TALKING WITH LIGHT: Navy Signalman “A” School

In the summer of 1984, a young Coast Guard Quartermaster went to Navy Signalman “A” School in Orlando to learn flaghoist, semaphore, message handling and Morse code by flashing light. He graduated first in his class—and a couple of years later discovered, with a Radioman beside him and the captain waiting, exactly how quickly an unused skill can get rusty.