On November 24, 1997 my Father finally lost the war his body waged with Congestive Heart Failure that had raged for over 33 years. The battles were many... the artificial valve in 1965... one of the first to be done in open heart surgery... the bypasses. The onboard Defibrilator and the pace maker... all minor victories that bought him a few more years. He left behind a wife, a daughter (myself), four grand daughters and one grandson... all of which miss him very very much. During his 76 years he saw alot, suffered greatly, and complained very little. He was a quiet man, with a heart of gold, who loved his family and his country above all else. When WW II came... and the Navy wouldn't accept him because of a heart murmer left him through the ravages of Rheumatic Fever he turned and joined the Merchant Marines and served in Army Transport. I remember many stories when I was little of his time in the Merchant Marines... but none of the important facts that would truly help me pay homage here that he deserves. I know he had his ship shot out from under them a couple of times... That several more times they barely limped back to harbor.I'll never forget how he looked when he spoke about firing the weapon at the attacking planes... how his hands froze on the grips of the gun, or the look in his eyes when he spoke of the enemy shooting our men in the water for sport when they'd sunk their vessel. That he was there the day after the Infamous bombing of our ships in Pearl Harbor... and he served in moving the remains and in other clean up details. When he left the service there were no thanks... and he never complained. When he died... he did not receive the flag or salute the VA would have allowed him because there was no service to perform it. All their limited income allowed for was cremation and the scattering of his ashes in what is called a communal garden, and I was in no position to help that either. I think he deserved more than we could do for all he'd done... for his country and for us. And so, with what I CAN do... let this little corner of the net stand in his memory.

I have to take my hat off these fine men that were the members of the Merchant Marines. The U.S. Navy armed guard that went with them and maintained the guns. The Navy escort ships that provided the screen protection against the German submarines. It was a job that had to be done and not to many wanted to do it. They put their lives on the line day in and day out. Bravery and sunking of the ships was the talk of the day. It was not uncommon to be sunk, get resuced by another ship and get sunk again all in one day. In other words they went through hell day in and day out. They never gave up and victory tasted that much sweeter to them. I just hope that the generations that follow will not forget their sacrifices.