Like many children who grew up during the Great Depression, I had a very modest upbringing in the farm country of Long Island through the s. I was 1 when it began.
I have some memories of my father but he was not really in our lives growing up. My mother, Evelyn, loved us and did all she could for her three boys, who remained very close. Joe was the oldest and Jerry was the youngest. I was 13 when my mother decided to move us all north from Long Island to Waterbury, Conn. Waterbury was a progressive industrial city in those days and had more opportunities as one of the largest brass-manufacturing cities in the world.
My older brother Joe had already joined the Army as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne. I was too young to enlist but had hopes of joining the Navy when I became of age. I visited the Navy recruiter in May at 16 but they told me I had to be 17 to join the Navy. I was discouraged until I heard I could join the Merchant Marines. The ship was SS Michael Moran. Most of the crew were seasoned deckhands.
I was the youngest by far. They could see I was a hard worker and they made me feel welcome right away. The ship was one of thousands of Liberty Ships designed and built to bring the U.
The ship was also equipped with a three-inch gun on the bow, a five-nch gun on the stern, and eight 20 mm machine guns. We would hold practice drills with the Navy gunners who were onboard to man the artillery. I remember every third bullet was a tracer round that lit up the sky to show the path of the bullets. It was a sight to see. We got underway from Boston Harbor with a full load of Army trucks and k-rations to take to Cherbourg, France.
