US Navy Line Crossing Ceremony
The United States Navy Line Crossing Ceremony Since the American Revolution, our military has served toprotect this great country of ours in thirteen wars including our present IraqWar. Today I am humbly reminded of my father. Roland Irving Bruning father entered theUnited States Navy on November 30, 1942 in New York. During his seventeen yearlong Navy career he served in World War II in the Atlantic Fleet and in theKorean War and acquired many ribbons and decorations. These include the Asiatic– Pacific Ribbon (4 stars), Philippine Liberations Ribbon (2 stars, EuropeanAfrican Middle Eastern Area Ribbon (1 star), Good Conduct Medal, American AreaCampaign Ribbon and the World War II Victory Medal. Of all these decorations myfather prided himself upon his Realm of the Arctic Circle and Realm of theGolden Dragon Certificates.
Nogreater Naval tradition is there worldwide than a line crossing ceremony.According to Navel tradition, a pollywog is a sailor who has never crossed theequator line. On February 18, 1944 my father became a golden shellback (thosewho have crossed the Equator on the International Date Line) through a linecrossing ceremony. Afterwards he received his Domain of the Golden Dragoncertificate. Considered a rite of passage that tested upon the sailors abilityto withstand a long ocean journey, many WWII sailors looked forward to theirline ceremony. The day long began as a shellback dressed as King Neptune callsforth the pollywogs. The ceremony theking of the sea interrogates the pollywogs through many embarrassing obstaclessuch as being locked in a salt-water coffin, hair chopping, digging throughrotting garbage, locked in the stocks while shellbacks throw mushy fruit atthem, and other degrading behavior. After each event through the series of obstacles, the pollywog mustdeclare their allegiance to King Neptune. All of the obstacles are meant toentertain the shellbacks while degrade the pollywog. The brutality of theobstacles a pollywog had to endure depends upon the era in which the sailorlived. Up into the 1980's; beatings and severe brutality were so common in theceremony many sailors found themselves in sickbay soon afterwards. Some sailorslost their lives. Even visitingdignitaries were not excluded from the line crossing ceremony. In November1936, President Franklin Roosevelt endured the same harsh treatments when USSIndianapolis crossed the Equator while he was on board.
After apollywog becomes a shellback, the sailor receives a certificate. There areseveral types of line crossing Naval Fraternities. My father had the Order of the Blue Nose andOrder of the Golden Dragon. The Navy recognizes:
The Order of the Blue Nose forsailors who have crossed the Arctic Circle.
The Order of the Red Nose forsailors who have crossed the Antarctic Circle.
The Order of the Golden Dragonfor sailors who have crossed the International Date Line.
The Order of the Ditch forsailors who have passed through the Panama Canal.
The Order of the Rock for sailorswho have transited the Strait of Gibraltar.
The Safari to Suez for sailorswho have passed through the Suez Canal.
The Golden Shellback for sailorswho have crossed the point where the Equator crosses the International DateLine.
The Emerald Shellback or RoyalDiamond Shellback for sailors who cross at 0 degrees off the coast of WestAfrica (where the Equator crosses the Prime Meridian)
The Realm of the Czars forsailors who crossed into the Black Sea.
The Order of Magellan for sailorswho circumnavigated the earth.
The Order of the Lakes forsailors who have sailed on all five Great Lakes.
Nogreater Naval tradition is there worldwide than a line crossing ceremony.According to Navel tradition, a pollywog is a sailor who has never crossed theequator line. On February 18, 1944 my father became a golden shellback (thosewho have crossed the Equator on the International Date Line) through a linecrossing ceremony. Afterwards he received his Domain of the Golden Dragoncertificate. Considered a rite of passage that tested upon the sailors abilityto withstand a long ocean journey, many WWII sailors looked forward to theirline ceremony. The day long began as a shellback dressed as King Neptune callsforth the pollywogs. The ceremony theking of the sea interrogates the pollywogs through many embarrassing obstaclessuch as being locked in a salt-water coffin, hair chopping, digging throughrotting garbage, locked in the stocks while shellbacks throw mushy fruit atthem, and other degrading behavior. After each event through the series of obstacles, the pollywog mustdeclare their allegiance to King Neptune. All of the obstacles are meant toentertain the shellbacks while degrade the pollywog. The brutality of theobstacles a pollywog had to endure depends upon the era in which the sailorlived. Up into the 1980's; beatings and severe brutality were so common in theceremony many sailors found themselves in sickbay soon afterwards. Some sailorslost their lives. Even visitingdignitaries were not excluded from the line crossing ceremony. In November1936, President Franklin Roosevelt endured the same harsh treatments when USSIndianapolis crossed the Equator while he was on board.
After apollywog becomes a shellback, the sailor receives a certificate. There areseveral types of line crossing Naval Fraternities. My father had the Order of the Blue Nose andOrder of the Golden Dragon. The Navy recognizes:
The Order of the Blue Nose forsailors who have crossed the Arctic Circle.
The Order of the Red Nose forsailors who have crossed the Antarctic Circle.
The Order of the Golden Dragonfor sailors who have crossed the International Date Line.
The Order of the Ditch forsailors who have passed through the Panama Canal.
The Order of the Rock for sailorswho have transited the Strait of Gibraltar.
The Safari to Suez for sailorswho have passed through the Suez Canal.
The Golden Shellback for sailorswho have crossed the point where the Equator crosses the International DateLine.
The Emerald Shellback or RoyalDiamond Shellback for sailors who cross at 0 degrees off the coast of WestAfrica (where the Equator crosses the Prime Meridian)
The Realm of the Czars forsailors who crossed into the Black Sea.
The Order of Magellan for sailorswho circumnavigated the earth.
The Order of the Lakes forsailors who have sailed on all five Great Lakes.
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