November 3, 201411 yr Author Here's one. My father-in-laws' "crossing the equator certificate" from WWII, going to Gilbert Islands in November 1943. Looks just like this one. VERY VERY COOL!! My grandpa talked about his. He was on the USS Meade - the only US destroyer to survive the naval battle at Guadalcanal in November 1942. He was on the maiden "cruise" for the ship, and his line-crossing ceremony happened not long after their ship left harbor from the Brooklyn Navy Yard and made its way through the Panama Canal. He said the shellbacks (sailors who had already had their first line-crossing) started out by making the pollywogs (sailors who were crossing the equator for the first time) roll around on the deck in seawater and galley-trash, then they promptly all had the snot beaten out of them by the shellbacks, and then things finished off with the pollywogs having to kiss the feet of King Neptune - the fattest shellback on the ship, dressed up as the Roman sea-god, and with filthy feet that had intentionally not been washed for days. My grandpa was a fire-controlman, which meant he was in charge of aiming and firing one of the ship's four 5" guns. He said he wrote a note to Hideki Tojo on the back of his line-crossing certificate and had one of the gunner's mates on his gun load it in with one of the shells as they were approaching their position for the bombardment at Guadalcanal. Makes for a cool story...but it would be even cooler to have it. Here are a few pictures of my grandpa from his Navy days. The bottom one is particularly cool. It's him with his three brothers with their mom, all in their Navy uniforms. Grandpa is the one in the front on the left.
November 3, 201411 yr VERY VERY COOL!! My grandpa talked about his. He was on the USS Meade - the only US destroyer to survive the naval battle at Guadalcanal in November 1942. He was on the maiden "cruise" for the ship, and his line-crossing ceremony happened not long after their ship left harbor from the Brooklyn Navy Yard and made its way through the Panama Canal. He said the shellbacks (sailors who had already had their first line-crossing) started out by making the pollywogs (sailors who were crossing the equator for the first time) roll around on the deck in seawater and galley-trash, then they promptly all had the snot beaten out of them by the shellbacks, and then things finished off with the pollywogs having to kiss the feet of King Neptune - the fattest shellback on the ship, dressed up as the Roman sea-god, and with filthy feet that had intentionally not been washed for days. My grandpa was a fire-controlman, which meant he was in charge of aiming and firing one of the ship's four 5" guns. He said he wrote a note to Hideki Tojo on the back of his line-crossing certificate and had one of the gunner's mates on his gun load it in with one of the shells as they were approaching their position for the bombardment at Guadalcanal. Makes for a cool story...but it would be even cooler to have it. Here are a few pictures of my grandpa from his Navy days. The bottom one is particularly cool. It's him with his three brothers with their mom, all in their Navy uniforms. Grandpa is the one in the front on the left. [ATTACH=CONFIG]47675[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]47676[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]47677[/ATTACH] Sounds like your grandpa was a certified bad dude!
November 3, 201411 yr Author Sounds like your grandpa was a certified bad dude! Card-carrying. For sure.
November 3, 201411 yr Or just "Getslow." I don't own other people. I believe in America and freedom whereas you apparently do not; just another one of the things that make you so awful.
November 3, 201411 yr I don't own other people. I believe in America and freedom whereas you apparently do not; just another one of the things that make you so awful. :lol2::lol2::lol2:
November 3, 201411 yr I got nuthin'. I'm not a collector kind of person. Everything that I would consider very cool and special, you guys would think it's predictable and dumb. :lol2:
November 3, 201411 yr I got nuthin'. I'm not a collector kind of person. Everything that I would consider very cool and special, you guys would think it's predictable and dumb. :lol2: I highly doubt that sister. Highly.
November 3, 201411 yr Figured for sure that Randy's would be this. [ATTACH=CONFIG]47678[/ATTACH] Nice. But that belongs to my old man. His major award, he calls it.
November 3, 201411 yr Nice. But that belongs to my old man. His major award, he calls it. Did not deter your evil destructive force, though.
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