My Dad served in the Pacific on a submarine in WWII.

 

Well, actually two submarines. He did two patrols on the SHARK (SS-314) and finished the war on the BOARFISH (SS-327).

He had a hard life growing up in a small mining town in Southern Illinois. His Dad died when my Dad was 16, so he dropped out of highschool to work.

He enrolled in the Navy under a program he called the “kiddie cruise (I don't know the actual name). Basically from what I understand you could sign up when you were 17 for a three year enlistment.

At that time those who wanted to be submariners had to do some kind of psychological interview. From how he tells it, when asked why he wanted to join the submarines, he said, “I have a stepmother and two half sisters at home to support. The pay is a lot better!”

He said the interviewer said that was the best reason he heard all day.

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