My Dad, the Greatest Generation · 2019-08-02 · My Dad, the Greatest Generation Email:...
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My Dad, the Greatest Generation Email: [email protected] HomePage: www.PrintsPublishing.com My dad was born on March 5th, 1925. Being born in 1925 tells us that he lived through the Great Depression and World War II. I have written about some of the hardships and struggles of the poor years, but I ’ve never written the story of Dad’s service in the U.S. Navy. Dad served in the U.S. Navy from November 1944 to June 1946. Some years ago, Mom gave each of us kids a set of pictures that Dad got from a buddy of his. Here Dad is using a sextant to take a reading from a stationary point on an island, then shooting it gain five minutes later, to get the triangle. Dad is signaling here with Morse Code, communicating to another ship. On his ship, which had the name YP621, Dad is raising various flags that communicate to the nearest boat in the convoy. “We signaled from one boat to the other, ” he said. “It was a pretty primitive system. All the flags meant something. ” Dad is sitting here on the box that holds the flags. “Our captain is the third one in the picture, ” he said. Dad is writing down a reading that a buddy is taking. Sometimes every guy on the ship would be seasick except Dad, so he got the job of steering the ship and riding the waves. “The swells were 25 feet high up and down the waves. If you didn’t do it right, you’d sink the ship,” he said. “The boat was 25 feet long with a top speed of 10 knots, when it was working. ” Dad said this photo was taken in Biloxi, Mississippi, when he was learning how to be a Quartermaster in Gulfport, Mississippi. He and his buddies (who had last names of Dickoff, center, and Dobie, on the right) are wearing their dress whites. ” As you can see, this is Dad’s ship, the YP621. “We finally got to Subic Bay in September or October 1945. That ’s where my little whip was, the YP621. Subic Bay was our home port. I think the YP stands for Yard Patrol. There were 21 guys total on that ship. It was barely a ship. It was a wooden boat. We picked up supplies from the mother ship and brought them to the little bases on the islands. The first thing I noticed was that there was a tank of fresh water on board for showers. And they had good food. There were big lockers on the ship with frozen turkey and steaks and we carried beer for the supplies. Then we shipped to Manila Bay. ”
Transcript of My Dad, the Greatest Generation · 2019-08-02 · My Dad, the Greatest Generation Email:...
My Dad, the Greatest Generation
Email: [email protected] HomePage: www.PrintsPublishing.com
My dad was born on March 5th, 1925. Being born in 1925 tells us that he lived through the Great Depression and World War II. I have written about some of the hardships and struggles of the poor years, but I’ve never written the story of Dad’s service in the U.S. Navy. Dad served in the U.S. Navy from November 1944 to June 1946.
Some years ago, Mom gave each of us kids a set of pictures that Dad got from a buddy of his. Here Dad is using a sextant to take a reading from a stationary point on an island, then shooting it gain five minutes later, to get the triangle.
Dad is signaling here with Morse Code, communicating to another ship.
On his ship, which had the name YP621, Dad is raising various flags that communicate to the nearest boat in the convoy. “We signaled from one boat to the other,” he said. “It was a pretty primitive system. All the flags meant something.”
Dad is sitting here on the box that holds the flags. “Our captain is the third one in the picture,” he said.
Dad is writing down a reading that a buddy is taking.
Sometimes every guy on the ship would be seasick except Dad, so he got the job of steering the ship and riding the waves. “The swells were 25 feet high up and down the waves. If you didn’t do it right, you’d sink the ship,” he said. “The boat was 25 feet long with a top speed of 10 knots, when it was working.”
Dad said this photo was taken in Biloxi, Mississippi, when he was learning how to be a Quartermaster in Gulfport, Mississippi. He and his buddies (who had last names of Dickoff, center, and Dobie, on the right) are wearing their dress whites.”
As you can see, this is Dad’s ship, the YP621. “We finally got to Subic Bay in September or October 1945. That’s where my little whip was, the YP621. Subic Bay was our home port. I think the YP stands for Yard Patrol. There were 21 guys total on that ship. It was barely a ship. It was a wooden boat. We picked up supplies from the mother ship and brought them to the little bases on the islands. The first thing I noticed was that there was a tank of fresh water on board for showers. And they had good food. There were big lockers on the ship with frozen turkey and steaks and we carried beer for the supplies. Then we shipped to Manila Bay.”
