After bootcamp in San Diego I went to Columbia, Mo. and took a course in deisel training after which I was assigned to duty aboard a steam ship, the U.S.S. Niblack.

I don't remember the date but I think it was about mid March or maybe April that I boarded the USS Niblack, which was in drydock in Brooklyn, N. Y. There were not enough bunks for the few of us who went aboard and for the first few days several of us slept on deck behind the No. 1 stack until bunks could be arranged.

I have no pictures of the Niblack or of any of the ports we were in. No cameras were allowed aboard ship. The Niblack along with 4 other destroyers ,whose names I don't remember, protected troop ships from German subs, as they crossed the Atlantic. We did this for several months, and had at least one close call as a torpedo passed along side of our ship ,the USS Niblack

Eventually we moved into the Mediteranian ,and after several months of short escorting in that area, we went up the west side of the Italian boot to Anzio and along with many other ships had a major part in that invasion. We were under fire or firing constantly for about 7 or 8 days. Truly it was some of the most fierce fighting I had ever been involved in.

When we left there we towed one of the destroyers, I don't rember its name, back to North Africa for repairs. After a few weeks on duty in the Med looking for German subs, we picked up survivors from a British ship that had been torpedoed. Some of these men were dead in the water and others died after we pulled them aboard. However most of them survived. We continued dropping many depth charges and finally we received orders to go back to the states for dry dock and repairs.

On the way back accross the North Atlantic I became ill with a bad ear infection. At sick bay the medics did the best they could to attend my ear problem. By the time we got back to the states the condition of my ear had not improved so I was sent to a Naval hospital in Portmouth New Hampshire.

I was treated there and because of the serious nature of the condition of my ear I was told that I would be receiving a medical discharge. In a few weeks I was discharged with a medical honorable discharge.

After arriving home in Amarillo Texas with some medical treatment, my ear healed even though I had some problems with it ;but these last few years it has not given me much trouble.

After a few months and an encounter with God I felt the call to become a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So I went to Baylor University and Moody Bible Institute to prepare myself for my calling. At Moody I met my wife and have had succesfull years in the ministry pastoring churches in Texas and Idaho and I am now semi-retired and living in Boise, Idaho working as a Christian Counselor in Capital Christian Center ,of which my wife and i were co-founders.

We have four children and twelve grandchildren and one great grandaughter three months old.

Oh yes, I remember the name of one of my buddies who went through boot camp with me and was also aboad the U.S.S. Niblack for several months before he was transfered. His name was Bert Moore and he was from Pasadena, California.

Thank you, sir for the opportunity to share with you and whosoever is interested and may God bless you richly.

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