Reservist Magazine is the award-winning official publication of the United States Coast Guard Reserve. Quarterly issues include news and feature articles about the men and women who comprise America's premier national maritime safety and security
Issue link: https://uscgreservist.epubxp.com/i/674506
Ed Piculell: Pride, Patriotism & Poetry Story by PA3 Jourdin Bego, 7th District Public Affairs A 26-year Coast Guard career began Nov. 17, 1955, on Wall Street in New York. Retired U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Edward K. Piculell, a New York native, joined the service looking for knowledge and a way to contribute. Piculell grew up playing in the waters near a Coast Guard base and countless times he had enjoyed conversations with the Coast Guardsmen in the area. When he decided it was time to join a service, Piculell said there was no decision to be made. He felt a special calling to the Coast Guard and believed in it. Piculell maintained the Sankaty Head Lighthouse on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, during his first six months in the service. "She sat 160 feet off the ocean floor. You could see her for 19 miles," he said while miming the sweep of the light across the ocean with his hand. "That's my lighthouse. That's the only one I'm fascinated by, because that's where momma came from," Piculell said softly as he referred to his dearly departed wife, Catherine. "She's special. She was my reason for being." Together they raised three children, all of whom followed in his patriotic footsteps. "When my daughter wanted to join, I told her she could join any service, but if it wasn't the Coast Guard she couldn't come home," Piculell chuckled while recalling the memory and sat back in his blue recliner. "The house is where the people are, where the real story is," Piculell said while grabbing his photos and flipping through the fragile pages of the album. Piculell had the opportunity to work beside many noteworthy service members in the 1950's, each with their own unique background. "The one thing the Guard had in the 50's that it doesn't now are the service members from World War II," he said exhaling slowly and taking a sip of water. "They were part of the greatest generation." "There was nothing heroic about my 26 years, which is good because I don't want those kind of memories," said Piculell recollecting the stories told to him by those who served during the Second World War. Piculell didn't like calling individuals who served in past wars "veterans" while they are presently serving. Instead, they were simply "old-timers." ReseRvist Magazine shipMates in Focus Sn Piculell at a port call in 1956. 42 RESERVIST � Issue 2 • 2016