What is your funniest salute story?

I was a recruit at bootcamp in Fort Leonardwood. We were on pass that day and me and my battle where walking back to the barracks. We saw a personnel in uniform and his beret flash was shimmering in the light so bright I could see it from a mile away. What I didn't know was that this permanent party was just a specialist strolling through the quad and headed towards somewhere. So, to cut it short, I basically anticipated and assume he was an officer so I snapped too and rendered the salute. Him and my battle were both laughing as I saw his collar on his BDU was plainly a SPC rank.

Another one.... my first duty station in Fort Lewis, I was walking towards the motorpool and I didn't have a POV back then. Before that I made swift with my breakfast at the DFAC and began my 15 min journey to the motorpool in WA weather. I knew my CO had a Volkswagon car and blue decals would ID officers so, when I saw her headed from the Motor Pool and passing my way I did the only funniest thing but stopped stood at attention and rendered the salute. I saw a smirk on her face and I realized that only field grades were required to be saluted in a marked vehicle with a field grade rank license plate.

I was a SGT in the Infantry at Fort Campbell, KY,my brother in law was graduating from boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Center. I attended his graduation, and every place I went Sailors were saluting me, I returned each one, and could not for the life of me figure out what was going on..Well after he graduated I found out the the Blue Infantry Cord I was wearing, meant something totally different to them, it was Assistant Company Commander or some such thing, so they saluted! ..I think they did away with the blue cord in the 80's

I've got a couple,

First: I was on my way to an appointment walking down the street by myself, down the road is an older guy kind of walking slow. The closer I get to him I can't really make out his rank until I was almost chin to chest, a 1 Star, damn near broke my arm trying ot pull up the salute. He laughed and told me to continue on. Guess it happened to him more than once that day.

Second: I'm accompanying a PFC to an appointment, as we are coming back to the comapny area I notice a Major walking towards us, I remind him to salute. Whatever they gave him at that appointment must have been good, because he salutes with his left hand proudly as we are walking. The Major calls us back, and had to ask us if he was wrong because he was baffled by the situation. Haha, so happy we didn't die that day.

A LTC was handing out coins and after my buddy grabbed the coin with his right hand, he followed a salute with his left hand. But, after quickly putting the coin away, he switched hands and saluted with the right. To this day we still get on him for that

In my early years, we had to salute officers with a motto (usually the company motto). For a long time my buddies and I would sound off with a golf club to see if we would get caught. 4 wood sounds like FT Hood said fast and if you say it right you can get away with a 9 iron pretty easy. After getting away with the clubs and even the drivers, I pressed my luck with a LT one day and got caught sounding off with "putter sir!". The LT took me to speak with my 1SG. After the LT left my 1SG said that he was surprised that we got as far as we did. He laughed until he almost cried. Thankfully I didn't get more than a but chewing out of it.

I was on a remote island on a off-book civilian clothes assignment when I received a DV-7, inbound message. I was an E-5 and didn't know that the DV-7 called for a red carpet and a band. I went to the civilian airport dressed in shorts, pull over shirt and sandals to meet an inbound C-135. The aircraft landed and wow it was spit shined and immaculate. I had flight line access and was standing at the base of the ramp when a four star pushed the door open, he was in a custom Air Force Blue flight suit with a white dress bib. He looked very surprised when I popped to and saluted. He stepped down to face me and returned my salute. He addressed me by name and rank and asked where are your personnel and equipment? My reply was that I was it, his next question was what training had I received to be the Air Force Military Airlift Command Ground Representative, my answer was none. He had been briefed that we were a major Pacific stop over and was not happy about the situation. He then took me to lunch and offered me a job in Hawaii to help straighten out problems with small South Pacific MAC stops. As I already had orders for Hurlburt and my family was in Florida I politely turned the offer down. The look on the Generals face when he looked for the red carpet and band and saw a very casually dressed person in civilian clothes was priceless!

When I was in the Marines, we were in a naval intelligence photography school in San Diego next to NTC when it was there. We had to wear Charlies (khaki shirts) to the school each day and we all had gold jump wings. As we were driving around, the road guards would come to attention and salute us (we were enlisted) before returning to their platoons because they thought we were pilots but they would get such a weird look on their face because of the conflicting info - our red sticker vs. our khaki shirts with wings - before the saluted!

In 1967 I was a Spec4 assigned to the 520th Medical Co. (Clearing) at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. Not far from our barracks was the training area where new medical officers, like doctors and nurses, were trained. They were always nervous about having to salute, especially the new nurses. We were constantly encountering them on the street, and depending on how nervous they looked when they saw us coming, we would have some fun. As we drew to saluting distance we would do a flench of our shoulder, but hold the salute, and many times they would salute us first and then we could return their salute. Later, back at our barracks, we would walk in and announce, "Hey, an officer saluted me today."

When I was in Tech School at Chanute AFB there was a way for some NCOs to make extra money. They would enter a barracks at night and yell, "Pizza Pop". If you were hungry you could indulge. There was also a ritual for us (on rotation) to stand Barracks Guard. You would sit by the door and "protect" the barracks. OK, now one night the Captain in charge of our squardron entered out barracks in civies. When he walk in in the PM the Cap asked the guard (who had no idea who he was) "what are you supposed to do when I enter the building?" The student thought and thought and finally stood up and yelled (you got it) PizzaPop. The Cap laughed and walked out. He introduced himself to all of us the next morning when we fell out.

While stationed at a "Tri-Service base in New Mexico in the late 1950s, one had to be careful about saluting as there were officers from all services plus foreign officers. I once saluted the Base Fire Chief.