permission.
The
Fly That Buzzes The Loudest loudest usually gets
swatted
The Asiatic Crew Of The Planetree By Allen J. Neal
A ship full of Corporal Klingers in the mid 1950's
I reported aboard the Buoy Tender, "Planetree" Guam on January 26, 1954, and being an SA, was immediately put in the galley mess cooking.
The first thing I noticed was all of the odd characters on board. Several of the deck force and quartermasters wore rags on their feet instead of shoes. Most of the deck force looked like castaways. Most said they had gone "Asiatic."
The chief's mess cook put colored food dye in their coffee urn and the chiefs refused to drink the coffee thinking Billy was trying to poison them.
My first evening meal I sat down at one of the three tables, and in the middle of each table was a one-gallon can of fruit cocktail. I thought "OK, I loved fruit cocktail." A second man sat down and picked up the one-gallon can of fruit cocktail and threw it out the open port hole. He said to me, "that is the first guy's job to throw it out the port hole." I didn't know for every meal each table got a one-gallon can of fruit cocktail and the first man always threw it out.
We got a new cook, fresh out of school, real nice fellow named Brunsma who was immediately nick named "Burnsmore." He would try to make a decent meal and would stick his head out the galley door and ask, "how was the meal?" and one of the animals eating would actually throw food at him, and someone would yell, "get back in your hole Belly Robber."
The cockroaches would land on your tray and you would flip them off and they would come right back as if they were attached to a rubber band. I never saw flying cockroaches. Someone said they were holding hands below and if they let go, the Planetree would sink.
We had a first class cook, tall red-headed guy with a mean disposition, I won't mention his name, he treated mess cooks like dirt. His best friend was a third class boatswains mate who looked like a Neanderthal Man. They looked like Mutt and Jeff. One Sunday afternoon when most of the crew was ashore I was mess cooking and had to go down to one of the coolers where lettuce and things were kept. There was Mutt and Jeff drinking their stash of hidden San Miguel Beer. They sure had a startled look on their faces and knew I had caught them red-handed. Thinking I might squeal on them they offered me a beer. I declined and from that day on I was their best buddy and the mess cooking got a lot easier.
We had a canvas cover over the fantail as it was so hot in Guam. We had movies every night under the canvas. The guys would go over to the base Coke Machine and bring over coke to drink during the movie. They had an empty coke case to place the empty bottles to be returned to the base. On my first liberty we had to line up for inspection by the Executive Officer. One man going on liberty was the second class steward called, "Goose Tatum" after one of the Harlem Globe Trotters. The XO looked us over and then noticed the case of empty coke bottles. He looked at Goose and said, "Goose get rid of those bottles." Goose said, "Yes sir" and grabbed the case and gave it the deep six. The startled XO said, "Goose, that isn't what I had in mind." Goose replied, "you said get rid of them and that's what I did, SIR, I got rid of them." I had a hard time suppressing a laugh.
We took several trips to Saipan, Ulithe, and Penepe. Once we stopped at Tinian, where the B-29's had taken off to drop the A-Bombs on Japan. The shore party returned with several Japanese, type 99, light machine guns, still in cosmoline. They immediately took them to the engineroom to clean them up. This was ten years after the war was over.
Some of the junior rated men were on three year enlistments to avoid being drafted by the Army for the Korean War and were trying to get "Section 8" discharges for being crazy now that that war was over.
He who is not
graTeful for little is not
worthy of much MARKET
TIME By Dave Moyer From The Owasco Chronicles The question we crewmembers asked ourselves over and over was, "just what
the hell are we supposed to be doing here?" We had training in our
respective jobs, better and more diverse than any other branch of the armed
forces, but our combat training was next to nil. We trained on the M-1 rifle in
boot camp, those dependable .30 calibres our dads carried in WW II and Korea.
