My late grandfather served in the Merchant Marines from 1943 until the early 50s. He was going to be drafted in 43', and as a private in the Army he would get paid $25 a month. Since he had steam experience from working for a railroad, the Merchant Marines were offering $50 a month.

He survived two years of the war and never got a scratch. Though he did see ships get torpedoed in the Atlantic, hit mines off the coat of Italy, and saw dogfights when the Germans would attack the convoy that he was in. I interviewed him in 2009 and was able to dig up the history of every ship that he had served on, including one that he spent several years with after the war. It brought tears to his eyes when he finally knew the full history and what happened of his beloved Liberty ships.

He lived to 91 and it has been 6 years since he passed. He was very proud of his service and loved to tell stories of his travels.