[Folducker]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

You make sure you tell your mother I (some guy on a forum) personally said thanks for her contributions.

I see there is a lot more to that office than just getting orders for the next patrol. Problem solved. Thanks

Before Mom passed, I had a discussion with her about her WWII service working at Boeing. (They loved the B-17 because it was easy to rivet but they hated the B-29 because the flush rivets were a lot harder to install). When I asked her how it felt to have a hand in saving the world, she said this; “Being the oldest of a family of 8, my life consisted of working on the family farm, pretty much as an unpaid worker, seven days a week with no end in sight. When the chance to move from North Dakota to Seattle came along, we jumped on it.” (The “WE” was her and four of her five sisters). “The best thing about it was I met your father in Seattle.”

He was recovering from wounds received on board the Essex in November of 44.
He had went through the battle of the Phillippine Sea, with the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, The Battle of Leyte Gulf, and a horrific Typhoon. Up until that time, the ship had led a very charmed life, but on November 25 it was hit by a Kamikaze. 15 killed, 44 wounded. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up as one of the 44.