Man the Rails!

     We have started bringing out Christmas decorations today, while we listened to Christmas music. Whenever we get to this point and I think back, memories seem to flood into my brain. In this case, along with Christmas memories, many others came into my consciousness.

     One of those was the naval tradition of manning the rails. This tradition goes all the way back to the days of sail powered ships. In my case, we manned the rails whenever we went into Pearl Harbor and passed the remains of the USS Arizona and when we came home to San Diego from a cruise after many months at sea.
     The term means the crew of the ship dress in the uniform of the day and circle the upper deck of the ship to honor and/or salute the occasion. Coming home to San Diego was a wonderful thing in those days.
     I wonder if the men I served with in the navy remember those homecomings or manning the rails to salute the Arizona? For me today it brought back a lot of memories I hope I never forget. Here are a few pictures of sailors manning the rails: Man the Rails