THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 6, 1994 TAG: 9407020204
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL REED, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Virginia Beach seafaring tradition was passed on to yet another generation Thursday when retiring Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Ronald E. Johnson handed over his saber to his son Ronald E. Johnson Jr., also a Coast Guardsman.
Ron Jr., a petty officer second class, is a quartermaster.
The ceremony took place at the Life Saving Museum of Virginia on the oceanfront at 24th Street.
It was near the site that young Johnson's great, great great grandfather, Bailey Barco, helped launch the heroic rescue of five men from the storm-battered schooner Jennie Hall, which foundered off the Virginia Beach coast on Dec. 21, 1900. At the time, the Barco patriarch was a member of the U.S. Life Saving Service, forerunner of the Coast Guard. He died a year later of illness related to the rescue and was honored posthumously with a gold medal for his efforts.
Young Johnson's blood lines flow from the elder Barco through his mother, Brenda Elizabeth Moseley, Barco's great, great granddaughter, who married the senior Johnson, a Coast Guardsman from Augusta, Ga.
Ronald E. Johnson Sr., 47, retired Thursday after 28 years in the service. At the time, he was commanding officer of the Coast Guard Exchange Field Support Office.
The symbolism of the saber passing at the retirement ceremony was two-fold, said the senior Johnson. First, the saber was obtained when he earned his officer's commission more than 20 years ago and he wanted to pass it on to his son, another career Coast Guardsman.
Secondly, young Johnson, who has been in the Coast Guard three years, was born Aug. 4, 1969 on the 139th anniversary of the founding of the maritime service.
His father was stationed at the time on the cutter Ingram.
``The guys in the crew nicknamed him `Semper Paratus,' the Coast Guard motto,'' the senior Johnson said. ``That's the motto on the Coast Guard emblem, which is on the saber.
``I handed it to him and said, `It's your turn to carry it,' '' said the elder Johnson.
While young Johnson continues his career in the Coast Guard, his father will join Guardian Federal Credit Union, which has its headquarters in Portsmouth, as a marketing and loan officer. ILLUSTRATION: Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Ron Johnson continues a seafaring and
family tradition by passing on his sword to son Ron Jr. during the
elder Johnson's retirement ceremony.
by CNB