Harold enlisted in the US Navy in 1944 at the age of 19. He enlisted in the Navy because he “liked to swim!”
He was assigned to the Casablanca class escort carrier, the USS Shipley Bay “CVE-85.”
Harold was on the carrier when she participated in many of the most ferocious battles in the south Pacific. But first the carrier acted as a replenishment carrier that was delivering pilots, aircraft and ammunition to the fast carriers with Task Force 38 operating east of Samar and Luzon, Philippine Islands in October 1944, to January 1945.
The Shipley Bay’s first combat operations were in June 1945 when the carrier was in action off Okinawa. It launched planes in attacks on the islands of Miyako-jima and Ishigaki-jima to take out the airfields on those islands.
In September 1945 Harold was on board when the Shipley Bay participated in “Operation Magic Carpet.” This was the return of American forces from Okinawa and Kwajalein, returning several thousand troops to the States.
Harold attained the rank of Seaman Second Class. He received the American Campaign Victory medal, Asiatic Pacific theater medal, and the American Defense medal. He was discharged from the Navy on February 9, 1946.
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