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Happy Coast Guard Day!

Gibbs

Gibbs

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Coastie, coastie 76, Coastie-Shooter, Coastie2010, coastie760, Coastie87, coastie903, CoastieRon, and Coastie_Compton

...and all other Coasties and families of Coasties:

Happy Coast Guard Day, and Thank you!


(HITRON video.)
 
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This ended up being a fun Coast Guard day. Went to hear a talk at Station Chatham by the last surviving member of the CG36500 crew from the Pendleton rescue, ended up getting underway on the boat with him. Long story in between (ended up working on a Motor Lifeboat while on leave - in the engine room, no less, where a Boatswain's Mate has no business being)
 
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MConnelly2 said:
This ended up being a fun Coast Guard day. Went to hear a talk at Station Chatham by the last surviving member of the CG36500 crew from the Pendleton rescue, ended up getting underway on the boat with him. Long story in between (ended up working on a Motor Lifeboat while on leave - in the engine room, no less, where a Boatswain's Mate has no business being)
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Ha!
 
I'm going to put this here. CG Day means different things to different people that served in the CG. People on active duty get "holiday routine" in most cases, and have cookouts. I don't see it only as the day that Alexander Hamilton created the Revenue Cutter Service; I use it as an opportunity to remember people that I have served with. This year I was focused on MK2 Tony D'Auria. I was stationed with him from 1990 until he passed away.

I have been pestering the new CO of Station Manasquan Inlet (and former CO of Station Gloucester as well as friend) about getting a picture of Tony's plaque. Chris (the CO) just took over Manasquan, and has been geo batcheloring it, commuting between Beverly, MA and Pt Pleasant Beach, NJ, and finally got around to finding the plaque and taking a picture of it for me.

From Chris:

I think I remember it. I'll get it over to you. I ask about it and nobody knew the history. Can you provide that? Thanks
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I wasn't really expecting a question like that, but it was pretty easy to answer for him:

Chris,

The plaque was mounted on the front of the station when I departed. When I visited right before New Years of 2004, it had been moved to the "Sail Loft" (upstairs of the boat house).

MK2 Tony D'Auria was my crew member mentor when I first certified on the 44 and 41, and showed me how to "rodeo" the towbit from the inside of the 41 cabin. In fact, I believe he taught me most of my line handling skills.

Tony was one of the biggest jokers in my duty section, I think I learned most of my practical jokes from him.

He was the first MK EMT I ever met.

The year before he died, we were doing a yard period on the 44' (I wish I remembered the number, It was either 44317 or 44329, I get Glou and Man mixed up with the 44 numbers, not like the 41, that was the queen of the fleet, the 41300). We had to take the boat up to Sandy Hook to do the yard period, and Tony was a part of the yard team.

As you know, in the early 90's there wasn't really too much emphasis on safety. I dropped a can of T-10 thinner without the cap on it, and it splashed me in both eyes. Tony picked me up on his shoulders, carried me out of the engine room (that's where we were working) and carried me to the eye wash station (I think I weighted 145 soaking wet back then). He took me to the hospital at Ft Monmouth after, and I ended up with double eye patches for a week.

He friggen drew eyeballs on them......

Tony had the OOD the day that a sportfisher cut a whaler in half back by the canal (going from the river to the back bay towards Bay Head). I remember him crying about the kid that died (cut in half by the propellers) silently in the day room. That was my first "big" case. It was horrible.

Tony was going through a rough divorce, and at the same time was diagnosed with a failing heart, that required a transplant. He was on medical leave when he passed away. He died screaming in pain in front of his kids. It was heart wrenching.

I missed his funeral. The whole station (except for those on the duty crew and the OOD) went to it. I tried to get out of going to boarding team school at Otis, but the CO wasn't having it, so I missed it.

Tony was the sailor's sailor. He was always there for his shipmates, even when he was going through a tough time himself.

Thank you for the picture, I can finally write about him in my memory journal for my kids. They need to know about the people who influenced my life when I was still a teenager trying to become a man in the Coast Guard. Tony was definitely one of those people.

As you know, history is very important. That is the greatest reason that I do the alumni reunions for Gloucester, so the newer crew can meet the crews that came before them, and share stories like the one I just shared with you.

Manasquan Inlet Station is steeped with history, more so than Gloucester. Fishermen's wives used to wait at the station during the storms for their husbands, usually to see the ship get wrecked. They would then jump off the balcony of the sail loft and commit suicide. A U-Boat sits at the bottom about 15 miles offshore that has claimed multiple divers. There are hundreds of stories I could tell you about that boardwalk, or about the time a fortune teller accurately told me that I would have twins........

Best,

Ron
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This is Tony D'Auria. He was 32 years young when he passed away. He was a mentor and a friend, and I miss him.

MK2 Tony D'Auria.jpg
 
Happy Coast Guard Day! Here's a little story about the Bicentennial Celebration down at Cape May, 1990:

25 years ago, I was in basic training. On August 4th, 1990, while everyone else was enjoying the bicentennial celebration, watching fireworks, eating cook out on the base, I got handed the shortest straw, and had the “Quarterdeck Watch”. Basically I stood in the open area of the squad bay (barracks) and made sure nothing out of the ordinary happened.

