United States Coast Guard Academy - Tide Rips Yearbook (New London, CT)

Page 24 text:

' Suc et 0%cCenicfi Quit! ' (I lixid fi)r (III nid num. flcliverfd laundry, sometimes, and ulicii wt- for- fiot — we liad anollier dal ' willi Miss Spriiififield. Ed Ritchie starved some id ii in the mess hall, hut we (hseovered how to it up straight and eat proper!). illie Wassoii taujrht us the advan- tages of keeping the Swab Rules, and later on also showed us how a man eould take what he handed out. The Three Muskiteers — Schilling. Schwartz, and Miller — sneaked through our rooms during the hoxiiig intercollegiates and demonstrated how not to act as upperclassmen. Of course once in a while we got liberty, hut with our liberty brace reminding us of the dark- ness from whence we came and to which we must too soon return. Thanksgiving, a welcome respite, passed quickly and then 30-15-4 days-to- go-Sir crept past. The Sunday before leave was the low spot in our Academy life. The fires of hell broke loose in the field house under the Oh 1(1 lir ill II iiinu iilii ' rr no oiii ' snioUi ' S. I ' nllniiiiiiiy v icrirnic in fiiiLiiUiiji hooks.

Page 23 text:

That little green bt ' iirh isn ' t ino cDnijortablc. 7C e VicU ' t Sxfrect 7 In the years ahead we will all look back at our Academy life and firsit in our memories will be our Swab Year. Yes, despite the hardships suf- fered, that year will typify the Academy. Vi e are now glad and proud tliat ve endured it. Regardless of the brief occasional weekend shocks during Swab Summer, none of us other than the bilgers were prepared for the full fury come September. The year opened with a bang and a bounce and kept us hopping till June. We were ash tray cleaners and canteen orderlies: we

Page 25 text:

SciAoi Occtf killflII (lircclioii ol llic mcoikI class. Two lioiii later iho thirty year men were easily di iin- }:uislial)le from the thirty day men. We learned that day the dan-ier of overdoing the System. Winter melted in a (hirrv of exams, hoxinc inatehes. and informal dances. Soon the routine pre-hundredth day was upon us. A week before Der Tag we went on l;i minute reports by sec- tions, flew the corridors by day. and rotation storms by night. It was fun because our Dav was coming; and when it came, at the y note of reveille, the blood did flow. W asson. Schweinsberg, and Northcott were the men in greatest demand; with sadistic glee we made u[) for a year of suffering. Spring leave and drill came and went. We were coming of age, anticipating the stripe ahead. It had been a good year and appeared better in retrospect. Time hasn ' t changed that outlook, and we still stick our chests out and exclaim proudly, Now when we were Swabs, Liberty party on di-ch, ■ fflTr. ' i ■ L ' ; ' 4 0 8 Hundrvdth Day Still; nilli il mister. ■, 7T— » K C 21