Oddly enough, they didn’t use them in Vietnam—they used M-16’s, and some
Marines still used M-14’s. Since I didn’t know one end from the other on a ’14, I couldn’t have used
one effectively; as far as the ’16 was concerned, our entire training consisted
of standing on the fantail one afternoon before arriving in the combat zone
while a Gunners Mate showed us the automatic and semiautomatic switch. He then
proceeded to insert a clip and fired five rounds. As ordered, we lined up and
each shot three rounds off the fantail into the South China Sea. It took all of
about 12 minutes. End of training on the M-16. The next time I saw one was when
I carried one into a possible combat situation. I said possible. Fortunately, I
didn’t need to fire it. After that I carried a .45 semiautomatic pistol, which
I did know how to use. We had M-60’s mounted on each bridge wing also. These were belt fed
automatics and an upgraded version of the old Browning Automatic Rifle. Proficiency
on that piece was also learned by "on-the-job training." Perhaps
someone figured we would learn eventually. Know what? They were right. Still, just why were we, the U.S. Coast Guard, there? An explanation was
given to the enlisted crew; however, I learned much more about our role
15-years after returning, from a book on the history of the war. The Coast Guard was an important part of "Operation Market Time,"
a joint USN/USCG endeavor. In the mid-60’s, most supplies and personnel from
the north were delivered from the sea. Beaches and river mouths were receiving
areas to funnel military supplies to the enemy. When one enemy receiving area
was closed, another was born. The shoreline was simply too long with too many
estuaries and coves to shut all down. Sampans, trawlers, and anything that
floated, were used for transporting supplies, and they had to be stopped. From
this military necessity, Operation Market Time was born. Primarily, Market Time consisted of Coast Guard High Endurance Cutters
(WHEC’s), CG 82-foot patrol boats (WPB’s), Navy 55-foot patrol boats (SWIFT’s),
and a few USN DE’s. Our job was to stop the infiltrations; in essence, set up a
blockade. We had the authority to stop and board any unscheduled craft within a
given number of miles from the coast of Vietnam. Every craft had to be
identified, including huge tankers and freighters, down to the smallest
sampans. Operation Market Time boarded a craft every 15- to 30-seconds. Those that
refused to identify themselves or would not stop were forced to at the point of
a gun. Those that ran were sunk. A sister ship in early 1968 shelled and
beached a trawler loaded with arms for the enemy. That action was the beginning
of the end of the coastal supply line used by Hanoi. The OWASCO herself detected 2,596 junks, inspected 2,341 of them, and
boarded 178, the most of any Squadron Three Cutter. During one of those
boardings, we captured three Viet Cong infiltrators. All in all, a pretty good
record. According to USN evaluations during and after the conflict, Operation Market
Time was one of the most successful yet least credited operations conducted.
Supply routes from the sea became non-existent, forcing the expansion of the Ho
Chi Minh Trail inland. I guess we did our job. The Final
Inspection The Old Salt stood and faced God, Step forward now, you Old Salt, The sailor squared his shoulders, I've had to work most Sundays, But, I never took a penny And I never passed a cry for help, I know I don't deserve a place If you've a place for me here, Lord, There was a silence all around the throne
where saints had often trod. Step forward now, you old Salt, A Typical Coast Guard SAR Flight By Jack McCormack (Jack Crossed The
Bar Last Year) My first two stories I told of some of the emergencies I had encountered.
It's rather interesting to note that the first story, a transmission failure
off the coast of Alaska, took place close to my retirement; the second, engine
failure off the coast of Maine, took place near the beginning of my aviation
career. It is also noteworthy to mention, they were the only real emergencies I
had in over 15 years and over 3200 hours of flying for the Coast Guard. Yes, I lost a gadget here and there, but nothing life-threatening, more an
inconvenience or minor concern to be watched, rarely serious enough to abort a
mission. That, I think, can be attributed to the excellent aircraft that
Sikorsky produces; and, unlike some of the other services, the careful and
thorough maintenance performed by the people who maintain our aircraft and fly
them as aircrew. In early December of 1969, we had recently closed our Air Station at Salem,
Mass., and commissioned a new station at Cape Cod as a tenant of Otis AFB.
There were many reasons for this move but, primarily, we needed more space and
runways. Salem had no room to grow and no runways. No runways at an air
station, you ask? Salem was commissioned in the late 30's when the Coast Guard operated
seaplanes (PBYs, PBMs, and P5Ms) and used Salem Harbor for landing and takeoff.
As the years passed, it was decided that New England needed more air coverage.
