CadetStuff::Drill::Palms away! (Part Deux)

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Palms away! (Part Deux)

Dr. Drill

You can submit your questions to Dr. Drill via e-mail to : DrDrill@CadetStuff.org.

Dr. Drill,

A friend of mine, who is a USMC JAG officer, once told me that the U.S. palm down salute comes from an interesting story involving a royal rescue. (Unfortunately, I've lost touch with him, so I can't have him retell it.)

The story goes something like this: a squad of Marines was travelling through some foreign land (this is the vague part), when they heard a local royal (queen or princess) was under attack by local rebels. Being Marines, they ran towards the fight and saved the day. When the leader of the squad presented his men to the royal, his hand bloodied from battle, she rotated it so that the palm was down. (Royalty, I guess, finding such gore distasteful.) Since that point, the story goes, Marines and their brothers in arms have saluted palms down.

Any truth to that wild rumor? It's a great story nonetheless.

Daniel B. O'Sullivan

Dr. Drill Responds

Hi Daniel!

You've given Dr. Drill an idea for a new video series: "Rumors Gone Wild!":

These rumors are willing and able to do everything it takes to win. Its real, raw and uncensored! No rules, no parents, and of course, no truth!

Sorry to burst your bubble, but that's what we call a Sea Story. Dunk collected quite a few into his various almanacs, God bless him. Just for fun, though, I did nose around to find some corroboration for your story. Interestingly, I found this:

All military salutes,i.e,army and navy were identical, that is the palm of the hand open and facing out until, Queen Victoria, objected to having to see the, ugly, tarred hands of sailors, known in their days as "jack tars" because of all the tar used on sailing ships. Thus the navy altered its salute by rotating the hand to a horizontal position,such that the "unclean" hand coould not be seen.

Now, this example is obviously about the British salute. As we all know from watching the RSM skits on Monty Python, Brits salute with the palm out. Well, it seems as if Tars salute palm down (American Style), and their salute origin story bears a striking resemblance to your friend's.

So, as much as I would like to give all credit to the Marines, in this case It just doesn't seem to be so.

But, you knew that!

Thanks for writing,

Dr. Drill

Caution: Dr. Drill isn't always one hundred percent serious. Please activate your Joke Detectors. And don't call us when you find yourself explaining to a membership termination board why you used a staple gun to keep a cadet's hands at his sides during "To The Rear, March". All we're going to say on your behalf is "Duh!"

And if you find yourself on the bad end of a serious counseling because you decided to go toe-to-toe with your squadron commander over the position of the guide during a squadron-in-mass formation or something similarly trivial, well, we're just going to point, laugh and call you names!

Dr. Drill welcomes comments and corrections. Nothing herein is to be construed as official policy unless quoted from an up-to-date regulation or manual and Dr. Drill is not to be used as a blunt instrument to reshape the pointy heads of your superiors. Dr. Drill has made an extensive study of the drill and knows some people who know some things, but he's not the Final Authority on what happens at your unit. That Final Authority is? That's right, kids! Your UNIT COMMANDER.