My dad was 27yrs Navy. Joined in 1936. Youngest Petty Officer in the Navy before Pearl.
Survived Pearl Harbor, was on the USS San Francisco at Pearl. Same ship off Cape Esperance, during the early Guadalcanal, was hammered very hard. The #2 bridge was torn off by a "Betty"twin engine bomber. They refused to abandon ship and brought her back to Frisco. Pearl was in no state to take her in for repair. You name it, everything in that town was free to those guys as long as they were in uniform. Even the girls that were still "dating". His next ship was CV13, USS Franklin, the fastest class of carrier during WWII. The Captain took her too close to the Nippon home island. This was very late in the war. Two 500# bombs hit her unarmored flight deck and caused all the fighters
in the forward hanger, that had just been fueled and armed to explode. This was the single greatest disaster in US Navel history. 748dead, 286 critical. Fr. Callahan got the Medal of Honor for saving many from the resulting fires. My father was one of them.
Once again they were told to abandon ship. Once again they refused. They refused a replacement crew. As a child I would sneak peeks at some of dad's pics. The flight deck looked like stacks of cord wood. They were refused passage through Panama for fear of messing up the locks. She was listing so. They took her around Cape Horn and into the Brooklyn Navel yard. I was born in Brooklyn a year later.
It is a miracle I'm here, to live my life in freedom..Thanks Dad, All you Vets Thank you!!!
Being raised in a military household has its price. He could have been a better father.
But as an officer in the US Navy he was held in high regard.
He passed ten years ago. I still love him so.......