(This is some shots of an aircraft carrier that we were escorting.In the top shot we were receiving our mail and in the bottom one we were taking on fuel from her.)

On our return trip to the states, our destroyer squadron which consisted of the USS Gurke,USS Rowan,Mansfield and Henderson,were escorting a cruiser.We hit a typhoon the first day at sea and stayed in the midst of it all the way to Hawaii.It probably sounds foolish,but I loved it.I would go up on the boat deck and get inside a coil of mooring lines and watch the storm for hour's at a time.And also being on lookout watch on the open wing of the bridge and watching the waves break over the forecastle was awesome,some waves would crash all the way to the bridge.At one time the c.o. of the cruiser radioed our skipper that he was recommending us for submarine pay as they could not even see our ship most of the time because the waves were so huge,we finally made it to Hawaii and then to San Diego.

At about this time while on liberty I went to Long Beach Ca. and looked up a girl that I had dated in Rome,Ga.,her family had moved to Long Beach about six months before I went into service.We resumed our dating. In April or May of 1950,I had 30 days leave coming,so I went to Long Beach to see the young lady. I told her that I would go to Rome and see my family for 14 days then return to Long Beach to spend the rest of my leave with her and her family.

I went home and on the second day at home I went to the local high school to pick up my sister,Ethel,and when she came to the car she had several girl friends with her.My sister sat next to me and this beautiful brunette sat next to her.After dropping off all her friends,I asked my sister about the brunette.She told me her name was Barbara Sue Bowen.

The next day when I went to school to pick up my sister,lo and behold, the brunette was sitting next to me.I asked her for a date and to make a short story even shorter,before my leave was up we were engaged to be married. I will always be indebted to Ethel.Oh,by the way, I never saw the young lady in Long Beach again.


This is my beautiful bride-to-be.I carried this photograph all over the pacific.

This picture was taken in Tokyo,Japan in 1949.By this time I was down to a weight of 165 pounds and was 6'2 1/2 inches tall.When I entered the navy I weighed 190 pounds and was 6 feet tall.Having been raised in my parents grocery store and eating just about anything I wanted,I nearly starved my first year in service.I could not get used to the navy food.

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