The Early Years
Page 3
It was late in 1942 when I went down to join the Navy. I always wanted to go to sea. I had to get my Dad to sign a waiver for me because I wasn’t yet eighteen. It was getting close to my eighteenth birthday anyway. I took the physical at the clinic in John Seally Hospital, part of the University of Texas Medical School in Galveston. The Navy doctor said, “Son, you got something wrong with your heart.” He said that it didn’t beat right. He told the nurse to take my blood pressure and it was really high. Another guy taking his physical asked me if I’d been up late drinking the night before and I told him no, that I had gone to bed early and sober. The Navy doctor said that I should go see my family physician right away because I had something seriously wrong with my heart and that none of the services would take me. I was disappointed because I really wanted to go in the Navy. I was 5’ 7” and about 125 lbs, a skinny kid, and I felt fine. I couldn't’t figure out how they could take my uncle and reject me.
I turned eighteen in mid-January of 1943. In February I got my notice to take the Selective Service physical. I guess they didn't know that I'd already flunked the Navy one. My mother didn't want me to go at all, especially into the Army, as I was her only son. I was walking down the street that Spring when I ran into Bobby Prothro, an older friend who was already in the Merchant Marine. I was telling him about flunking my physical but that they might take me in the Army and he asked me, "Would you ship?" I said, "Sure". Bobby told me to go up to the Draft Board and that they would work it out for me. I had always wanted to go to sea, so I decided to join the Merchant Marine. All during the year the government had been recruiting for the Merchant Marines. There were posters everywhere and ads in the newspapers and Hollywood had made some war movies glorifying the part merchant seaman were playing in the war. The most famous of the movies was "Action In The North Atlantic" with Humphrey Bogart.
The Draft Board wrote me a letter to the War Shipping Administration. The WSA office was over in the Post Office building. I took them the letter and I applied for my seaman's certificate on May 6, 1943. They took a picture of me at the Post Office and processed a seaman's passport while I waited. I had to take a physical but the doctor only asked me some questions and I told him I felt fine. It wasn't much of a physical. A lot of ships had been sunk and many experienced seaman over draft age were taking safer better paying defense jobs ashore, so they needed merchant seamen badly. They told me that I had a ship waiting for me if I got clearance from the union.
I went down to the Seafarer's International Union hall and talked to the business agent, "One-eyed" Wallace. I paid my union dues and he gave me a union permit and dispatched me to my first ship on the spot. It was a brand new Liberty Ship, the SS David G. Burnett, just coming off the ways of the Todd Shipyard in Houston. On May 8, 1943 they took us to Houston on a bus - straight to the ship. The Burnett was still up on the way when we boarded her. We were on deck looking down at the ceremonies when they christened her. There was a crowd of people and a band and all the ship yard workers. I watched when a lady broke a bottle on the bow. Then we rode her down the way right into the Houston ship channel. I would sail on some other brand new ships but that was the only launching ceremony I was ever at.
I was one of the messmen and we started hauling on boxes and unpacking them. Because she was brand new there wasn't anything installed yet. I was unpacking dishes, silverware, pots and pans and linen - everything boxed. They were bringing on life boats and vests and all the provisions. Bobby Prothro was an Able Bodied Seaman in the crew. We spent a couple of days fitting-out the ship.