The Rookie's Prayer

One Month Service

Sea Going Tony, Newport, Rhode Island, 1910

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my gear to keep.

Grant no other sailor'll take socks or shoes

before I wake.

Lord please guard me in my slumber,

And keep this hammock on it's number,

May no clews nor lashings break

And let me down before I wake.

Keep me safely in thy sight,

Grant no fire drills at night.

And in the morning let me wake

Breathing scents of sirloin steak.

God protect me in my dreams,

And make this better than it seems.

Grant the time may swiftly fly,

When myself shall rest on high.

In a snowy feather bed,

Where I long to lay my head,

Far away from all these scenes,

From the smell of half-baked beans.

Take me back unto the land,

Where they don't scrub down with sand

Where no demon typhoon blows;

Where women wash the clothes.

God thou knowest all my woes,

Feed me in my dying throes;

Take me back, I'll promise then,

Never to leave home again.

USMC Rifle Pledge

THIS IS MY RIFLE

There are many like it but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I master my life.

My rifle, without me is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than any enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will....

My rifle and myself know that what counts in this war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our burst, nor the smoke we make. We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit...

My rifle is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weakness, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its barrel. I will keep my rifle clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will...

Before God I swear this creed. My rifle and myself are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life.

So be it, until victory is America's and there is no enemy, but Peace........................

Eternal Father

Navy Hymn

Verse 1

Eternal Father strong to save

Whose arm hath bound the restless wave

Who bid's the mighty ocean deep

Its own appointed limits keep

Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee

For those in peril on the sea

Verse 2

O Christ! Whose voice the waters heard and hushed their raging at Thy word

tho walked'st on the foaming deep

And calm amidst its rage didst sleep. Oh hear us when we cry to Thee For those in peril on the sea

Verse 3

Most Holy Spirit Who didst brood

Upon the chaos dark and rude

And bid its angry tumult cease

And give for wild confusion peace

Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee

For those in peril on the sea

Verse 4

Lord guard and guide the men who fly

Through the great spaces in the sky

Be with them always in the air

In darkening storms or sunlight fair

Oh hear us when we lift our prayer

For those in peril in the air

Verse 5

O Trinity of love and power

Our brethren shield in danger's hour

From rock and tempest, fire and foe

Protect them whosesoever they go

Thus evermore shall rise to Thee

Glad hymns of praise from land and sea

Amen.

Submariner's

"Lord God, our power evermore,

Whose arm doth reach the ocean floor,

Dive with our men beneath the sea;

Traverse the depths protectively.

O hear us when we pray, and keep

Them safe from peril in the deep."

1692 Prayers

1692,For Fair Weather.

1692, In Time of Dearth and Famine.

1692 Prayer book

1692, In the time of War and Tumults.

1692, In the time of any common Plague or Sickness

1692, A Collect or Prayer for all Conditions of Men, to be used at such times when the Litany is not appointed to be said.