Detailed Military History:
I was 16 years old in November 1946 and in February 1947, I enlisted in the Army.  After 8 weeks of basic training at Fort Dix, NJ I was assigned to the Ceremonial Detachment 7011th Military Police (ASU) at Fort Myer, VA.

The Ceremonial Detachment was the only unit to perform all the Honor Guard duties in MDW at the time.  The detachment supplied man power for the Tomb, funerals, color guards, White House, gun salutes, caisson and such.  The detachment led all parades behind the great Army Band.  Besides the "glory" details, the detachment took part in the more mundane details around Fort Myer (guard duty, KP, prison chaser, etc).

In 1947, we started to have mass burials for the brave men killed in the action of WWII.  We buried these heroes 10 - 20 at a time, sometimes twice a day.  It was a great honor to be a casket bearer or on the firing party.  I was my great privilege to have been a Tomb Guard, but I am just as proud to have been casket bearer, rifleman and all the rest.  I was on the firing party for General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing's funeral.

On Army Day 1947, the detachment was the main unit when the 3d Infantry Regiment was reactivated.  The detachment received the Regimental Colors and led the parade.  At the White House reviewing stand stood President Harry S. Truman.  When the command "Eye's Right!" was given, you could see his big grin when he saw the Ceremonial Company, 3d US Infantry Regiment.  He didn't hide is pride in being an ARMY MAN!  I loved the Army, it was good to me.

I entered USCG Boot Camp in 1950, and upon completion was assigned to the USCG Cross Rip Lightship #96 in May of 1950. The first question from most people is - what is a Lightship? A Lightship is the same as a lighthouse, just stationed where a lighthouse isn't feasible. The Cross Rip LS was in Nantucket Sound, some 6 miles south of Hyannis Port, Cape Cod.

I left the Cross Rip in November 1950 for the US Navy Fleet Sonar School in Key West.  This is a 6 month Operational / Technical School, which I graduated in May of 1951.  After graduation I was assigned to the USCG Cutter Duane.

At the time, the Duane was one of the top ships in the Coast Guard.  Her home port was Boston.  We operated in the North Atlantic, where our main duty was Search & Rescue and weather patrol.  On one occasion we operated with the US Navy in joint anti-submarine exercises.  While aboard Duane we called at the following ports:  New Foundland, Bermuda and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Gitmo). While at Gitmo the crew was denied liberty because there was a Revolution at the time.  I left the Duane (July 1952) in New Foundland where my brother, John, was stationed in the Air Force.  We flew together to Westover AFB in Massachusetts.  From there I went on to the Cutter Ramsden, which was in dry dock at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

During World War II, the Ramsden was a USN destroyer escort maintained by a USCG crew.  The Coast Guard took it, and nine other destroyers, out of moth balls to use as Weather Ships during the Korean War. Weather ship is a misnomer.  The main reason for weather ships is Search & Rescue. Weather ships patrolled ocean stations located along shipping and air lanes in case of emergency. During the Korean War, most of the troops flew to Korea so new Ocean Stations were created in the Pacific.

Perhaps the most interesting tour in the Coast Guard was aboard the Ramsden. After refitting in the Philadelphia Navy Yard, we set sail for Honolulu.  We made calls at Curtis Bay, Miami, Colon, traversed the Panama Canal, Balboa, Acapulco (a member of the crew drowned in Acapulco during a freak accident) and San Diego.  From San Diego we sailed to Honolulu.  As we steamed in to Pearl Harbor it was quite moving passing Battleship Row, especially the USS Arizona.  After one patrol I flew from Honolulu to Alameda, California where I was discharged.  Nine days after I returned to Philadelphia I had a job.

After the Army:
Jobs were hard to come by in 1948. I went to a technical school for a while, but found it unsuitable. In 1950 I enlisted in the US Coast Guard for 3 years. After my discharge from the Coast Guard I became a driver/operator of trolley cars, buses and "big-rig" tractor trailers units.

Family Information:
Married Eileen Scullion in 1959. She passed away June 4, 2001. I have 4 children: Mary, Paul, James, and Thomas. I also have 3 grandchildren: Colleen, Bridget, and Brian.

Current Occupation:
Retired truck driver.

Degrees/Schooling:
Masters in the School of Hard Knocks
Earned my GED in 1985 at the age of 55

Most Memorable Moment at Tomb:
In addition to every minute that I was on the mat, there were many, however, if I had to choose one it would be a very mild and warm spring evening. It was a bright moon-lit night, remember we had no electric lights at the Tomb in those days. The moonlight on all that marble made it seem almost like daylight. 

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