I have a copy of the crew manifest for a ship my father was on to and from New Zealand as a Merchant Marine cadet during WWII. They were delivering US Marines to the Pacific Theater. Returning to San Francisco on Feb 7, 1943 by the way of Fiji, on the manifest, my Dad, at 20 yrs old, 6'3" and 220 pounds was with tallest and heaviest crewmen on board. Not the youngest. Another cadet was 19. There was an Irish crewman who was 18 and had already spent two years at sea. He was also the smallest at 5'4" and 123 pounds, but I doubt my dad would mess with him.
PS. The ship was the SS Lurline...a luxury liner built in the 30's for the West Coast to Hawaii/Australia run. Pretty sweet and faster than submarines. My dad was incredibly lucky. Most of the cadets in his class were serving (freezing) on the North Alantic run -- and this was at the height of the action there. My dad's class (1944) from the Merchant Marine Academy lost the greatest number of cadets of any year's class during the war.
Photo: My parents, probably soon after their wedding at the Little Church Around the Corner, NYC, and after dad's graduation from the Merchant Marine Academy in 1944 (he is wearing his MMA ring). My dad almost lived long enough for them to celebrate their 70th anniversary.
PS. The ship was the SS Lurline...a luxury liner built in the 30's for the West Coast to Hawaii/Australia run. Pretty sweet and faster than submarines. My dad was incredibly lucky. Most of the cadets in his class were serving (freezing) on the North Alantic run -- and this was at the height of the action there. My dad's class (1944) from the Merchant Marine Academy lost the greatest number of cadets of any year's class during the war.
Photo: My parents, probably soon after their wedding at the Little Church Around the Corner, NYC, and after dad's graduation from the Merchant Marine Academy in 1944 (he is wearing his MMA ring). My dad almost lived long enough for them to celebrate their 70th anniversary.
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