It has been 35 years since I spent Father’s Day with my Dad. It was the summer of 1978 and pretty busy summer for my Dad. In July my brother Michael married Eva and in September Dennis and I were married. So yes, my Dad danced at our weddings, but by the next March he passed away at the age of 61. Yesterday I was thinking about my Dad and wondering what his life was like when he first became a father. My oldest sister was born April 1944. My Dad was 26 years old. He was in the US Navy (having joined in October 1936) and World War II was still ongoing. My Mom, to the best of my knowledge was living in Seattle, Washington, not too far from the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington. In August 1943, he was transferred from the Puget Sound naval Shipyard and reported for duty for a very short period of time to USS YMS 331(a minesweeper that was built in Seattle, WA). It was commissioned on September 10, 1943, and according to his records he was transferred from the YMS 331 on October 11, 1943. From October 13 through October 22, 1943, he was at SCTC Treasure Island, CA (I have learned that SCTC stands for Small Craft Training Center). From October 24 through November 30, 1943, he was at FDDTC, Tiburon, CA (I believe FDDTC stands for floating dry dock training center). On December 4, 1943, he reported for duty aboard the USS ARD-13 (an auxiliary repair dock). On January 21, 1944, he was transferred from the ARD-13, record stating: COMFOURTEEN for assignment. Auth: COMSERFORPAC Pers Order No. 512 dated 19 January 1944. On January 23 he was on the USS Malanao and the “report of changes” for the month ending 29 February 1944, records in handwriting (not typewritten) concerning my Dad: “TRANS 14 FEB 44 To the nearest Receiving Ship or Station on the West Coast of the U.S. for assignment to new construction.” He spent about four days as a passenger on the USS Terror, being transferred from the USS Terror on February 18, 1944. Now it seems the “new construction” referenced above was the USS Melucta (AK-131). It had been laid on 21 January 1944 in Jacksonville, Florida. It was launched 20 March 1944. My sister, Joann, was born 14 April in Seattle, Washington, the USS Melucta was commissioned 22 July 1944 with my Dad a member of the commissioning crew in Jacksonville 22 July (see photo – he is the fourth from the right in the second row.) The Melucta is named for a star in the constellation Gemini and was a cargo ship responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone. Following shakedown off Norfolk, Virginia, Melucta, was assigned to Naval Transportation Service 17 August for cargo carrying duties along the U.S. East Coast into the fall. By 10 November she was en route to the Marshalls, towing USS Cinnabar (IX-163) to Pearl Harbor before continuing on to Ebon Atoll. The cargo ship operated in the South Pacific Ocean for the next year. Melucta steamed to San Francisco, California, in May 1945 for repairs and reloading, departing the first week of June. The war ended in September 1945 and in mid October she got underway for the U.S. East Coast via the Panama Canal Zone, arriving Norfolk, Virginia, 28 November. Melucta decommissioned there 13 December. Daddy was still aboard when the USS Melucta was decommissioned. He was there for the beginning and ending of this ship’s war service. This little history is how I imagine my Dad spent the nine months awaiting the birth of his first child. I really don’t know how old my sister was when my Dad first met her and held her, but I did find this one great photo in a scrap book that was my Mom’s. My guess is this photo is taken in late 1944. It is always amazing to me about how much we don’t know about our parents and their life experiences. It doesn’t always occur to us to ask questions of our parents about their “history.” So here’s to my Dad, Joseph Raymond Eagen…who became a father so many years ago in the middle of World War II! He continued to serve in the US Navy until June 30, 1953. The story goes on…
Posted on: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 15:55:26 +0000
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