Melvin always like the sea. He couldn’t see himself slogging through mud, but loved the thought of sailing the world. He joined the Navy on September 22, 1943 at the age of 17.
Melvin served primarily in the city of Manila Philippines. He was in a construction unit that was building a 1000 bed hospital. In the event of an invasion of the Japanese Empire, this hospital was to be used for the massive amount of wounded that were expected to be as a result of the landings. This invasion was tentively scheduled for the Fall of 1945, code named Operation Downfall.
Luckily Operation Downfall never happened. The Japanese surrendered after Hiroshima, and Nagasaki were hit by “Fat Man” and “Little Boy” in August 1945.
Melvin’s hospital was used as a destination for the survivors of the U.S.S. Indianapolis. This ship transported the atomic bomb to the island of Tinian in July 1945. After leaving Tinian, the ship was torpedoed and sunk resulting in the tragic loss of hundreds of sailors. Because of the secrecy surrounding the mission involving the delivery of the bomb, no one noticed when the Indianapolis was over due to its arrival location. Tragically, the survivors were in the shark infested waters for many days before being spotted by a Catalina flying boat.
Melvin received the Philippines Liberation medal, and various other awards. He was discharged from the
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