MY ENLISTMENT IN THE U.S. COAST GUARD part I

This is a true story from the best of my memory. I was transferred from the USCGC Westwind, an Ice Breaker, which had just completed a tour of service in Thule Greenland. The Westwind was responsible for breaking ice many feet thick to ensure passage of supply ships entering the Air force Base at Thule.
As I boarded the Coast Guard Cutter Mendota in the fall of ’66 the Quarter Master greeted me with a returned salute, hesitated, and asked, “Aren’t you Bennett, stationed in Groton, Connecticut during Radio School last year?” Squinting from the bright North Carolina sunshine, I recognized him immediately. “Stanley! Things ya see when ya don’t have yer gun!”, laughing. We reminisced shortly and I made my way to my assigned bunk. I was a Seaman Radioman of eighteen years old.

My parents had signed for me to enter the Coast Guard on April 7th, ’65. I had longed to be a “Coastie” during my years in high school. I knew the Recruitment personnell by name during my frequent weekly, and sometimes daily, visits! I had signed all the neccessary documents and passed all the prerequisite tests to enter. I was expecting to be sworn in upon graduation. We could not have accounted for the sudden escalation of the war in early ’65. As I made one of my, now daily, visits to the recruitment center Bob Kinsey, Yeoman First Class, was not his usual jovial self. He tried to give his usual greeting but I could tell immediately that something was different, I just didn’t know quite, what! Bob gave a deep sigh, looked over at Chief Dowd and back at me, saying nothing. That moment seemed like a Sunday afternoon hour as I stood. I could hear my blood rushing through the veins in my neck as it rushed past my ear drums. Bob studdered there for a moment, and finally blurted out, “Well dammit we got problems here with your enlistment. All the enlistment dates have been moved up because of the recent escalation…and uh…well, we don’t think that you are going to be able to enlist too soon after graduation!” You could have hung clothes out to dry on the tense atmosphere in the room. Bob turned suddenly and walked into the back room with his empty coffee cup. He seemed to be stalling for a moment in order to collect his thoughts. As I looked at Chief Dowd I could see the disappointment and worry on his brow as he crushed another cigarette in the ash tray, taking all of his frustrations out on the burning end. He, too, sighed deeply as if he had lost his best friend, paused, and said, “We are doing the best we can to work this out, Paul. We will do everything in our ability to see to it that you get the enlistment you deserve. It may take a little finagling, but I think we can pull it off. We don’t have much time, though, and we just don’t want to see you drafted before we….” “Drafted!?” I hollared, “Drafted, HELL! Listen Chief, I am going into the Coast Guard! I haven’t come in here and watched every single last Enlistment Movie they’ve ever made, smoked enough cigarettes to choke a damn Camel, drunk enough coffee to sink a battle ship and listened to Bob’s crazy stories….. for nothing! Now what do I have to do!? Tell me! Just tell me…..and I’ll do it! I mean it, Chief!” I looked on as the Chief, nervously, bit his lower left lip. HE seemed to be in contemplation. I could tell that he was hesitating about what to say next; Chief just wasn’t like this! He looked straight at me and leaned forward on his desk with his hands. “Have you talked with your folks about this?” “Well, of course I have, Chief! I always talk to them about joining the Coast Guard! They’re probably sick and tired of hearing about it, I’m sure!” I could tell that he was struggling with the idea, whatever it was. Something was eating at him. “Well come on out with it, Chief. What’s on your mind?” “I don’t even believe I’m saying this….whew..” He hesitated, and groped awkwardly for his lighter as he struck it and put it up to his cigarette. As he lit the cigarette the lighter gave a sharp “snap” as he closed it, breaking the tense silence in the room. “You’re doing good in school aren’t you” he asked. “Yeah, I suppose I am, I’m not getting straight “A’s” but I’m passing with pretty good grades; above average, I’d say. Why?” Taking another deep breath he turned to look out the window as if avoiding my eyes. “I’m just going to go ahead and say it, Paul. Bob and I were talking about this just before you came in today”. Bob walked into the room, pulled his chair around and sat down at his desk, sloshing the coffee onto the papers in