HOW IT ALL STARTED

Born 1943 during WWII to a US Merchant Marine Chief Engineer serving in the dangerous waters of the World War II and by a mother in St. Louis, MO with a family of a uncertain future.
Many Merchant Mariners had been killed during the war and is said to have suffered the most casualties percentage by numbers, of any military service during the war, with the exception of the U.S. Marines. President Ronald Reagan acknowledged this in his 1988 National Maritime Day Proclamation, when he stated, "The importance of the merchant marine to our national defense was never more clear then in World War II when, at the cost of more than 6,000 lives and with a loss of 733 ships, the American Merchant Marine never faltered in delivering cargo for our Armed Forces throughout the world." Untold thousands of additional seafarers were wounded or injured in these attacks, and nearly 600 were made prisoners of war. General Douglas MacArthur said, "I hold no branch in higher esteem than the Merchant Marine Service." There was a book written called The Last American Hero's that will enlighten you to all the facts. This book was given to me by my oldest daughter and was even surprising to me, as having spent over 40 years as a Merchant Mariner with just a few challenges before that which played a big part to my future and will touch on later as the blog goes on. Hope everyone following will enjoy the long rocky journey.