Armed Guard
In 1941 my thirty-six-year-old father was a businessman in Conway, South Carolina. He wanted to join the war effort and went to great lengths to go on active duty with some military service. Finally successful in obtaining a commission in the Naval Reserve, he was assigned to the newly organized Armed Guard of the Navy where he took detachments of Navy sailors aboard merchant vessels as gun crews for submarine and air defense. He saw sea duty with convoys to England, North Africa, and South America.
Early in the war the merchant seamen viewed these detachments suspiciously. The merchantmen were professionals at their business and rightfully considered these sailors as out of their element. They especially resented young Armed Guard officers who tried to throw their weight around by dictating to the ship’s crew. It was soon found that a special type of officer was needed for this type of duty:
Emphasis soon shifted away from the procurement of the very young officer and especially of the person who knew or thought he knew too much about running merchant ships. The ideal Armed guard officer was a tactful person who could look after the interests of his men and at the same time keep relations smooth between the Navy complement and master, officers and crew of the merchant ship. He was a man who could get along with people who were under great mental strain and who could win their confidence. His relations with his gunners was close. He was a kind of doctor, chaplain and commanding officer at the same time. The highly nervous individual did not last in the Armed Guard.89
I must admit to a feeling of pride in reading these qualities of an Armed Guard officer, which I feel are very descriptive of my father. He was a Citadel graduate with military experience and a broad range of civic, business, and family responsibilities. He was an active man and able to get any job done while taking care of those under him. In later life he often repeated his favorite advice on leadership, which he said was “straight out of the Bible.” I learned later that these were actually the words of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ:
Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
—Matthew 20:26–28