I learned quite a few things during the 13 weeks of Coast Guard Boot Camp in 1960 at the Coast Guard base, Cape May, NJ. One episode in particular stands out vividly in my memory.

Though I was a recruit, I was a drummer in the CG band. We marched and played for the weekly graduation ceremonies and other events. One day the band director informed us we would have an extra practice session that night to get ready for a concert off base. Obeying that directive, I went to the practice that evening.

When I returned to the barracks after practice, I was summoned to the Company Commander's office. As I stood at rigid attention, the Assistant Company Commander read me the riot act. "Where were you?! Where have you been?! You were AWOL!" Well, it turns out I had forgotten to get permission to go to the practice, and I hadn't told anyone where I would be. There was a roll call, and I was essentially a man overboard or AWOL.

The Assistant Company Commander decided to get my attention. He ordered me to get my rifle, put on my Coast Guard rain gear and go out in front of the barracks and guard the anchor displayed on the lawn. So there I stood, at parade rest, guarding the anchor.

Hurricane Donna was moving up the coast, and rain was coming down in buckets. I protected the anchor and got soaked to the bone. It worked out well, though. I never went "AWOL" again, and no one stole the anchor. The anchor, by the way, weighed five tons.