Just barely 18 I was headed off to Boot Camp, my first solo trip across the country by land and air. I had worked the past summer on an iron ore carrier on the Great Lakes, but was at the mercy of the ship as far as getting from one point to another. This time I was on my own.
I boarded a Grey Hound bus in Duluth Mn at 5:30 on a Sunday evening. I was entering the Coast Guard, turning my life over to the government for the next 4 yrs. I got on the bus alone, but was surprised to find one person I knew headed the same direction I was. Danny, what a strange set of circumstances. Danny and I went all through school together.
My years of elementary school disturbed by the fact that I was the smallest kid, smaller then the smallest girl. Danny was on the small side as well, but he had two older brothers who where much larger. I give credit to them as they were a pretty tight group only problem I was usually on the receiving end of there wrath.
High school was a different matter, with a class size of over 500 kids Danny just evaporated into the mass. So now we meet again. Our first stop on this adventure is Green Bay WI where we are to be sworn into the Coast Guard. This bus ride, our first, is a long one, a milk run. It goes on forever seems we stop at every gas station or cafe along the way, picking up one, dropping off two, feels like we’re getting no where.
With the anticipation of what’s ahead sleeping on a noisy bus is impossible. Finally at 6:30 Am we finally arrive in Green Bay. By this time we have picked up a couple other guys headed to Green Bay for the same purpose as Danny and I. Our instruction tell us to be at the Government building at 9:00 AM, we’re exhausted and know we have a long day ahead of us.
Next to the bus station is the YMCA, the four of us go in and ask for a room, being young and foolish we just say “Charge it to the Coast Guard” and surprise, they gave us each a private room. We had neither money to pay for the rooms nor the authorization to charge them, I’ve often wondered if they ever got their money. Regardless we were able to get a bit of rest and a shower before the next step in our odyssey.
We entered the Government building finding our group had grown to about a dozen now. The swearing in went quickly and we were herded off in a couple vans and headed to the airport. Our first flight took us to Chicago O’Hare airport where we changed planes and headed for Philadelphia. Our group is growing at each stop. Funny how young guys headed for the military can always pick each other out in a crowd. During the flight to Philadelphia Danny got air sick, retribution for is actions in elementary school. Like an elephant, I never forget. Funny how years later I will work for the same company as his brothers and elementary school will be a forgotten time in the past.
We arrive in Philadelphia and the most interesting part of this trip is the instructions the Coast Guard gave us as to where to go next. Walk out of the terminal, you will see a line of buses get on the bus labeled with a big red “M” and take it to the XYZ Street. Get off the bus, turn right walk two blocks turn left walk down 12 block and enter the bus terminal. As long as you could read you were all set. They had it down to how many feet to the next step.
By now our group had grown to a noisy bunch large enough to fill a bus. We all loaded onto a bus headed for Cape May NJ. and off we go again. We finally arrived at Cape May at about Midnight after leaving home at 5:30 PM the night before. We were greeted by a 1st Class Petty Officer and yet another bus which we noisily piled on and off to Boot Camp we went.
The last step was short we arrived at the Coast Guard Training Center where this very crisply dressed Petty Officer entered the bus. Reality starts now……. It was all fun and games to this point, now it was made painfully clear we had already been sworn in and our ASS WAS THEIRS!
We would not see a bed for another 24 hours then our 8 weeks of training began.
