jmar Posted July 11, 2011 Share #1 Posted July 11, 2011 Hello everyone! Thought I'd do a walk through of the career a Marine Corps "bad boy". Seems like he was in and out of trouble his whole time of service, but still managed to receive a GCM for his 1st enlistment. I snagged this beautiful Type III a few years back, it has its original brooch and, I believe, its long thin style ribbon drape is original as well. To his credit he didn't start really misbehaving until his 2nd enlistment, hence no 2nd Enlistment Bar on for his Good Conduct. He was ultimately discharged for being of "bad character". I never knew that hanging out at a bowling alley after dark was so bad! I'm sure there's more to that story than the Muster Roll entry. He was never promoted above the rank of Private. I hope you all enjoy this little glimpse into the past as much as I had researching it. Here's his Good Conduct Medal, I wish I knew where his Cuban Occupation Medal was! The research follows the photo. Thank you for reading! Joe Private James Franklin Swayguard - USMC USMC Good Conduct Medal - Harris Type III No. 2044 Also awarded: Army of Cuban Ocupation # 800 DOB: 29 July 1876 Enlisted USMC 10 Oct 1905 Dec 1905 to Sept 1906 Stationed at U S Marine Barracks & School of Application, Annapolis, MD Sept 1906 Camp Columbia, Havana, Cuba Nov 1906 to Dec 1908 Company "G", 1st Provisional Regiment, Camp Columbia, Havana, Cuba Jan 1909 Company G, 1st Provisional Regiment, USS Prairie en route to the US Apr 1909 to Sept 1909 USS Lancaster Sept 1909 Marine Barracks, N Y Phila, PA - Honorably Discharged. Character: Excellent Phys Cond: Good. Res. for Good Conduct Medal be should if he re-enlist. Rejoined in service one (1) day to make good A.W.O.L. Re-enlist 10 Feb 1911 Feb 1911 Marine Barracks, N Y Phila, PA Issued Army of Cuban Occupation Medal #800 Mar 1911 to May 1912 U S Naval Prison, Navy Yard, Boston MA - April 1911 Awarded Good Conduct Medal for his 1st Enlistment on March 21, 1911. per letter 10-10-1909 dated April 4, 1911. May 1911, received Good Conduct Medal #2044 for his 1st enlistment. Disciplinary action May, 1912 for arguing while on watch. Re-assigned. May 1912 to June 1912 Company C 2nd Regt 1st Prov Brigade on board USS Ohio, Key West, FL Jun 1912 U S Naval Prison, Navy Yard, Boston MA Jul 1912 Company C 2nd Regt 1st Prov Brigade Camp Meyer, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Aug 1912 to Jan 1913 U S Naval Prison, Navy Yard, Boston MA - October 1912 Disciplinary action for insolence to NCO. January 1913 Disciplinary action for using profane language to NCO on the 23rd. Insolence to NCO on the 27th. Feb 1913 Company "F" 1st Regt 2nd Prov Brigade Camp Meyer, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Feb 1913 to Apr 1913 Company "H" 1st Regt 2nd Prov Brigade Camp Meyer, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba May 1913 to Sept 1913 Company "F" Advance Base Battalion, Barracks N Y Phila, PA- September 1913 Disciplinary action for disobedience of orders while on duty. Oct 1913 to Dec 1913 Company "H" Advance Base Regiment, Marine Barracks N Y Phila, PA - Tried 6 Oct 1913 by SCM for insolent and insubordinate in manner to an NCO. Jan 1914 Culebra, Puerto Rico Feb 1914 to Apr 1914 Company "F" 1st Regiment, Advance Base Regiment, USS Hancock, New Orleans, LA - Disciplinary action for gambling in quarters. May 1914 to Jun 1914 Vera Cruz, Mexico Jul 1914 to Oct 1914 4th Company, 1st Regiment, 1st Brigade - Disciplinary action for failing to obey a lawful order of an NCO. Nov 1914 to Dec 1914 5th Company, 1st Regiment, 1st Brigade Jan 1915 4th Company, 1st Regiment, 1st Brigade - Discharged expiration of enlistment. Character: Very Good Feb 1915 The Eastern Recruiting Division Feb 1915 6th Company, 1st Regiment, 1st Brigade - re-enlisted on 12 Feb 1915 Mar 1915 Marine Barracks, N Y League Island, PA Mar 1915 US Naval Prison, N Y Portsmouth, NH - July 1915 Disciplinary action for "entertaining civilians in a bowling alley after dark and without authority. August 1915 DISCHARGED as "undesirable by reason of improper conduct" Character: bad Source: USMC Muster Rolls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack's Son Posted July 11, 2011 Share #2 Posted July 11, 2011 It is a beautiful GCM, and I kinda like the story behind it. Probably what would have happened to me if I was in the Marines at that time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmar Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share #3 Posted July 11, 2011 It is a beautiful GCM, and I kinda like the story behind it.Probably what would have happened to me if I was in the Marines at that time! Hi JS! Glad to see you stopped in. Pvt. Swayguard was quite the character and appears to have had a rather short fuse. I'm currently researching a USMC group which spans decades. From my preliminary findings it appears this individual rose to the rank of 1st Sgt (after being busted back several times) and ended up a Private! Once complete I'll post some of the highlights of his career here as well. Best wishes! Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJohn#3RD Posted July 11, 2011 Share #4 Posted July 11, 2011 Joe, Great Looking Medal, I love the long drape of the ribbon. Back in the day, a soldier, sailor or marine could find himself for any small violation, especially if he got on someone's TS List. If you ever see "From Here To Eternity" give you an idea of the peace time fiefdoms small units could become and in a very small force like the Marine your reputation proceed you. Heck back in the 50's and 60's soldiers could get article 15s and courtmartialed for minor infractions. Great background research. I look forward to hearing about the career marine who made it up to 1st shirt and got busted to buck private. Thanks for sharing. So many career soldier I knew back when I came in the army had several article 15's and it was not surprising to see a first sergeant that had a CM. But the military by then was big enough and if he was a good combat soldier he could soldier out of the problems he got himself into. Just a thought or two about the life of a service member back then. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrapneldude Posted July 12, 2011 Share #5 Posted July 12, 2011 VERY cool! A bad Marine is still better than any civilian! haha Nice medal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pchepurko Posted July 12, 2011 Share #6 Posted July 12, 2011 VERY cool! A bad Marine is still better than any civilian! haha You got the right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmar Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share #7 Posted July 12, 2011 Joe,Great Looking Medal, I love the long drape of the ribbon. Back in the day, a soldier, sailor or marine could find himself for any small violation, especially if he got on someone's TS List. If you ever see "From Here To Eternity" give you an idea of the peace time fiefdoms small units could become and in a very small force like the Marine your reputation proceed you. Heck back in the 50's and 60's soldiers could get article 15s and courtmartialed for minor infractions. Great background research. I look forward to hearing about the career marine who made it up to 1st shirt and got busted to buck private. Thanks for sharing. So many career soldier I knew back when I came in the army had several article 15's and it was not surprising to see a first sergeant that had a CM. But the military by then was big enough and if he was a good combat soldier he could soldier out of the problems he got himself into. Just a thought or two about the life of a service member back then. John Hi John and thank you for your comments. I too was surprised at the how some of Pvt Swayguard's (seemingly minor) infractions brought some severe penalties. I didn't go into detail on those penalties, but he did some hard labor, was confined, paid fines and had reduction in pay levied on him. Looks like he was shifted around too, reassignments to some less than desirable posts after disciplinary action had been taken. During one of his stints in either Cuba or Puerto Rico he was assigned to lavatory duty for the duration, I doubt that was a pleasant task in such a warm climate, especially back in the 1900's! Thanks again for reading, it's always nice to have you stop on by. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted July 12, 2011 Share #8 Posted July 12, 2011 Joe, Thanks for restoring the history with the medal. At the end of his second enlistment, they record his character as "very good" (Jan 1915 4th Company, 1st Regiment, 1st Brigade - Discharged expiration of enlistment. Character: Very Good) Did Marines with only an "Excellent" character receive the GCM? