My father was born on July 27, 1917 in Weed, California. He was raised in northern California during the Great Depression, and in 1936 for reasons of his own, he joined the United States Navy.
I never really knew my biological father as he died in 1975 when I was only 5. He served many years in the U.S. Navy, and spent most that time in the Pacific Theater, though he was in the Atlantic on the U.S.S. Ranger early on. As a Naval Chief, he spent a lot of that time involved in radio work on the United States Aircraft Carriers.
When he first joined the Navy, he wrote several letters to his sister, Eva Laura Palmer. I have compiled and entered these letters here as a tribute to the father I never knew.
So, sit back and enjoy one American serviceman’s view of the United States Navy in the late 1930s. America has not yet joined that conflict, but our military strength is gearing up for the potential war yet to come.
“Billy (George Jr.)” is my oldest half-brother. Charles is my Aunt Laura’s husband. I never knew him either, since he died soon after I was born. I would estimate this picture to have been taken around 1939 or 1940. My brother goes by “George” today, and is still alive in northern California.