[Wetwork]

When I got my Commendation Medal for Heroism it was really just a fluke. The Group Commander and his relief, and the tug boats that follow them around were doing a south fam. Two car full's of brass. Just driving south checking into units under their command and soon to be under their command. In the GV they were cruising in, they heard the radio go off about a car that had driven off into a bay, just as they happened to be driving by.

As they pulled in to see if they could help or something (bare in mind these are wing-maggots not boat people) they see yours truly, in uniform, soaking wet, dragging a guy up onto the beach, next to his soaking wet girlfriend, right as the of the local FD and EMT's came roaring in. As the full bird captain walked up to me I saluted and promptly puked salt water on the rocks off to the side.

He said, "Jesus kid", and I kid you not I said "Sir, I lost my knife, and my smokes are wet." And like the parting of the Red Sea, somebody handed me a Camel non-filtered.

For the first time in my early career (had only been a Coastie four years) my folks got to come see a real military pomp and circumstance ceremony in person. The big brass walked up to my Stetson cowboy hat dad and my fancied up, beautiful mom and thanked them for raising me...

It wasn't the medal, it was BS anyway, should'a been a bit better, but whatever...it was the faces of my parents. I'd finally done it to my dad, I'd made him proud in pubic. For the rest of my 16 years I did way cooler stuff, did way more impossible saves, and risked my life and my crews in horrific storms and got zero chest salad. The crazy 9/11 stuff I got thrown into in Seattle working with the dimwit Squid's with me protecting the Abe Lincoln with a motor-life boat was pure crazy town. Those bastards almost lit me up, stupid Navy. But that one tiny BS medal that made my mommy tear up is the one that ment the most to me.

Now before you all, down check the US Coast Guard, do a little Wiki or google, you have no idea what we or I had to do, or prepare to do. No service wears more hats with so few. Been in all the war's, we are older than the Navy. So's before you poo-poo CG medals read up. -WW

ps. Today 13 years after retirement, I pulled a frozen black angus calf into the back of my Suzuki Sami and drove around til he was warm and found his mom. The old cow was pretty shocked when her kid rolled out of the Sami at her feet. Another life saved...Life is but a dream shaboom shaboom..