front of him and grabbing for the towels to blot the coffee up before it soaked in. This almost seemed like a welcome diversion to the conversation at hand. Bob chimed in, “Paul, I’m going to be honest with you. It looks pretty grim here. You see It’s like this” Bob paused for a sip of that coffee, strong enough to melt the spoon. He seemed to need all the caffeine he could get for the next statement. “What we do know is that if you don’t enlist in the next two months, then your name is going so far to the bottom of the list…Well dammit, that you are most likely going to be drafted by the time you’re eligible to enlist again! Period!” Chief’s face grimaced, as he nodded his head, “yes”. I had been standing alongside the Coast Guard Magazine rack. I sat down in the chair like a sack of rocks. Once again, the room grew uncomfortably silent. Nobody was saying a word. Chief was smoking his Lucky’s, Bob was drinking his battery acid and I was staring straight out at the sidewalk as students passed by, chatting away, carelessly. Clearly, the ball was in my court. The hot potato was in my hand. This was my decision, and it was a hard one. My thoughts seemed like a flock of a thousand pidgeons flying everywhere. My heart was pounding. I thought my head would pop right off my shoulders. As I lit a ciggy I knew, already, what I was going to say next. Many of my young actions had been done impulsively, without very much thought. I remembered for an instant, the results of that sort of decision making. Disaster! But this time was different. It wasn’t like I hadn’t thought about whether or not I was enlisting into the Coast Guard, or not. It was this sudden Monkey Wrench, introduced into the smooth running gears of all my hopes and dreams. This time, I was determined, it didn’t take much thought but a whole lot of action. This was MY MOMENT! And this was what I wanted to do, and nothing was going to snatch it from my hands! Not this time! Oh No! I layed my cigarette in the ash tray and sat back in my chair. “Chief!” as my words broke the long silence, “What?” “Can I finish up my high school in the Coast
Guard? I’m probably not the first to….” The Chief looked at Bob, almost as if he had expected my question but didn’t want to suggest it himself. “You really want to enlist?” I just looked at him! “Well, what are your parents going to think of all this? You haven’t told them about quitting school, because…” “I’ll do it!” I snapped. “I’ll do whatever it takes” Bob chimed in, “Think your folks will go along with this, you really think so?” I asked, “Can you come over for supper, say, next week sometime?” “Sure, sure! That way I’ll have the chance to meet them, and we can talk about it. Just let me know when ok?” I smiled, and took a big deep breath,and winked. I turned and left that center Friday afternoon. I felt like a heavy burden had suddenly lifted and everything was going to be ok. I was right! Bob Kinsey and his wife came over to dinner the next Friday night to meet with me and my parents. The entire meeting went better than I had eveer dreamed it would, and Bob, his wife, and my parents hit it off instantly. I vividly remember one moment at the table after dinner. The discussion had ended and my parents consented to sign me in, at age 17, to the United States Coast Guard. My dad grew quiet, and had said nothing for a few moments while small talk amongst the rest of us continued lightly. I noticed his eye contact with me. Surprised and not knowing what was about to be next, I looked into his eyes. I saw his lip trembling, and he biting it, slightly, to keep control of his emotions. He was fighting back tears. As the conversation went on amongst the other three, we locked eyes. We said nothing, nothing had to be said because it was all there. Words would only have ruined that moment between my father and myself. I don’t think that I have ever mentioned this to anyone in this world until now. On April 7, 1965, I was sworn in, an enlistee, E-1, to go to Cape May, New Jersey, the United States Coast Guard recruit training facility. I was, finally, becoming a man. I made it through training with exceptionally good grades. I passed every test given. I, personaly, taught eight men how to swim and pass the required swimming exam, most of whom had never been in the water except to take a bath! In close drill I was the Right Guard, and Honor Guard. Being the youngest of thirty six men in my company, I was treated as if I were their MASCOT! Those were, perhaps, the greatest moments in my youth. I was so proud to be a Coastie!