I recently came across a letter written to me from my Mother in 1972, nearly 40 years ago. It revealed to me a decision that I made in 1946, sixty four years ago while on board a ship headed up the Atlantic coast toward New York.
Although letters are no longer written between family and friends, those that have written letters from the past should be cherished and held onto as a great treasure for they reveal thoughts and impressions that make family history exciting and interesting. If you have them you may want to share some of the content with your posterity.
I will share the above mentioned letter with my authors and readers of this blog that perhaps it may provoke you to write to a loved one more often. This letter brought back a memory in my life that I had forgotten and which I will attempt to share with you here.
In my own personal history, there is a chapter devoted to a period of time in my life when I attempted to become a merchant seaman. Due to the efforts of my sweet mother, I was selected to attend a four year educational program to be trained as a merchant seaman and become a Midshipman in the Navel Reserve which included three months of basic training, six months at sea on board a merchant vessel and three years in the Academy at Kings Point , New York. There were two options for training, engineering and seamanship, the latter would eventually lead toward becoming the Master (Captain) of a ship while the former would lead toward being the Chief Engineer on a vessel. I had chosen the latter.
After basic training, I had been assigned to a new vessel that had just been launched from the shipyard in Portland, Oregon. The ship was called the Marine Marlin and it was operated by Matson Navigation Company. I was in Portland for about two months while the ship was being outfitted for use on the high seas. The Deck Cadet assigned to the ship along with me as an Engine Room Cadet was a cadet from Texas by the name of Herman I. Moskowitz. His father was born in the US but his grandfather was a Russian Jew born in Russia. I was grateful for his companionship because he neither drank nor smoked and he seemed to live a virtuous life.
The Marine Marline was a Type IV troop carrier and by November of 1945 we were ready for a maiden voyage to Yokohama, Japan. The details of this voyage are given in my personal history and they are not repeated here. It is sufficient to say that I had severe motion sickness and it was difficult to work while at sea. After six months of assignment to this vessel and after three or four voyages we put into the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
Back at home in Upland, California, during my absence from home while serving as an engine room cadet as noted above, my Mother had been faced with numerous problems at home with my two sisters among other things. During my absence, she became lonely, depressed, and needed assistance with the family. I guess I had provided more support and help than I realized during my high school years. When I was in high school, she worked at Cal-Aero, a flight training school for the U.S, Air Corps in Chino, California and during summer months she arranged for me to work as a mechanic’s helper at this facility in Chino which supplemented our household income. It was not until I reread the letter mentioned above that I realized how much she depended upon me for emotional and financial support.
So, when we put into the Charleston Harbor, I went to the Office of the Secretary of the Navy and requested a discharge by resignation of my appointment. As a cadet, I held an appointment as Midshipman in the U.S. Navy Reserve as well as with the Merchant Marine Reserve. It was thus necessary to go through the Secretary of the Navy to be released from my appointment. I knew I was needed at home and I also knew that my life as a merchant seaman which I had experienced during these months at sea was not a life I wanted to pursue. I also knew that I had a record of extreme sea sickness each time we put out to sea and so I used that record as the reason for my resignation. My resignation was accepted after a court hearing and I flew back to California.
My mother and her sister Ethel Webb had been in communication during my absence wherein my Aunt Ethel invited us as a family to move onto their farm where there was a dwelling, rent free, and they would help us reestablish our family in Oregon and where there was a strong branch of the Church wherein we could become involved.
Within a few days after my arrival home from Charleston, we packed all of our belongings and moved to Goshen, Oregon to begin a new life with my Mother, Phyllis, Vivian and Loren. That decision to resign and move to Oregon was a life altering decision that was prompted by the gift of the Holy Ghost given as a constant companion to those who accept Him. Not only did that decision alter my life, but the lives of everyone in our family.
