Farmer. His experiences aboard the escort carrier USS Kadashan Bay in the Pacific Theater during World War II. His rural background in West Texas; his decision to join the Navy, in 1943; boot camp and fireman’s school, San Diego, California, 1943; assignment to the USS Kadashan Bay, 1943; shipboard routine; the assault on Peleliu, September 14, 1944; the battle of Leyte Gulf, October, 1944; the Luzon landings and being hit by a kamikaze, January 3, 1945; ship’s overhaul and repairs in San Francisco, February, 1945; meeting his future wife in Boston, Massachusetts while decommissioning the Kadashan Bay.