In addition to the HU16E Albatross twin-engine amphibian aircraft, and the
HH52A and HH3F helicopters that Salem provided, C130 Hercules were to be added
to the fleet. You can land a C130 in Salem Harbor, but only once. During the worst winter months, operating the HU16's from water can be
difficult. On the takeoff run, you could pick up enough ice to make flying a
hazard to your health. During these months we kept the ready HU16 at Beverly
Airport, increasing our fixed wing response time by an hour at a minimum; we
had to drive to Beverly, preheat the engines and shovel off the snow. We also kept
a detachment at Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, with one HU16, to overcome
some of these problems; but the logistics were terrible. For instance, most of
the maintenance had to be done at Salem, along with other support activities. I had the duty on a glorious New England December day. The weather was
overcast and windy, but there was no storm brewing. The duty day at most Coast
Guard Air Stations begins at 0800 and runs to the next day at 0800, then you
begin a normal workday. If there are no SAR cases, you can catch up on your
paper work and possibly get a night’s sleep before starting the next day’s
work. You are more or less guaranteed that you won't be on the flight schedule
for logistics or training flights, during your ready pilot status. SAR crew
must be ready to be airborne within ten minutes. The SAR alarm went off about
2300. It was reported that the container ship, American Archer, came
across a group of Japanese fishermen rowing around the ocean 240 miles
southeast of Nantucket. It did seem rather strange to the Captain, this not
being a recreational boating area, that something might be amiss. After picking
up what turned out to be the survivors of the Japanese fishing vessel Togo
Maru, it was learned that the vessel had exploded and sank a few hours
earlier. Among the survivors, there were some who were quite seriously injured. Since the distance was pushing our maximum radius, I decided to top off the
fuel tanks (possibly going over the maximum gross of 22,050 lbs. a bit). Best
to take off a little heavy and to ensure we had enough to make it back. Running
out of fuel and/or not completing the rescue mission is not my idea of having a
good day. In addition to our normal crew of four, we also managed to get Capt.
John Little, a USAF flight surgeon, assigned to our crew, one of the advantages
of being a tenant at an Air Force Base. Heading southeast and quickly establishing radio contact with the American
Archer, we could home in on their VHF radio signal with our VHF/DF and fly
directly to their position. Our only problem was: How far out there are they?
We knew the direction with the VHF/DF but not the distance. In the late 60's, I
didn't trust a ship far at sea knowing their position with a fair degree of
accuracy. Aboard the helicopter we used LORAN A, which, to say the least,
wasn't as reassuringly accurate as today’s equipment. The plan was to fly for 300 miles and, if the ship wasn't there, then head
back for land. As it turned out, he was where he said he was. After getting the
needle swing on the VHF/DF, we set up for a Precision Approach to a Hover
(PATCH), using his VHF transmitter as our NAVAID. Remember, this is 0-Two
Thirty dark in the middle of the Atlantic with an overcast and high winds. This
is no place to try a visual approach to a small light in the ocean—depth
perception will get you every time. The PATCH is basically a tear-drop pattern using a datum (reference point),
whether it is a light on the water, a transmitter, or a time mark you select,
designed to get the aircraft from altitude and a cruise speed of 120 knots to
50 feet and zero knots. Yes, we have a radar altimeter, along with a full panel
of instruments without which we could easily bump into the water with
unfavorable results. Incidentally, this maneuver is performed completely on
instruments. Once in a hover at 50 feet, the copilot takes control if he has
visual reference. If not, we would descend to 25 feet. I don't care how thick
the fog may be, or how calm the seas may be, a 22,050 lb. helicopter will blow
away the fog to a certain extent and make enough ripple on the water to enable
a visual hover. The Coast Guard's H3's have all the bells and whistles for
instrument flying, which is a must, considering our all-weather mission
requirements. As a result of Dr. Little’s discussion of the medical situation with the
Captain of the American Archer by radio, it was decided we would lower
him to the ship where he could determine more accurately the medical condition
of the crew and determine who, if any, would require evacuation. Good for him, I wouldn't want to be lowered to a ship in the middle of the
Atlantic at night by a couple of guys I had only recently met. On the other
hand, if my ship was sinking, introductions wouldn't be necessary. The crew and the American Archer's Captain were briefed, then we commenced
our approach. This briefing included a heading for the ship to steer, putting
the wind 30 degrees off his port bow and a speed to maintain steerageway, but
