STORY BEHIND THE PLAQUE
Service Reflections of YN2 George Glover, U.S. Coast Guard (1974-1979)

I was 19 years old, and it was the Vietnam Era. I had registered for the draft the previous year while in High School in San Diego, CA. I graduated HS and tried going to college, but it just wasn’t for me. So, after a semester, I left college. Now, what am I going to do? I really had no idea. I was thinking of the Navy because my father had served in the Navy during WWII. He had a career of over 22 years and was a BMC. I was going to join the Navy when a friend of mine mentioned the Coast Guard. That had never occurred to me. I was familiar with the USCG Air Station in San Diego and the cutters at Point Loma, and I liked what the Coast Guard did. Not only did they train for war, but they trained for SAR, law enforcement, pollution control, marine safety, etc. I knew that my father would be spinning in his grave as he had passed away, but I went down to the Coast Guard recruiter in San Diego, talked to them, and signed up. After the physical and paperwork was done, I was offered a guaranteed “A” school, YN. I took it and was off to boot camp in Alameda.

As stated earlier, I enlisted with a guaranteed YN “A” school. At the time I enlisted, there were many opportunities for guaranteed schools. I was interested in aviation and have always been fascinated by fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. However, it was not to be. Little did I know, but I had a color vision issue. I couldn’t see the numbers in the PIP plates. I never knew until that test. So, I ended up choosing YN. I’m glad I did, as it worked out well for me.

I went to boot camp in Alameda, CA. I remember arriving there, getting the obligatory haircut and inoculations, and all of us standing around rubbing either our freshly shaved heads or our aching arms. Back then, they used the high-pressure gun for the inoculations. “Don’t move, Lad, or you’ll rip your arm open,” the Corpsmen would yell at us as we passed down the arm.

I was off to my first duty station after finishing boot camp and YN school in Petaluma. I am now back home in San Diego at the Air Station on Harbor Drive. I also served at the USCG Academy and USCGC Hamilton (WHEC 715) in Boston, MA.

As a Yeoman, you really don’t get a lot of direct contact with the operations side of things. However, while on the Hamilton, aka Hambone, I do recall that while on a cadet cruise to Europe during the summer of 1978, we picked up a call from a ship in the Med that was carrying a huge amount of scrap metal. The ship was very old, and apparently, it had been overloaded. It started taking on water and began to sink. We responded and sent pumps over via our small boats to try to save the ship, but the water was coming in too fast. Ultimately, the crew had to abandon the ship, and we watched the ship go down. It’s a very sad thing to watch a ship sink. It made me very aware of what a perilous line of work I was in. In the Med, you can get help relatively quickly, but on the high seas is another story.

Did you encounter any situation during your military service when you believed there was a possibility you might not survive? If so, please describe what happened and what was the outcome.

Not really. Although we encountered bad weather in the North Atlantic while on patrol a few times, The 378′ class cutters did not have a very deep draft. So, they would really rock and roll if you got into any stormy weather. There was one time, in particular, that I actually rolled out of the rack in our 10-man petty officer berthing area. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one. I went out of the berthing area to find a number of shipmates. We got a bunch of chairs and slid back and forth into each other as the ship rolled from one side to the other. Good times!!!! Funny what you’ll do to pass the time at sea on a stormy night.

The Cutter Hamilton was my favorite. The photo was how she looked when I was there. 5″ deck gun, torpedo tubes, and note how she was painted with “COAST GUARD” as opposed to U.S. COAST GUARD.” As I said earlier, we went to Europe on a cadet cruise. Ports of call were Cork in Ireland, Le Havre in France, Malaga in Spain, and Casa Blanca in Morocco. Nope, I did see Humphrey Bogart while in Casa Blanca. I think I made the best friends on the Ham Bone. I am still in touch with some of them today. I think that’s typical of being on a ship. You really have to trust and rely on the guy next to you more than when you are on a land-based station. For example, my GQ station was in CIC, updating the RADAR contacts that were given to me by the RD’s. It was not a hard job, but I had to pay attention to keep all the contacts updated with their positions from the cutter.

As for least favorite duty stations, I can’t say that I really had a “least favorite.” All were different and unique, and each was an experience.

