Editing Buddy Ebsen (section)

===World War II===
After recovering from the illness, Ebsen became embroiled in a contract dispute with MGM that left him idle for long periods. He took up sailing and became so proficient in seamanship that he taught the subject to naval officer candidates. He applied several times for a commission in the Navy in 1941, but was repeatedly turned down. The [[United States Coast Guard]] accepted his application for a commission, and he was promptly given the rank of lieutenant, junior grade. This wartime rank was one step up from the rank of ensign, the usual rank given newly appointed naval officers in peacetime. Ebsen served as damage control officer and later as executive officer on the Coast Guard-crewed Navy frigate {{USS|Pocatello|PF-9|6}}, which recorded weather at its "weather station" 1,500 miles west of [[Seattle]]. These patrols consisted of 30 days at sea, followed by 10 days in port at Seattle. Ebsen was honorably discharged from the Coast Guard as a lieutenant in 1946.<ref>''Stars in Blue'', James E. Wise Jr. and Anne Collier Rehill, Naval Institute Press, 1997, p. 159, {{ISBN|1-55750-937-9}}</ref>