USN Shellback Certificates from 1970s

Having been in the United States Navy for ten years, from the end of the Vietnam war to the height of the Iran hostage crisis, I had a number of opportunities to cross the equator. Crossing the equator has been an almost sacred event for seafarers for ages. It represents exchanging the lowly position of a polywog for the esteemed position of a Shellback. The ceremonious events range from utterly disgusting to even more utterly disgusting; hard to imagine or explain unless one has gone thru it. But for one example just try to imagine swimming and crawling thru galley waste that has been 'saved' for days to allow it to 'ripen'. In the end it is all in good fun and an experience of a lifetime. So here are a couple of the certificates honoring the events as I often find myself reminiscing those gone by Navy days on national holidays as today.