In walks GMC (Chief Gunner’s Mate) Martin. Mean bastard. He was short and had blonde hair with a neatly trimmed moustache. He was the company commander (drill instructor) of a class about two weeks ahead of mine. But that mean bastard knew everyone’s name. On that day, he knew mine.


It so happened that the building my company’s squad bay was in had the best view of the fireworks that were going to be fired off at 9:30PM that night. Martin had decided he would take his wife up to an area where they could view the fireworks from a better vantage point.


I had been in basic training for just about a month at that point.
She was hot. I mean, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her. More specifically, I could not rip my eyes away from her rack. And then I heard it. “SIMONEAU! Are you eyeballing my wife!?” What was I supposed to say, no? “Sir, yes Sir!” Ah hell, in for a penny, in for a pound. “GET DOWN, one million, begin,” he said as a walked by with his wife next to him, with my eyes still firmly focused on her ass.

About an hour later, my company commander walked on to the Quarter deck to find me on the floor, struggling to get to push-up 132. “Simoneau, what the hell are you doing?” He was a MK1 Dogin (First Class Machinery Technician, that guy never pronounced my name right), and the look on his face made me think I was going to be deeper in the shit than I already was in. “Sir, GMC Martin caught me eyeballing his wife, Sir.” His face changed. He turned beet red like he was stifling laughter. “What did you say to him,” he asked. “Sir, I told him I was, Sir. I wasn’t going to lie to him Sir.” “Simoneau, get up,” he said, trying really hard not to laugh. “You’re not going to make it to a million, so consider your punishment served.”
That was my first Coast Guard Day.
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That was my first CG Day......
 
Semper Paratus, Coasties!

You have to go out, but you don't have to come back (or so I've been told).

Thanks for your service!
 
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HAPPY 225th BIRTHDAY, COASTIES! [thumbsup]


_84450828_eagle1991-003.jpg



EDIT: New commemorative stamp...Oops--Loneranger beat me!

USCoastGuard-Forever-single-BGv1.png
 
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My old man was in the Coast Guard back in the day. Many good stories. Always had much respect and appreciation for them, especially as a boater.
 
CoastieRon said:
almost said happy mandatory Morale day


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"Encouraged to attend" translates to "BM1's better have their ass there", so I take duty for someone else that wants to go (whether they know it or not). Filling a Crewman spot right now. Even stood some watch for a while until I got bored and realized I have no idea how to put phone calls on hold
or transfer them, or how to update the weather phone and AM radio weather and bar conditions...
 
Dakar652 said:
but those uniforms though ;D

coasties do some pretty cool shit...thinking about going reserves when my next USMC contract expires.
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In 66" I enlisted in the "the Green machine" and went off to boot camp at the island . . . Halfway through I got an acceptance letter from the Coast Guard Reserves ! . . . . . Needless to say it did not go over well with the Drill Instructor. . . . ." Push ups ! ! ! ! Many, many, many of them ! ! !. ". . . Happy Birthday Coastis !
 
AntiHippie said:
"Encouraged to attend" translates to "BM1's better have their ass there", so I take duty for someone else that wants to go (whether they know it or not). Filling a Crewman spot right now. Even stood some watch for a while until I got bored and realized I have no idea how to put phone calls on hold
or transfer them, or how to update the weather phone and AM radio weather and bar conditions...
Click to expand...

Hahahahahahaha


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
CoastieRon said:
When I was stationed down the bayou we used to say Simply Forgot us


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When I was stationed on the Padre we took her into Shreveport for a retrofit (pulling the 20mm out and putting the 25mm on among other things). One night we took the white govt van out on liberty run. No idea where we were going just going deeper into the swamp looking for a bar a roadhouse anything. Next thing we know we get pulled over by a deputy sheriff and his partner in his pickup. Jeans and uniform shirts. They ask us where we're going we say a bar sir. He says you boys got any guns on you. We say no and he laughs and says why not?. He says you are way way out in the middle of nowhere and people around her don't take kindly to strangers you should turn around and head back the other way. Its probably safer. And we did just that.

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UNSUB said:
When I was stationed on the Padre we took her into Shreveport for a retrofit (pulling the 20mm out and putting the 25mm on among other things). One night we took the white govt van out on liberty run. No idea where we were going just going deeper into the swamp looking for a bar a roadhouse anything. Next thing we know we get pulled over by a deputy sheriff and his partner in his pickup. Jeans and uniform shirts. They ask us where we're going we say a bar sir. He says you boys got any guns on you. We say no and he laughs and says why not?. He says you are way way out in the middle of nowhere and people around her don't take kindly to strangers you should turn around and head back the other way. Its probably safer. And we did just that.

Sent from my SM-G928P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Using Resources: 1.

Should have reached out to the local CG Station. They'd have steered you towards a place to get drunk.


Okay, if you're Navy, they may have steered you towards someplace like the gay bar in Police Academy, but honest mistake if the Navy's looking for a bar.
 

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