Thursday Photo Caption Contest: March 15

When crossing the equator, the crew loved dancing to the “Shellback & Pollywog Polka.”

If things look ugly in this picture, it’s nothing compared to our office when we tried to pick a winner for last week’s nautical naughtiness.

We turned over the responsibility to guest judge Mark Mollan, who has been a Navy/Maritime Reference Archivist for 9 years at the National Archives.

Mark is used to tackling large projects: he is working on a collaborative effort with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to digitize Navy and Revenue Cutter/Coast Guard logbooks. NOAA will use the data to track changes in ocean and air temperatures around the globe from the 1840s.

Congratulations to Paul Croteau! Mark notes you correctly reference the  long-honored US and British Naval forces’ tradition of “Crossing The Line”: a rite of passage for first-time crossers of the equator (Pollywogs) to become veteran Shellbacks. Check your email for a discount code for 15% off in our eStore.

(Mark also wanted to give Philip Croft and Janis Comstock-Jones honorable mentions. “They made me laugh out loud,” he said.)

The photograph comes from Record Group 80, General Records of the Navy, and the original caption reads: “Neptune party on USS ENTERPRISE. Pollywog V. E. Christensen, S2c., gives his shipmates a song or two on the flight deck., 09/1944”

Things are little more serious for at least one man in today’s photograph! Give us your wittiest caption in the comments below.

"Your caption here!"

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