Not yet out of high school, Blue Ridge local Gerald “Chief Mac” McMillen knew he wanted to join the military, and at 17 years old, his father signed the paperwork for him to join the Navy.
“Me and school did not get along,” McMillen said. “I wrote to the four services, didn’t even think about the Coast Guard (which he later joined), about joining, and the only one that responded to me was the Navy, in a sense.”
He said the other branches basically told him to stay in school; whereas, the Navy said if he really wanted out, they would teach him a job for the Navy when they had an opening.
Once he got the call in 1961 that there was an opening, “my father drove me down to the recruiting office, put me on a bus and went to Miami, got sworn in on an airplane, and went up to the Great Lakes (where he completed boot camp),” McMillen said.
In the Navy, he started off as a compartment cleaner, and after proving himself time and time again, he was eventually promoted to the Quarter Deck Messenger.
“There was a situation with the Cuban Crisis,” he said, and in turn, he ended up delivering a crypto top-secret message to the admiral.
Upon delivering the message, McMillen was questioned by the admiral on his ability to plot on a map.
Having had his father’s guidance in the past, he was able to answer “yes.”
“The first four vessels of the Navy blocking Cuba, the Cuban Crisis, I plotted them,” he said.
He was later granted top-secret clearance, and then he was transfered to a helicopter unit in Lakehurst, New Jersey, since they were out to sea for the conflict, but then, his orders were canceled.
Sent aboard the oiler fleet USS Chikaskia, he was the leading seaman, the most senior E3, as messenger on the quarter deck.
“The first day on duty, I go up there and take a log book, I started filling it out,” he said.
It didn’t take long before a scolding, however, since no one was aware he had previously been a messenger.
“Two days later, because we had like three or four duty sections, they come up (and say), ‘Now you’re going to be petty officer of the watch,’” he said.
Once discharged from the Navy after his nearly four years of service, McMillen worked in hospitality and then as a yacht steward in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
It was while he was in the steward position that he decided to join the United States Coast Guard in January 1970.
“They gave me six years for pay, which was the Navy contract,” he said. “They gave me our years for retirement even though I only did three and a half, so I say the Coast Guard bought my Navy time. That’s why I say I did 20 years in the Coast Guard. I retired in the fall of 1986.”
McMillen was promoted to E-7, Chief Petty Officer, while in Miami, checking on the training of law enforcement and working with the Drug Enforcement Agency.
During his time in the Coast Guard, McMillan was sent from Florida to New York, Chesapeake Bay, New Orleans, Louisiana, and even Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
His duties included instruction, navigation, search and rescue, law enforcement and serving as a Coxswain and Boatswain’s Mate.
When it came to maneuvering the boats, there wasn’t much, if anything, he couldn’t do.
“We had no radios to talk to the helicopters, so we used the old fashioned plane signals,” he said.
“We (his group) got the reputation that we didn’t need them unless we wanted it.”
Although he has many fond memories from his time in the military, one of his favorites is from the 1984 World’s Fair that was held in New Orleans.
While there, he served as the Chief Boatswain’s Mate.
“I got 52 volunteers to put up the state flags at the State House,” McMillen said. “We were introducing each state with their flag, and we were up on stage, and each guy when the name was called would go up with the flag, then they’d bring it back down.”
During the ceremony, he was unaware of a camera streaming what was going on at the back gate until he received a call from the Eighth District Commander commending him on the ceremony.
“I wanna thank you for being professional, and your personnel staying in step and looking good,” McMillen said he was told by the commander.
McMillen married his wife Christine in 1974 while he was stationed in Clearwater, Florida.
Together, the two have a son and a daughter.
For anyone considering joining the U.S. Coast Guard, McMillen said, “If you don’t want law enforcement, don’t go to the Coast Guard.”
Today, McMillen is the commander of the local AMVETS and a member of the North Georgia Honor Guard.
Anyone interested in joining one or more of the many veteran organizations in the area is encouraged to contact veteran Ray Arthur at fanninveterans@ yahoo.com.