He dropped out of HS and joined the navy. He went to Great Lakes for basic, and there was so much snow on the ground that they didn't much time outside. Generally they taught him how to put on his uniform, salute, and march around the gymnasium.

He received orders to DD-616 out of boot camp. They sent him to Boston to meet the ship. He got there, and they said it was pulling into NY, so they put him on a train and he headed to NYC. Upon arrival, they said it had received orders to pull back into Boston, so back on the train. He finally joined the crew. He spent the majority of the war in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and was headed into the Pacific when Japan surrendered.

Someone stole his P-coat when he was waiting to be discharged. His brother was discharged first, so he sold him his P-coat. (I had always wondered why dad's P-coat had my uncle's name stenciled into it's lining...until my dad finally told me that story.) A first cousin had enlisted in the Navy out of high school, so I gave him the P-coat back a few years ago. I wore that coat a lot during high school & college, but it was time to finally send it home.

Dad didn't talk about his time during the war very much, but I appreciated everything he did tell me.