no faster. This heading would allow us to hover over the ship’s stern into the
wind and provided a good visual reference of the ship to our starboard (the
pilot being in the right seat and the cabin door/hoist on the right). Our approach brought us to about 200 yards astern of the ship in a hover
taxi, approaching at about 15 knots with good visual references, then came to a
hover over the stern (actually, flying close formation with the ship underway)
while I evaluated the situation. At altitude, I thought this would be a piece of cake once I got down through
the dark. A 600-foot plus ship, plenty of visual references to fly formation,
no sweat. WRONG. The plusses were: a large area over the containers to hover
with no obstacles and plenty of light. The negatives: the stern was moving up
and down about 75 feet (in about a 10 second period) because of the heavy seas,
her length, and the gasses coming from the stacks just forward of the hoisting
site. We dropped the doctor off for his house call, then climbed to 500 feet to
conserve fuel to get out of the stack gas. The H3, like all helicopters, uses
less fuel with forward airspeed than in a hover, and you are not likely bump
into the water unless we fall asleep. About 20 minutes later we got a call from the doctor, who had determined
that four of the crewmen from the Togo Maru needed evacuation, three
with severe burns and one with a badly fractured hand. The remaining crew
members would be fine aboard the American Archer until she reached port,
which I think was New York. Down we came again with another PATCH. This time we were prepared to make
five hoists, the doctor and the four evacuees. By the end of the last hoist,
which took about 20 minutes, we were all glad to get out of the stack gas—I
could hardly see and had one hell of a headache. Time to go home—a 300 mile
trip to Boston, where the best medical facilities were available, considering
our patients needs. This required refueling at CGAS Cape Cod en route however,
delaying us somewhat. To expedite the refueling, I decided to hot refuel, taking on only enough to
make it to Boston and some reserve. Hot refueling is somewhat risky—you single
point refuel (high pressure to all four tanks at once) while the engines and
rotors are still turning. Should something fail, you could get a big fire. We then continued on to Boston, shot an ILS approach to Logan since the
weather had deteriorated somewhat, and discharged our patients to the awaiting
ambulances for further transfer to Mass. General. Mission complete. We then
took on more fuel and headed home to Cape Cod, arriving around sunrise. A long and rewarding night. Flying doesn't get much better than that. SEMPER
PARATUS! TRICARE for Life' and `TRICARE Senior Pharmacy' Became Law November 2,
2000 – cont’d from
page 1 What it is designed to do ·
Access to cost-free medications at
base pharmacies – ·
Access to the military's National Mail
Order Pharmacy Program where a 90-day supply of most medicines costs $8 ·
Access to the TRICARE retail pharmacy
benefit which requires a 20 percent co-payment for patients – ·
Access to any non-network pharmacy but
the patient will face a 25 percent co-payment after a deductible of $150 per
individual or $300 per family. What should
Medicare-eligible beneficiaries do now? TRICARE officials suggest these actions
and a lot of patience. Seniors should NOT yet cancel their Medigap insurance coverage.
Those who do so prematurely will face a gap in secondary coverage until TRICARE
for Life begins next year. FROM THE FORECASTLE 1. What are the duties of the Jack of the Dust? 2. Who was
the Coast Guard Commandant during World War II? 3. Name the three WAVP’s that had port holes in the skin
of the ship. 4. What two
government services were combined to form the U.S. Coast Guard? 5. Who according to the Life
Boat Station’s Manual fires the cannon during the rigging of the beach
apparatus? The Answers to Previous Posers: 1. What was the name originally selected for the Coast Guard Icebreaker
MACKINAW? CGC MANITOWOC. A Coast Guard manned U.S. Navy Patrol Frigate was
in commission at the time. It is not customary to have to ships in service with
the same name at the same time. 2. Which county in which state has the most lighthouses? Door County in
Wisconsin has the most lighthouses of any county in the United States. 3. Who was the first MCPOCG? Charles “Charlie” Calhoun, a BMCM was the
first appointed to the MCPOCG position during the tenure of Admiral Willard
Smith 1n 1969. 4. Who was Secretary of the Transportation when the Coast Guard moved to it
from the Treasury Department? John Volpe of Massachusetts. 5. Which Coast Guard Cutter came to the rescue of the Bermuda Sky Queen? CGC
BIBB (WPG-31) GRUMBLINGS
FROM THE ENGINEROOM Editorial Comment It is with a great deal of restraint that the SEAVETS remained above the
recent political fray for the President. No matter who won or who lost, and
we all had strong opinions about that, we did what we were supposed to do;
and that is stay neutral. It is not our part in the overall scheme of things to
use our organization to pick our bosses. That is an individual responsibility. The SEAVETS have only a couple of major items on the agenda: 1.
