Coast Guard Recognition in WWII
By Al Schreiber
When I joined the Coast Guard in 1942, we were part of the US Navy. Although we
had our own boot camps, ships and shore units, we also manned many Navy ships.
The uniforms were identical except for the CG shield on our right forearm, and
our U.S. Coast Guard ribbon on our flat hats.
Our crew, the USS Ricketts, DE 254, were the first organized CG men to invade
the Naval Operating Base, Norfolk. The DE school was located there. To the Navy's
horror, we didn't possess dog tags, and they didn't like the looks of our ID
cards. We were furnished with new stamped dog tags, which proclaimed, "USNR",
followed by our name, blood type, and religion. After a few days we were told to
hand in our tags and ID cards. Now my new tag issued to me had USNR X'd out and
USCGR below. Our old CG ID cards were given back to us.
The ladies in town were not familiar with the CG shield, and when we wore white
hats thought we were Navy. All sorts of stories were concocted about the shield.
We were special undercover sailors, elite fighting unit, etc., anything that
would arouse the ladies interest, for this one sailor in the sea of sailors.
On our first convoy trip, to the Med, we moored at Casablanca. Our Captain, LCDR
Glenn Rollins, ordered the liberty section to substitute flat hats with our blue
dress, instead of white hats that all the Navy sailors were wearing. He, we,
were proud to be Coasties in a foreign land. As we roamed the city finding a
likely oasis of drink and ladies, we were amazed at the attention we were given.
The cognac (local plentiful supply) flowed freely, and the ladies were
entertaining even though we could not understand a word they said.
But alas, all good things come to an end and the Navy, in command, ordered us to
get into the uniform of the day, i.e., white hats. Rumor had it that the Captain
was called down for it. We later found out that the locals thought we were
Russian sailors! They were something new to Casablanca and wanted to welcome us.
We received a recall, and had to make a hasty departure to track a reported
U-Boat off the coast, while the rest of the ships remained moored. Coincidence?
I wonder.
It was difficult to convince the home town folks, in Milwaukee, a big Great
Lakes boot camp liberty town, that one actually was on a Navy fighting ship, a
Destroyer Escort. On one occasion I brought home my foul weather jacket to keep
the yard birds from stealing it. I donned the jacket and boldly walked down
Wisconsin Avenue with it over my blues. Two Navy boot shore patrols stopped me
and demanded to see my ID card. After scanning it the shore patrol told his
cohort, "he's Coast Guard", and returned my ID. After my reprieve, I
headed for home to lose the jacket. I hated liberty in my hometown while on one
of my few leaves home.
We always went to the Brooklyn Navy Yard after a convoy turnaround. At first we
couldn't even get a Navy dental appointment. I had to go to a CG directed
appointment to USPHS* to get an eye infection treated.
Fortunately as the war progressed, things changed and Navy people especially,
accepted us.
*U.S. Public Health Service