After I told my niece that she was born on Coast Guard Day. She said she would like to hear about my time in the United States Coast Guard. On the day she came into the world, I was at Subsistence Specialist School near Petaluma CA, grilling up burgers for the celebration picnic. To fulfill her wish, I set about compiling thirty-five stories that highlighted the eight years that I served. Some of them directly relate to my duties aboard ship or base. Other accounts are about experiences I had that didn’t relate to my Coast Guard duties. People often ask me where I was stationed. I must rattle off a list of places to answer the question. Besides boot camp and school, I spent time on the cutter Roger B Taney (WHEC-35), the cutter Morgenthau (WHEC-722), and Support Center Kodiak. Each location was filled with all kinds of experiences, some routine, others were about as exciting as they could get. It was a life-changing opportunity for a young farm boy from Michigan to be a member of the United States Coast Guard. The last two chapters give a brief history of each Cutter or Base, and a timeline of events.