Maintain the Traditions. 2.
Tell Sea Stories. Nothing in these agenda items advocates the support of any political or
religious groups. We all are on the same Virtual Cutter together and it does not behoove us to
punch holes in the bottom. - Jack FROM
THE SHIPS OFFICE Officers and Board Members of the Coast Guard Sea Veterans of America: Larry Stefanovich - Chairman of the Board/President Rod C. Jernigan - Vice President Commodore Ken Long - Secretary-Treasurer Dennis Streng – Historian James Duffield - Director Donald Van Horn - Director Jack A. Eckert – Director and sometimes newsletter editor. Bobby Padgett - Director Richard Whelchel - Director THE SLOP CHEST The Coast Guard SeaVets has a number of other items for sale. Call (360)
856-2171 to place your order. Garrison Cap for the SV Pin - $7.50 Ball Cap C.G.S.V.- $11.00 S.V. Pin - $5.00 S.V Patches - $5.00 THE OLD SALT'S JOURNAL ON THE
INTERNET There is an Internet edition of the Old Salt's Journal and it can be found
at the following address: http://www.jacksjoint.com/oldsalt.htm. Back Issues are also posted except for issue number 9, the last issue. This
site can be accessed 24 hours per day. The Internet edition does NOT appear
before the printed edition is mailed to the members of the Sea Vets. NON- PAYMENT OF DUES The President and Secretary have requested that a note be inserted in this
edition of the OSJ about dues payment. Several members are in arrears at this
time. Membership will lapse and you will be discharged from the organization.
We want you on board to help us grow anew. If your membership lapses, you will have to pay the full initiation and dues
of $25.00 to be reinstated in lieu of the $15.00 for re-enlisting. FROM THE QUARTERDECK We hope that you have enjoyed this edition of the "Old Salt's
Journal." Your suggestions for improvement and your submission of timely
and interesting materials will be greatly appreciated. Don't Forget to write and tell us what you like and don't like about the Old
Salt's Journal. We appreciate your contributions and are want more to put in
future issues.. Semper Paratus, Smooth Sailing, and Maintain the Tradition! Look for us again in the Summer. SUBMISSIONS BEFORE JUNE 1, 2001 Submit all articles and letters for The Old Salt's Journal c/o Jack A. Eckert, Editor, 312 W. Washington Street; Port Washington,
Wisconsin 53074 -- jeckert@execpc.com The Old Salt's Journal is published quarterly by the Coast Guard Sea
Veterans of America. Unless otherwise indicated in the text, the material
contained herein is NOT copyrighted and may be reproduced for related uses. It
would be appreciated if the author, the Old Salt's Journal, and the Coast Guard
Sea Veterans of America are credited in any republication. Communications to the membership from the MCPOCG Vince Patton and CGSVA
National President Larry Stefanovich will return in the next issue. Disclaimer: Opinions expressed herein are those of the editor, columnists,
or contributors and are not necessarily those of the U.S. Coast Guard or the
Coast Guard Sea Veterans of America. An Information page has been added to our website. It is called "Now
Here This" Click on and get latest 'poop' on the latest news. We need help
on this please contact Ken or myself for input --Larry.
http://www.nwlink/~kenlong/cgsva. html ADVERTISEMENT Come Visit JACK'S JOINT on the WWW A library of over 440 Coast Guard stories and growing. Internet edition of the Old Salt's Journal Lighthouse stories and links. Simplified military links. Help us tell the Coast Guard story through the eyes of the people who lived
it. http://www.jacksjoint.com/
The Executive Officer was relieved of duty later during my
tour for problems also. I think the crew drove him nuts.
which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining
just as brightly as his brass.
how shall I deal with you?
and said, God, perfect I ain't,
because those of us who carry guns
can't always be a saint.
and at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I've been violent,
because the world is awfully rough.
that wasn't mine to keep,
though I worked a lot of overtime
when the seas got just too steep.
though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
among the people here.
They never wanted me around
except to calm their fears.
It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
and if you don't, I'll understand.
As the Sailor waited quietly
for the judgment of his God.
you've borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
you've done your time in Hell
-Author Unknown
POSERS