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted July 12, 2011 Share #9 Posted July 12, 2011 Did Marines with only an "Excellent" character receive the GCM? Almost without exception... I do recall doing a look-up for someone and saw were he had rec'd a second bar after the "very good" remark. Did not look back to see what if any issues existed. If I recall correctly, the Commandant"s office could over-rule any decision regarding the GCM in this era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmar Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share #10 Posted July 12, 2011 Joe, Thanks for restoring the history with the medal. At the end of his second enlistment, they record his character as "very good" (Jan 1915 4th Company, 1st Regiment, 1st Brigade - Discharged expiration of enlistment. Character: Very Good) Did Marines with only an "Excellent" character receive the GCM? Hello Beast and thank you for commenting. In all honesty I'm not sure if only "excellent" character was criteria for a GCM. Pvt Swayguard was issued his GCM for his 1st hitch after re-enlisting, and having "excellent" character for that 1st term. He never received a 2nd Enlistment bar for a second award with "very good" character upon his 3rd (and short lived) re-enlistment. I'll most definitely defer to those more schooled in the requirements for early USMC GCMs to answer your question. Very good point though! :thumbsup: Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmar Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share #11 Posted July 12, 2011 Almost without exception... I do recall doing a look-up for someone and saw were he had rec'd a second bar after the "very good" remark. Did not look back to see what if any issues existed. If I recall correctly, the Commandant"s office could over-rule any decision regarding the GCM in this era. Thank you for your input! This helps answer the question posed by Beast. So in the end it's all up to the Commandant's office to make the final determination, which makes sense to me! Best wishes! Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1ashooter Posted July 13, 2011 Share #12 Posted July 13, 2011 The term break glass in times of war comes to mine for this MArine. As a GM of a bowling ally I'd say he got in trouble because of a little B+E action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brig Posted July 14, 2011 Share #13 Posted July 14, 2011 after the first enlistment he sure went south. What a track record, and a nice GCM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmar Posted July 14, 2011 Author Share #14 Posted July 14, 2011 after the first enlistment he sure went south. What a track record, and a nice GCM! Hi Brig! Always nice to see you, thanks for reading and your comments, it's an interesting career behind the GCM. I'm honored to be able to care for it and to honor both the man and the Marine who earned it. Best wishes! Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SgtMaddoxUSMC Posted September 8, 2015 Share #15 Posted September 8, 2015 Nice GCM! I am seriously considering seeking out someone who still does hand engraving and having my own GCM engraved in the same style! I would probably be the first Marine to have an engraved GCM in quite a few decades haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brig Posted September 16, 2015 Share #16 Posted September 16, 2015 I've seen it done. Problem is most engravers use some tool that more etches than engraves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaigun Shosa Posted September 16, 2015 Share #17 Posted September 16, 2015 I was going to have my Good Conduct engraved as well. I found a guy that was willing to do it in the old style of engraving. He mostly does custom gun engravings, however, I never got it done since he was so busy and our correspondence dropped off. I may reconnect with him and see if I can get it done. If so, I will post on the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SgtMaddoxUSMC Posted September 16, 2015 Share #18 Posted September 16, 2015 Would much appreciate it! I know hand engravers are hard to find these days and when you do they aren't cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratasfan Posted August 27, 2021 Share #19 Posted August 27, 2021 I know this is a bit older thread, but I just had to take a look and see if I could find anything on this gent! :) Here is an article about an incident while he was a prison door guard in at the Naval Prison in Charlestown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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