Comments by "" (@BobSmith-dk8nw) on "USS The Sullivans (DD-537) - Guide 429" video.

Yeah. Given that the lining of Iron Bottom Sound was well underway - both the 5 Sullivan Brothers and another set of 4 brothers on another ship were making an effort to separate. With Peace Time - they may have gone back to that - as I had 3 Uncles who all served on the Sierra in the late '40's or early '50's. My Father - on a Med Cruise - actually dropped by to see them. The Marines had a Buddy Program where you could enlist with a friend and they would try to send you to the same unit. When I was in Ordnance School at Quantico - one of my High School Friends was undergoing the first six weeks of his PLC Officer Candidate Training there. I hitch hiked over to see him. As I was walking up - an NCO with a Smokie hat came over to see what I wanted. I told him my "Home Town Buddy" was there - and his name - and the NCO - knew who he was. He told me to wait there - went and got my Friend and sent him over - and we got to talk for a few minute and made arrangements to meet when they got Liberty that weekend in Washington, D. C. . The Military can be pretty good about things like that. One thing mentioned in the comments - that some units in WWI that were formed up with Friends - had real problems with local losses. During the American Civil War - the North created new units - by having some local politician - like a Mayor or City Councilman - raise a Regiment - which they would let HIM command. As all the men in these units were from the same town. There were times that these towns suffered horrendous losses when "Their" Regiment got shot to pieces. There were communities in New England - that never recovered from their Civil War Losses. Another factor for Small Towns was the syndrome summed up by: "How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down On The Farm - After They've Seen Pariee?" People who might otherwise have been born, lived and died within 40 miles - got the idea in their head that there was something else to be seen in the world. .
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