Jim was always interested in electronics growing up. To Jim,
it seemed natural to enlist in the U.S. Navy since according to Jim “The Navy
had the best electronics training in the military.”
So it was that after basic training, Jim was trained as an
Electronics Technician at Treasure Island California and whose job it then was
to operate and repair all of the vast electronics systems that were aboard
modern ships at the time.
Jim was assigned to the U.S.S. Sicily (CVE-118) which was a
Commencement Bay class escort carrier. The Sicily was named of course after the
island and battle where so many Allied servicemen lost their lives.
Jim participated in the Sicily’s initial shakedown cruise on
the west coast. His most memorable experiences were when he was in basic training
at Great Lakes, Illinois. He also was fortunate enough to be in San Francisco
and the party that existed afterwards when the reports that Japan had
surrendered were announced!
The U.S.S. Sicily went on to serve in Korea during that
conflict between 1950 and 1953.
Jim was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy on June 15,
1946.
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