This is a true story.

Lo, many years ago when I was a senior in high school on the left coast, I had an English instructor named Gale McGuire. HE was a 6-3" burly Marine M/Sgt. who, after WW-II, had gone to college on the "G.I. Bill" to get a teaching degree.

Anyway, as the law required in those days, he was still a member of the active Marine Corps Reserve (Air arm). His primary duty was to secure crash sites related to either Marine or Navy aircraft and/or facilities.

One day a P-80 "Shooting Star", our first U.S. operational jet fighter model, crashed near Moffit Field, California (south of San Francisco). M/Sgt. McGuire properly secured the scene, which happened to be a dairy farm, and was personally standing on the concrete breezeway (somewhat littered with cow manure) to block approach to the crash site from that direction.

Up bustles a very self-impressed Navy Captain (Full Bird-Colonel to you Army types). Gale steps in front of him to keep him from proceeding. The Captain is, shall we say, a tad rude. He orders Sgt. McGuire out of the way.

Sgt. McGuire starts to caution the Captain. At this point the Captain loses what little military courtesy he may have ever had and becomes downright obnoxious, making clear to M/Sgt. McGuire the breadth of the differences in their rank, social standing, parentage, etc. and tell's him "Sgt., this is a direct order. Shut up and stand aside, or tomorrow you will be a Private!" Sgt. McGuire salutes sharply, gives a crisp, "Aye, Sir"!, and steps aside.

The Captain strides pompously by in his best brisk, stiff manner, and proceeds on down the concrete. After about 20 feet, he takes one more step and promptly disappears, uniform and all, into approximately 8-10 feet of liquid cow manure. For a moment all that was visible was his cover (hat), floating on the surface. Luckily, he knew how to swim.

The San Jose Mercury-News carried the story the next day, and it was read out loud by one of the students in our class, with M/Sgt. McGuire present, back in his "teaching" mode.

You can be sure we all listened in the future when he told us how to do something. I suspect a certain naval Captain may have too.

I'd say the Navy Cptn got his just deserts.

Or is that desserts? mmmmmmmmm - liquid cow manure.


MM

yea, muskkeg--they usually have LAKES of it outside dairy operations. it's the by-product of grain -hay-and suppliment.

Right on, two canoes...plus the fact that with any dairy operation of 50 cows or more probably NO-ONE shovels all that stuff out of the milking shed twice a day.

They build as much of the operation as financially possible out of concrete, then wash it down twice a day with high-pressure hoses. The "liquid" then flows down the concrete breezeway or ramp to a large concrete pit.

When the pit gets full and has not yet been emptied, the surface is level with the end of the concrete ramp, sometimes lightly crusted over, and actually quite smooth...not to mention deceiving..... Said M/Sgt. knew that. Apparently said Captain did not...but I'd bet he hasn't forgotten it, once learned.

That reminds me of an incident told to me about an obnoxious general who conducted inspections and wanted everyone to have polished boots etc. This in a combat area in the Korean war where everything was mud. Learning of the inspection some troops visited a nearby RAF base with some liquid gifts.When the general an his staff where standing there an RAF fighter suddenly passed just above the deck and instinctively the general and staff dove into the mud -while the troops ,having been warned , stood at attention !!