From your entire military service, describe any memories you still reflect on to this day.

There are so many. My time on the Hamilton is probably the time I talk about the most. I just loved being on a ship and being at sea. On the way back from Europe, we stopped in the doldrums, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, for a swim call. The water was so flat and calm, like a lake in the morning, with no wind to make any swells. They put GMs with M-16s into the small boats as “Shark Guards.” I knew those guys and jokingly wondered, “How safe am I, really?”

I also took a goodwill trip from San Diego to Ensenada, Mexico, on the USCGC Point Brower (82′ WPB). We went down to Ensenada, stayed overnight, and came back to San Diego. I drank a lot of beer that night, and the trip back was less than pleasant.

Well, my big takeaway from being a Yeoman was learning to touch type. That paid off later in life, as I went to a tech school on the GI Bill when I got out and pursued a career in computers.

Also, the discipline and organization skills I took away from the USCG served me well over the course of my IT career. It still serves me well today as I am a Flotilla Commander in the USCG Auxiliary.

It’s probably my Cutterman pin. Although I did not accumulate enough sea time, five years, for it to be permanent, I am very proud of it. I still wear it on my American Legion Riders vest to this day. When I look at it, it brings back a lot of memories of friends and shipmates.

It’s too easy, YNC Nick G co. YNC Greco was my Chief when I got stationed at AirSta San Diego, out of YN “A” sc ol. He taught me a lot about being a good Yeoman, a good Coast Guardsman, and a better peon. He helped me through some rough personal times. He got transferred to Hamilton while I was at the USCG Academy. He called me and asked me if I’d like to serve with him on the Hamilton. Of course, I said “yes”. I don’t know how he finagled the detailer, but I got orders to the Hamilton and arrived there the morning we sailed on the cadet cruise to Europe. I’m forever grateful to YNC Greco for at. We’re still in touch to this day.

Here are just a few:

YNC Nick Greco, AirSta San Diego, and USCGC Hamilton. See the last question

YN2 Terry Ervin, AirSta San Diego. Just a good guy and friend. Still in touch today

YN2 Adam Abshire, AirSta San Diego. He was my instructor at “A” school as well. Still in touch today

RD3 Dave Corbin, USCGC Hamilton. Great guy, funny as hell, good times. Still in touch today

BM3 Bill Owen, USCGC Hamilton. A good friend showed me Maine. Still in touch and would like to link up.

I used my GI Bill to go to a technical vocational school. I studied analog and digital electronics specific to computer systems. I had a long professional career of a bit over 40 years in IT. I worked for many large-scale vendors, such as Sun Microsystems and Oracle. I also worked for a few small shops and a few startups. I retired from work in December of 2023. I am active with the American Legion Riders and a USCG Auxiliary member. In the Auxiliary, I am a Flotilla Commander, responsible for 85 Auxiliarists. I also conduct Vessel Safety Check and PATON verifications. I’m proud to wear the uniform again.

As stated earlier, I am a member of the American Legion and the American Legion Riders. Enjoy the camaraderie. It’s nice being around other veterans. Being a Coastie, I’m always being given a bad time, but that’s okay. I started a scholarship program in our Riders Chapter. Every year, we provide a scholarship to a high school senior from one of the two high schools in the town where our Chapter is located.

Being organized and disciplined. I think most vets have that as a takeaway from their time, regardless of their service. I always tell people that the Coast Guard is a small service and that the units have more of a family feel to them. It’s not like being stationed on a USN aircraft carrier. There is a closeness in the Coast Guard you won’t find in any other branch of the service.

Stay in and do your 20. I wish I had. I think about that all of the time. I was 19 when I enlisted. If I had stayed in for 20, I would have retired at 39. You can have an entire second career. I kick myself in the butt for not staying in. Be sure that the rate you pick is something that you really want to do, and you’ll enjoy your time in the Coast Guard all the more. Listen to and learn from the Petty Officers and CPO in your rate. They know what they are talking about. Finally, enjoy the ride. What you do in the Coast Guard matters. Semper Paratus!

Having a central location to reflect, chat, look back, and look forward is awesome. I’m so glad I discovered this site. I have reconnected with a lot of folks that I would not have otherwise. Thank you for that.