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Originally Posted by sterlingnotes
Doesn't it mean that they were the son of a military man?
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Close. It means illegitimate son of a person who was in the navy.
When navy ships use to dock at ports, the crew would go out on the town and have some fun with the ladies. Since they wasn't allowed to carry enough money to rent a hotel room and civilians was strictly forbidden from being in the ship so taking them below decks to their quarters was way too risky, the crew would take them on deck and they would have their enjoyment underneath the guns of the ship. The way the guns was designed, they gave the couple almost complete privacy unless someone walked right up to them. Any children (mostly boys) that was conceived this way, was referred to as a "son of a gun" and was intended to be an insult.