Recently while searching for family records in Ancestry.com, I came across a “List or Manifest of Aliens Employed on the Vessel (Marine Marlin) as Members of Crew”. The list was for the voyage of the Marine Marlin from Yokohama, Japan to Tacoma , Washington; leaving Yokohama on December 25, 1945 and Arriving in Tacoma, January 6, 1946 at 5:20 pm. It was a three page Manifest giving the names of all crew members starting from the Master (Captain) to the least crew member . The page for the engine room employees is shown above where I am listed as the Eng. Cadet. I had forgotten the name of the Deck cadet assigned to the ship in Portland, but this manifest gave his name, age, height, weight and physical marks as it did for all. The manifest shows that most employees began their assignment to the ship on November 29, 1945 in Portland, Oregon as was for myself which was the day we left Portland. Since the voyage from Portland to Japan took 21 days, we must have arrived in Japan about December 20 and left for Tacoma on December 25, 1945 (Christmas day). Through census research, I found that my companion and deck cadet, Herman Moskowitz, had a family in Texas and that his grandfather was born in Russia and probably was a Russian Jew. The list of crew members also reminded me of some of the engine room engineers and staff. It was latter during a voyage to the Philippines on a similar troop transport ship while serving in the U.S. Army that I met my old friend and Chief Engineer, George Cobb, who was working on our troop carrier as a First Assistant Engineer. He invited me to his quarters to talk and to use a shower of fresh water if I wanted to use it. Showers for the GI’s aboard ship were salt water showers and few GI’s ever used them.
With this as background, I have copied the letter from my Mother to me which gave me some insights that I had not had before and I hope it illustrates the point of this Blog. Learn from history who you are.
(The photos above are of the two cadets visiting Mt Hood, Oregon in 1945)
"My Dear Son, Royal
May 7, 1972
I want to tell you a few things that have been in my heart for years now on your 45th year of your life.
When the nurse laid you in my arms on May 7, 1927, I guess I was the happiest Mother in the world and your father was also very proud and happy to have a son to carry his name. We had planned and waited for this day for nine months. We were very happy and I was very much in love with your father. We often talked about how many children we would have and as all parents we had great plans for your future.
You have filled every dream we could have had for you that day. You are a fine, clean, honest man who has acquired an education for yourself without any help from your parents.
I shall always remember what a comfort you were to me as you were growing up, you seemed to understand my problems, and I could depend on you to assist with the other children while I was away from home working.
When you graduated from high school, I knew it was time for you to get away with men. I had done the best I could as mother and father, and I knew the draft would soon take you.
You were selected for the Merchant Marine cadet school and soon left home. My heart was broken to let you go. But I knew you had to leave the protective care of a mother and learn to take the hard knocks of the outside world. I loved you so much and missed you so much, as now you were a grown man, and it would have been nice to have you home with me. I had depended on you so much. I looked forward to your letters and the one or two visits we had with you before you left the west coast.
I became ill, discouraged and lonely for you, so you came home, maybe it was the wrong decision, but you did come home for a few months – little did I realize the draft board would grab you so soon.
But you were home when I really needed you, I was desperate. You assisted me in moving to Oregon and helped me for a few months until I could get work up there. How I hated to give you up again, but your country called and you left us once more.
I treasured all the wonderful letters I got from you, pictures and phone calls. It seems all my life I am waiting for news of my loved ones who have grown up and left home. I guess it wouldn’t have been so bad If I’d had a husband to help share this with.
Thank you for your thoughtfulness during your absence in those far- away lands, when so much was going on in the world. We Mothers do worry over our sons when they are in the service of their country. God was good and you did return home again.
Our desire was for you to go right into college, so soon you were enrolled in school; again. I’ve been proud of you all these years and felt so ashamed that I couldn’t be more help to you.
I was proud that you married such a fine LDS girl in the Temple of God and that you have led an active life in the Church. You inspired me to be a better person. I was happy to attend your graduation from Colorado State with a PhD degree, for I know that all the years you spent in school; were hard, but you stuck it out and completed your education.
Your invitation to attend the International Association for Hydraulic Research Congress held in Leningrad, Russia was such a thrill for me, and I was happy to be in your home when you left on that trip.
I know you have suffered great sorrow, had many difficult problems in your life, but you were strong and God has blessed you because you have been faithful and active in His Gospel. You are blessed with a keen mind, you have strived for knowledge, you have lived near your Father-in-heaven, and your Mother has always prayed for your continued love for the Gospel and your family.
You are the father of sven children that God sent to you to raise to the best of your ability. They are part of that little boy I held in my arms 45 years ago. I was very happy then and still so proud and happy now 45 years later.
You know that happiness now as you too have held a child of your own in your arms and prayed to God that they will be a joy to you in your retiring years of life.
You have been a good son, husband and father. Continue your work in research and your church and God will continue to bless you always.
