National Archives: Coast Guardsmen on the deck of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spencer

"Ever been on a boat before? Look over there, standing by the gang-plank, ask him how he felt, on his first deployment."

"Boarding the ship, I was very apprehensive to what would happen and whether we would be up to the task. Climbing the gang plank, and seeing a bunch of people looking down at you like you were some strange character and you wondered how you would be accepted. After you got aboard ship you realized that most of the people were all young, except the officers and the Captian."—Stan Ziemianski

On to Paris...