My mother saved every letter I wrote to her during my service days, and they have become a priceless heritage and something to pass on to my seven year old grandson some day.

        I enlisted on 7 June, 1941. My civilian employer was Bethlehem Steel, so with Army logic my first assignment was to C Company, 3rd Engineer Training Battalion, ERTC, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, thought I knew absolutely nothing about being an engineer.

        Basic training lasted until 26 September, when I was placed on the enlisted reserve list due to my being 29 years old at the time.

        I was recalled to active duty on 16 January 1942, after Pearl Harbor, and assigned to D Company, 720th MP Battalion, and took basic training again at Fort Meade, Maryland. I left the United States with the Battalion in late July, 1942, and came home in October 1945.

        While our convoy participated in the invasion of the Philippines, our chaplain told us on the boat that many of us may die, but not to be afraid. He said, "We all want to meet God some day and how are we going to meet him unless we die?" I never forgot that as it gave me much needed courage to face what lay ahead for us during the invasion.

        On the voyage were were subjected to many bombings by the Japanese and one evening a nearby ship was hit and sank. We heard soldiers and sailors crying out for help from the waters below, but our Navy captain had strict orders not to stop during the attack and we did not save any of the men who called for help as we passed them by. I have often wondered if those men thought that their country had turned its back on them in their hour of desperation, but I know it couldn't be helped. I have heard the chaplain's words and those cries all my days.

        I came home and returned to my job in the production department of Bethlehem Steel Corporation, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and got married to Beatrice Miller, of Allentown. We have one son, Bruce, and one grandson, Alex. I retired from Bethlehem Steel in 1976, after 35 years service (including my Army time), and my wife and I enjoy our retirement years, blessed with a wonderful son and delightful grandson.

        Please excuse my typing mistakes. I am 80 years old and my fingers don't do the work like they used to.