It was May 1953 and a fellow trainee was on guard duty at Parris Island. As the sergeant of the guard made rounds, he approached Marine Private “Ace” (I do not recall his name) expecting to hear “Sir, Private Ace reports station No. 7 all secure. Nothing unusual has occurred during my watch, sir.” Whereupon the sergeant of the guard would say “Carry on” and be on his way to the next station. But it did not happen that way. Private Ace said, “Sir, station No. 7 all secure. Something unusual occurred during my watch.” At that, Private Ace pulled a tame rabbit out of his shirt. The sergeant just about cracked up and said, “Carry on,” and went on his way. It was apparently somebody’s pet rabbit. Private Ace released the rabbit and continued his watch. Private Ace was not disciplined, and the story spread rapidly all over Parris Island. “Ace” and I were fellow recruits in Platoon 127, 4th Battalion, Marine recruit depot, Parris Island, March through June 1953. I went on to make sergeant in October 1955 and am very proud to have been a Marine.