USS Newell and My Dad on Veterans Day

My brother has it now - the scrapbook our dad meticulously maintained and chronicled his twenty one years of Coast Guard service. My dad never talked about the adventures per se, but it seemed to be the happiest - and scariest - times in his life. He has a few medals from WWII and Korea. He even kept a few of his uniforms and is buried in one of them. He and my mom, who was a Navy veteran, are resting at Florida National Cemetery side by side. I remember visiting ships as a youngster whenever my dad was in port, and even after he left the service. He loved the water. There was an account of one of the ships he served on - the USS Newell - among the photos and trinkets. He must have requested it from the Navy Department in 1952. It tells the history of the ship and the role it played in WWII. My dad was in the engine room, where the hatches would be closed off in the event of a torpedo strike. It happened in a convoy in North Africa but luckily his ship was not hit. The photos of the event are somehow lost, but I remember looking at them - explosions, picking up survivors ... today is the day we honor all these servicemen and women on Veterans Day. It is well deserved.