I cannot remember whether or not I had to pass any written tests when I applied to the Coast Guard, but I am certain I must have. However, I was directed to an office in San Pedro to take the Coast Guard physical. This is where all my troubles began.
Remember that I had been incredibly active leading up to and during Marine OCS. Running, marching while carrying backpack, shelter half and rifle over distances, negotiating obstacle courses, confidence courses, circuit interval courses, simulated combat courses, and so many more physically exhausting training. And while we ate like hell, the Marine Corps burned it off. Until I left for Maine and got heavy because I wasn't doing much of anything physically. Even after I got home and especially after I started working in the warehouse office.
And, what is more, I really really wanted to get accepted to the Coast Guard. I did not want to work for private industry. I wasn't happy working for A.U. Morse, no matter what the job. I wanted to do something that had a little glamour (the airlines) or prestige (the military, ignoring the consequences of an unpopular war on the national psyche). I wanted some kind of job where I would not be pressured to have a girlfriend, get married and settle down. I had no interest in the Army or the Navy. I had already shunted aside the Marines. The Air Force was not interested. All that was left was the Coast Guard. All of this pressure to succeed weighed heavily.
During the physical, I was informed that I had high blood pressure. They had me lie down, take it easy, and take my blood pressure a few minutes later. Did not help. In fact, I think the more I was told the results were too high, the more I stressed out and they, mostly, stayed high that morning. I was finally told I could come back in a couple of weeks and retake the test since I had never had this issue before.
I finally decided that I needed a few days away from the office job at A.U. Morse to calm myself down and take the blood pressure test again and pass. I called the office manager about what I needed to do, but I would come back in a week or two when I got more favorable results. I had no intention of quitting, just take a brief leave of absence.
Two days later, however, I got a letter in the mail from A.U. Morse and Company that my services were terminated and I should not return. Honestly, I thought the manager was just being vindictive. They could have gotten along without me for a week or two. But since that was their response, I immediately went down to the unemployment office and filed for unemployment. When they called A.U. Morse with me sitting there to verify my situation with that company, the rep was told by the office manager that I had not been fired but had quit and was not entitled to unemployment insurance. I promptly showed him the letter the office manager had sent, clearly indicating that I was fired. I got the unemployment insurance started that day.
After I had retaken the blood pressure test a couple weeks later and the results were mostly good (one was slightly high, another was slightly low, but all the rest were good), several weeks passed as I waited for the results of my completed application. Unfortunately, I was finally informed that I was not accepted in the next OCS class because of high blood pressure. And, besides, Coast Guard OCS classes were very small, maybe a dozen or so candidates in each class, and only a couple of classes occurred each year, so the openings were not many and any minor issues were easily enough to disqualify an applicant.
I was told I could contest the findings, so I determined to contact them again directly in Washington DC. I decided since I did not have a job, but had enough money since I was still living at home and collecting unemployment insurance, I would fly back to DC and discuss my application with the Coast Guard there. I had been invited several times to stay with John Robertson, a Marine OCS buddy, and his wife at their apartment near Quantico. Dennis Zito and his wife were at The Basic School still, so I could see them, too. I also decided to stop in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to spend a few days with Daylin Butler and his wife--he was attending graduate school after graduating from USC. (Daylin was another of the straight guys, along with James Patrick Mullaney and Patrick Harlan Byrne, with whom I had been infatuated at East LA or Cal State Dominguez Hills. Of course, falling for straight guys was not going to get me my forever man, but I was still figuring out being gay and how I might meet someone who was gay.)
These visits with old friends would all take place in late winter of 1973. My hopes were still high that I would find my career path in the Coast Guard. As a side note, the fall of 1972 was the first presidential election I was allowed to vote in. I walked down Cypress Blvd, crossed Firestone Blvd, entered a private home, on the left side of Cypress, and voted using a punch card. While I had supported Nixon in 1968, feeling betrayed by Lyndon Johnson, I was not about to make that mistake twice. I voted for George McGovern. He was, of course, overwhelmed at the ballot box; but already there was talk about a Watergate break in and conspiracy to cover up who ordered the break in and how many significant politicians and operatives were involved. George McGovern had tried to get the press to care about what was happening with this situation but the press was not interested. They were having a fun time slamming McGovern and his ill fated choice of Tom Eagleton of Missouri as his VP after it was learned that Senator Eagleton had undergone shock therapy for depression. Nixon exclaimed that he had a "mandate" and it was full steam ahead for him and the nation.
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