I thank you for being my son, I love you very much and wish you a happy 45th birthday.
Love,
Mother"
Although letters are no longer written between family and friends, those that have written letters from the past should be cherished and held onto as a great treasure for they reveal thoughts and impressions that make family history exciting and interesting. If you have them you may want to share some of the content with your posterity.
I will share the above mentioned letter with my authors and readers of this blog that perhaps it may provoke you to write to a loved one more often. This letter brought back a memory in my life that I had forgotten and which I will attempt to share with you here.
In my own personal history, there is a chapter devoted to a period of time in my life when I attempted to become a merchant seaman. Due to the efforts of my sweet mother, I was selected to attend a four year educational program to be trained as a merchant seaman and become a Midshipman in the Navel Reserve which included three months of basic training, six months at sea on board a merchant vessel and three years in the Academy at Kings Point , New York. There were two options for training, engineering and seamanship, the latter would eventually lead toward becoming the Master (Captain) of a ship while the former would lead toward being the Chief Engineer on a vessel. I had chosen the latter.
After basic training, I had been assigned to a new vessel that had just been launched from the shipyard in Portland, Oregon. The ship was called the Marine Marlin and it was operated by Matson Navigation Company. I was in Portland for about two months while the ship was being outfitted for use on the high seas. The Deck Cadet assigned to the ship along with me as an Engine Room Cadet was a cadet from Texas by the name of Herman I. Moskowitz. His father was born in the US but his grandfather was a Russian Jew born in Russia. I was grateful for his companionship because he neither drank nor smoked and he seemed to live a virtuous life.
The Marine Marline was a Type IV troop carrier and by November of 1945 we were ready for a maiden voyage to Yokohama, Japan. The details of this voyage are given in my personal history and they are not repeated here. It is sufficient to say that I had severe motion sickness and it was difficult to work while at sea. After six months of assignment to this vessel and after three or four voyages we put into the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
Back at home in Upland, California, during my absence from home while serving as an engine room cadet as noted above, my Mother had been faced with numerous problems at home with my two sisters among other things. During my absence, she became lonely, depressed, and needed assistance with the family. I guess I had provided more support and help than I realized during my high school years. When I was in high school, she worked at Cal-Aero, a flight training school for the U.S, Air Corps in Chino, California and during summer months she arranged for me to work as a mechanic’s helper at this facility in Chino which supplemented our household income. It was not until I reread the letter mentioned above that I realized how much she depended upon me for emotional and financial support.
So, when we put into the Charleston Harbor, I went to the Office of the Secretary of the Navy and requested a discharge by resignation of my appointment. As a cadet, I held an appointment as Midshipman in the U.S. Navy Reserve as well as with the Merchant Marine Reserve. It was thus necessary to go through the Secretary of the Navy to be released from my appointment. I knew I was needed at home and I also knew that my life as a merchant seaman which I had experienced during these months at sea was not a life I wanted to pursue. I also knew that I had a record of extreme sea sickness each time we put out to sea and so I used that record as the reason for my resignation. My resignation was accepted after a court hearing and I flew back to California.
My mother and her sister Ethel Webb had been in communication during my absence wherein my Aunt Ethel invited us as a family to move onto their farm where there was a dwelling, rent free, and they would help us reestablish our family in Oregon and where there was a strong branch of the Church wherein we could become involved.
Within a few days after my arrival home from Charleston, we packed all of our belongings and moved to Goshen, Oregon to begin a new life with my Mother, Phyllis, Vivian and Loren. That decision to resign and move to Oregon was a life altering decision that was prompted by the gift of the Holy Ghost given as a constant companion to those who accept Him. Not only did that decision alter my life, but the lives of everyone in our family.
