My dad lived in Illinois when he joined the Coast Guard after World War II broke out. He served as a Boatswains Mate on a troop transport in the Pacific and as a recruit training instructor at Manhattan Beach, New York towards the end of the war. He talked me into considering the Coast Guard when I was thinking of joining the Air Force in 1966 and I did because they made no glowing promises about anything and they wouldn't even talk to me at length until I passed their intelligence test and physical exam.