Parade Rest

The regulations of the U.S. Navy and of the U.S. Naval Academy reflect decades of service wisdom in facing up to all sorts of military situations. But the regulations have nothing explicit to say about what to do when a starling comes to roost on a second classman's shoulder in the middle of June Week ceremonies at Annapolis (see cut). That left the matter up to Drummer Peter F. H. Hughes of Chicago to work out for himself.

Since Drummer Hughes was at parade rest at the time, with his hands behind his back, he judged with impeccable correctness that it would be nonreg to reach around and give the bird a swipe with his fist. So he just let it stay there. It is also somewhat nonreg, at parade rest, to grin from ear to ear. Hughes and nearby middies had less success on this point.

Everybody agreed that the bird showed military dash throughout. After perching at an approximate parade rest itself for five minutes ("about 20 minutes," insisted Hughes later), it took off as the corps was dismissed, made a brief dive-bombing run on a bald-headed civilian in the grandstand, and then flapped away.

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