The bad news about the Philippines kept coming every day. The Japanese were overrunning Asia. This affected my peace of mind, even though my parents, brothers and sisters were all dead. I volunteered for service in the Army or Navy, but I was rejected because I was a merchant seaman and I had a large family.

     Shirley's only brother, Toby, was a member of the Alabama National Guard and was eventually inducted into the service. Her mother begged us to return to Prichard to be near her, so that if anything happened to me she could help Shirley take care of our four children. The casualty rate among merchant seamen was high. During the six months following Pearl Harbor, scores of my former shipmates had been killed. We decided to comply with her wishes. Back to Prichard we went.

     We lived in the house Big Daddy gave us in Prichard. This was only temporary until we sold the equity in our Houston home and bought another house in Prichard.

     Mobile was booming like the rest of the country. Shipbuilding and other war industries stepped up their production. Getting a job would be a simple matter, for men were being drafted daily into our fighting forces. There was a great shortage of seamen in spite of premium wages, bonuses, and various fringe benefits; but I decided to work ashore until our Merchant Marine casualty situation improved. Having four children, with the oldest not quite seven, influenced my decision.

     Shirley's uncle, who at first was the most vehement and vocal person against his niece marrying me a Filipino and a seaman, at that finally accepted me and I became one of his favorites. He was a close friend of the owner of Constantine's Restaurant, a nationally famous eating place in Mobile. One phone call from Shirley Cochran to Gus Paniyatou, and I was employed as kitchen steward and store keeper at $250 a month. That was good wages at the time, but did not compare with what I was making as a ship's chief steward. I kept my seamen's union membership and attended the regular meetings.

     Though I was in a management position, my job at Constantine's was a great contrast to my position on a ship as chief steward. The workers at Constantine's were not unionized and Gus Paniyotou was a demanding boss. There were always vacancies at the restaurant, particularly in the kitchen.

     Shortly after I began work at Constantine's, the manager, George Manus was drafted into the Army. Then, Mr. Gus was hospitalized. I was left the sole "head" of Constantine's operation. In July, when I signed the monthly report, I was amazed to learn that Constantine's net profit was over $27,000.

     When Mr."Gus", as every employee called him, returned to the restaurant, I asked him for a raise. He turned down my request, promising me a bonus at the end of the year. I said nothing, but after two weeks, I told him that I had received a notice from my draft board, so I would be returning to my seafaring again. I left him on friendly terms. He even offered me a meal or a cup of coffee when I visited him later.

     To ship out was no problem. I took a ship that I knew would not go too far and would be home regularly. It was the Dr. Henry D. Whitton which was on the bauxite trade between Trinidad and other West Indies ports and Mobile. I was home every four or five weeks. My chief steward wages, with overtime and war bonus was more than three times Constantine's pay and I was able to save a good portion of my wages.

     Movement of U. S. merchant ships became a part of our military effort. Seamen no longer knew their final destination when they left port. The Whitton was an exception. We knew just about when we would return home. Even though merchant marine casualties were no longer publicized, we knew our ships were being sunk because we talked to the survivors in our union halls.

     I quit the Henry D. Whitton just before Christmas of 1943 to be with my family during the holidays. This is when I tried my hand at carpentry. Houses were being built at a rapid pace to meet the demand of the ever increasing number of people coming into the Mobile area to work in the shipyards and other war industries. I had to join the carpenters union, but it was worth it because I received top carpenter's wages. All I had to do was nail sheet rock. After hitting my fingers more times than I can count, I decided carpentry was not my line, and I answered the call of the sea again. I registered at the union hall to ship out.

     A newly built tanker, the Fort Ridgely, called an entire crew. I got the chief steward job. The Fort Ridgely, built at the Alabama shipyard, was outfitted with guns fore and aft and midship. Most of the crew came directly from the maritime school in Florida and had no sea experience. Only the chief cook had shipped out before and he had made only two trips. First, as a messman; then, second cook and baker; and now, a chief. If I had known what I was facing, I would not have taken that job. In Houston, we loaded high test gas for planes and then joined a convoy in the Gulf. After two days at anchor waiting for additional ships, we sailed for Europe. There were over two hundred ships in our convoy. Tankers were placed in the middle of a convoy and we could see only ships everywhere we looked. What a beautiful sight! Ships everywhere we looked as far as our eyes could see. There were five or six destroyers escorting us.

     The convoy had a smooth and uneventful crossing of the Atlantic. The day before we were to drop anchor some place north of England, a heavy fog enveloped the area. We could not even see the bow of our own ship from the bridge. We stopped our engines and sounded fog signals at short intervals. All of a sudden, another ship hit our bow. It did not penetrate the tanks. If it had, this story would not be written. As I mentioned, we were loaded with high test plane gas. The other ship, a Lykes cargo vessel, had a hole in her side big enough to drive an automobile through, but she did not sink.

     We docked at Plymouth, England. After the cargo was discharged, we returned to Albany, New York, where our ship was repaired. Shirley came to join me for the two weeks the ship was in the repair yard. We loaded gasoline in Hoboken, joined a larger convoy, and sailed for England this time without incident.