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How I Joined The Honor Guard
When I decided to enlist, I honored every recruiter in town. As luck would have it, the Coast Guard utilized the spare room at the Navy Recruiting Office on the same day I chose to visit. Their secret, they promised nothing except "possibly" to get what I earned. I needed a little of that, so I joined.
Boot Camp was different. It was good, bad, never indifferent. I did manage to get on the Honor Guard though.
Of all of the weeks during boot camp, I would pick Galley week as the most disliked. Each recruit company took a week (I believe the 5th) to do that necessary, to feed the recruits and regulars at Cape May, New Jersey. Galley was not as dangerous as the Obstacle Course or as strenuous as rowing to the sea buoy. Sure didn't require real smarts either.
You did have to be up earlier and you finished your work later than any of the other weeks. In Galley week there were also no days off. There were of course the cockroaches and other little things that found their way into the food. In my case there was one additional difference. Armed Forces Day fell during that week.
Near the end of the week it was announced that anyone who had family coming to visit could have 3 days of liberty that weekend. Immediately after the announcement, the Mess Deck Master at Arms gathered us for another announcement; "The previous announcement did not include the recruits in Galley Week."
Myself and a friend decided to visit the O. D. shack to find out if it would be possible to get the three days at another time. The Officer of the Deck told us "definitely not", as we were eligible to have the liberty that week. We signed up and received our three-day passes. The liberty started that next night but we kept it a secret. (Loose lips would sink our chance for liberty.) Just before we left, we told a few other company members.
When we returned, Galley Week for our company was over. We had our Liberty. More than likely the only Liberty we would ever get at boot camp, as you had to be an Honor Company to get a following weekend off. Our company would never be an Honor Company as we were not that proficient.
Not long after we returned from liberty, we had a visitor. You guessed it, the Mess Deck Master at Arms. He informed us that we had been "Volunteered" to try out for the Honor Guard.
At the end of the regular day, the Honor Guard would march and drill for hours. It was work, but as we got better, we began to enjoy it. We became quite proficient, and the two of us were soon asked to replace two members who were leaving. We received white Garands with silver bayonets and matching scabbards, belts and leggings.
We performed almost every weekend. There was always a funeral, VFW, Legion, or School function requesting our services. Even the big parade in NYC. Most functions included time off and often a few brews.
I never did get to thank that Master at Arms.
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