Memories of a Grandfather

I was going through my boxes of mementos that my mother had left to me when she passed away a few years ago. Among the many items that she kept as “important” were two reports that were written about my father. But these were not the typical ones as they had been written by two of his grandchildren – my son, Chris, and my niece, Alissa.

These are the kinds of things that make for real memories and represent two snapshot views of him through the eyes of his grandchildren. I wonder what my grandchildren will write about me?

            ----------- My Grandfather’s Trip in World War II ---- by Chris Russell ----------

This is the story of one man’s experiences (my grandfather’s) during World War II. It is not the typical story with guns, bombs, airplanes, and fighting. But it is all true, and shows that there were other aspects to the war than made the front pages.

My grandfather served from 1944 to 1946. The reason he was not in the service earlier was because he was one of the designers of some important army equipment. When he was finally drafted there was an army officer who asked people which branch of the service they wanted to be in. But no matter what they said, he would stamp their papers “Army” even though he could have stamped them something else. Just as my grandfather got up to the front of the line the army officer left and a naval officer took over and he started stamping every paper “Navy”. That is how my grandfather got in the navy.

After some training in New York and San Francisco, my grandfather sailed on a ship from California going to New Caledonia, an island in the South Pacific. He has a certificate to show that he crossed the equator on that trip. When you cross the equator for the first time you are supposed to be thrown in the water (they had a swimming pool on the ship). But they missed my grandfather.

My grandfather was assigned to serve on a small sip that was only 100 feet long and 17 feet wide. The ship had a rounded bottom (which is why the ship rolled so easily). It had three floors. The engine room in the hull (which is where my grandfather worked), then there were the dining hall, the bathrooms and the crew’s quarters on the deck, and the bridge and the captain’s quarters right above the crew’s quarters. The ship had a crew of 17 including the captain. The ship was used to carry supplies to many of the islands in the South Pacific that were occupied by the United States so the Japanese wouldn’t take them over again.

The ship was probably a small fishing vessel that had been taken over from a fisherman when the war began. It was all wood and leaked badly. It had to be pumped out every few hours. Once when the pump broke down and they almost sank.

One of the stories that my grandfather told me was when some army soldiers had to transported to another island. They were picked up in the bay surrounded by coral reef. When the boat started out to sea the army men said that they would rather be in the navy because the sailing was smooth. But when the boat passed through the coral reef and into the choppy sea they ate their words. What did they do? They hightailed it to the nearest rail with bad cases of nausea.

Another story that my grandfather told me was at meal times you took your plate in one hand and your cup in the other. When the boat stopped rolling you set your cup down, took a bite, and then picked your cup up again. But sometimes that didn’t work and the food would go everywhere. Once my grandfather thought that if he put the plate on the other side of the table it would slide down to him. It did not work and he got food all over the place.

The natives one [sic] the islands that they carried supplies to were very friendly and would help each other when one of them needed help. When my grandfather and the rest of the crew would stop at an island the natives would come out to the boat in canoes full of stuff to trade for clothes and they wouldn’t leave until they sold all their stuff.

The man operating the controls to the engine was below deck and could not see out so the captain signaled to him with bells and a tube that he could shout through. Once the controls wouldn’t work and the boat couldn’t slow down coming into port where it smashed into the dock. Both the dock and the ship suffered damage.

When the war was over my grandfather came home in a large ship convoy. They were traveling at 7 knots (which is slow) because the slowest ship in their group could only go that fast. They stopped in Hawaii and had a day to relax. Then when they go to California and from there headed up the coast before they were released. Ten days after he finally got back to Connecticut he purposed [sic] to his girlfriend (my grandmother). They were married 5 months later.

                        ---------- Grampy --- by Alissa Rumsey ----------

When I got on the phone with my grandpa he laughed and said, “I’m honored to have you interview me!” I could picture Grandpa, his medium height body sitting in his living room on his favorite leather chair, his blue eyes laughing, and his bald head gleaming. He always laughs, and he is so friendly. Once, when we were in line at Dairy Queen, he struck up a conversation with the women in front of us. Wherever we are, if there are people, he will start talking to someone.

I asked Grampy about his days in the Navy. He told me in a quiet voice that he had picked the Navy over the Army and the Air Force when he was drafted in. He liked where they were stationed (which was in the South Pacific). Since where they were stationed was below the line of fighting, he did not see any “action”. Grampy also told me about what he remembers most, which was the South Pacific natives, and they way they lived. When a house needed to be built the men and boys built it, while the women watched the children. It didn’t cost them anything. “It was a very different from our way of life,” Grampy told me. “They lived simply.” Grampy and the other men on his boat often got seasick because of the rolling and rocking motion. He said it was the worst part of being in the Navy. They had to eat very carefully. “It was very interesting,” Grampy said with a laugh.

“I see one!” my brother shouts. “Over by the telephone pole!” My brother and I are driving to the lake with our Grandparents. One the way, we are helping Grampy with his hobby – collecting cans. My brother, Ben, and I love taking car rides with Grampy because it gives us something to do. We look for cans and when Ben, Grampy, or I spot one, he pulls over and picks it up. You will always find at least one bag of cans in Grampy’s car trunk. Sometimes Ben and I go with him and help him sort them at the store.

The reason Grampy can take us places is because he has so much free time. That is what Grampy likes about his age. He doesn’t have to work or keep a schedule.

When I asked him what makes him most proud, he got quiet then replied, “The thing that makes me most proud is my wonderful family. All my children and grandchildren, and all the love."

Grampy’s biggest responsibility is living and loving every single day in his house in Wolcott, Connecticut, where he my grandma have lived for over fifty years.