Recently while searching for family records in Ancestry.com, I came across a “List or Manifest of Aliens Employed on the Vessel (Marine Marlin) as Members of Crew”. The list was for the voyage of the Marine Marlin from Yokohama, Japan to Tacoma , Washington; leaving Yokohama on December 25, 1945 and Arriving in Tacoma, January 6, 1946 at 5:20 pm. It was a three page Manifest giving the names of all crew members starting from the Master (Captain) to the least crew member . The page for the engine room employees is shown above where I am listed as the Eng. Cadet. I had forgotten the name of the Deck cadet assigned to the ship in Portland, but this manifest gave his name, age, height, weight and physical marks as it did for all. The manifest shows that most employees began their assignment to the ship on November 29, 1945 in Portland, Oregon as was for myself which was the day we left Portland. Since the voyage from Portland to Japan took 21 days, we must have arrived in Japan about December 20 and left for Tacoma on December 25, 1945 (Christmas day). Through census research, I found that my companion and deck cadet, Herman Moskowitz, had a family in Texas and that his grandfather was born in Russia and probably was a Russian Jew. The list of crew members also reminded me of some of the engine room engineers and staff. It was latter during a voyage to the Philippines on a similar troop transport ship while serving in the U.S. Army that I met my old friend and Chief Engineer, George Cobb, who was working on our troop carrier as a First Assistant Engineer. He invited me to his quarters to talk and to use a shower of fresh water if I wanted to use it. Showers for the GI’s aboard ship were salt water showers and few GI’s ever used them.
With this as background, I have copied the letter from my Mother to me which gave me some insights that I had not had before and I hope it illustrates the point of this Blog. Learn from history who you are.
(The photos above are of the two cadets visiting Mt Hood, Oregon in 1945)
"My Dear Son, Royal
May 7, 1972
I want to tell you a few things that have been in my heart for years now on your 45th year of your life.
When the nurse laid you in my arms on May 7, 1927, I guess I was the happiest Mother in the world and your father was also very proud and happy to have a son to carry his name. We had planned and waited for this day for nine months. We were very happy and I was very much in love with your father. We often talked about how many children we would have and as all parents we had great plans for your future.
You have filled every dream we could have had for you that day. You are a fine, clean, honest man who has acquired an education for yourself without any help from your parents.
I shall always remember what a comfort you were to me as you were growing up, you seemed to understand my problems, and I could depend on you to assist with the other children while I was away from home working.
When you graduated from high school, I knew it was time for you to get away with men. I had done the best I could as mother and father, and I knew the draft would soon take you.
You were selected for the Merchant Marine cadet school and soon left home. My heart was broken to let you go. But I knew you had to leave the protective care of a mother and learn to take the hard knocks of the outside world. I loved you so much and missed you so much, as now you were a grown man, and it would have been nice to have you home with me. I had depended on you so much. I looked forward to your letters and the one or two visits we had with you before you left the west coast.
I became ill, discouraged and lonely for you, so you came home, maybe it was the wrong decision, but you did come home for a few months – little did I realize the draft board would grab you so soon.
But you were home when I really needed you, I was desperate. You assisted me in moving to Oregon and helped me for a few months until I could get work up there. How I hated to give you up again, but your country called and you left us once more.
I treasured all the wonderful letters I got from you, pictures and phone calls. It seems all my life I am waiting for news of my loved ones who have grown up and left home. I guess it wouldn’t have been so bad If I’d had a husband to help share this with.
Thank you for your thoughtfulness during your absence in those far- away lands, when so much was going on in the world. We Mothers do worry over our sons when they are in the service of their country. God was good and you did return home again.
Our desire was for you to go right into college, so soon you were enrolled in school; again. I’ve been proud of you all these years and felt so ashamed that I couldn’t be more help to you.
I was proud that you married such a fine LDS girl in the Temple of God and that you have led an active life in the Church. You inspired me to be a better person. I was happy to attend your graduation from Colorado State with a PhD degree, for I know that all the years you spent in school; were hard, but you stuck it out and completed your education.
Your invitation to attend the International Association for Hydraulic Research Congress held in Leningrad, Russia was such a thrill for me, and I was happy to be in your home when you left on that trip.
I know you have suffered great sorrow, had many difficult problems in your life, but you were strong and God has blessed you because you have been faithful and active in His Gospel. You are blessed with a keen mind, you have strived for knowledge, you have lived near your Father-in-heaven, and your Mother has always prayed for your continued love for the Gospel and your family.
You are the father of sven children that God sent to you to raise to the best of your ability. They are part of that little boy I held in my arms 45 years ago. I was very happy then and still so proud and happy now 45 years later.
You know that happiness now as you too have held a child of your own in your arms and prayed to God that they will be a joy to you in your retiring years of life.
You have been a good son, husband and father. Continue your work in research and your church and God will continue to bless you always.
I thank you for being my son, I love you very much and wish you a happy 45th birthday.
Love,
Mother"
