Sounds like some rough discipline to me, Bryan. Glad I did my time with the Maritime Service... "Merchant Marine". See the world save a pushup. My reasons for going to sea were adventure, girls and to see the world. The old guys that taught me however are a different matter. The ones who served in the Second World War. The men in the Merchant Marine put their lifes on the line as much as anyone who served in the Navy, Coast Guard, Army and yes the U.S. Marines. I say this with a great deal of respect as my father was a marine on Iwo in the Pacific Theatre. Most folks forget about the lowly Mariner, but they delivered and to the fullest. Here's a little poem for them.

The Loneliest Dead
by M.C. Middlebrooks

They are the loneliest dead who rest beneath the waves
In graves unmarked, unknown. The bugle's soft farewell,
As taps say, "We remember", touches not their sleep.
Why should the forgotten listen to its poignant, haunting spell?

Where the white lines of crosses lie in ordered rows,
The fields are green and cherished, each cross bears a name,
Identifying valor and honoring its repose --
A land has pledged itself these dead shall live in fame.

But the long, slow convoys that grimly took
Their losses so that some might batter through
Sailed in quiet and secrecy; their dead may look
In vain for a salute from those who never knew.

Yet when the bugle blares the call for that last review,
And the great regiments sweep past the mighty dead,
Grouped round Washington, bearing flags that flew
On every battlefield where patriots blood was shed.

Will the weary thousands in tattered dungarees
Hang back ignored as they have been so long?
No. Eyes that have seen their country driven nigh its knees
And led it back to victory can judge that silent throng.

They shall march to a tune that has the deep slow beat
Of waves on a rocky shore, their banner shall proudly bead
The legend, "We held the balance 'twixt victory and defeat,
But when our armies needed them, the goods were there."

Mast Magazine, July 1947