WWII blanket infused with memories

Rummaging through my closet I found a memorable World War II relic that I received on May 17, 1943. It was the day I was issued G.I. gear at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. This item was always very close to me, since it was my 76-inch-long U.S. Navy wool blanket.

After 65 years, it is still serviceable and not moth eaten, like it’s octogenarian owner. It is a well traveled G.I.. issue, which served me well, with many thousands of miles under its cover. It went through two D-Day South Pacific invasions, Luzon in the Philippines on Jan. 9, 1945, and Okinawa on April 1, 1945.

Snowstorm

It came in handy when our ship the U.S.S. LST582 was assigned to redeploy U.S. troops to places like Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan where we were caught in a snowstorm. Otaru is in northern Japan, not far from Vladivostok, Russia.

It was the only bed cover I had for 33 months. I sewed my initials MJL on it in black thread, so I could recover it after it was washed in our ship’s laundry.

If the blanket could only talk, it would spout out memories of over 60 ports of call in the South Pacific. I had never heard of many of them. To name a few, Pearl Harbor, New Guinea, Leyte, Guam, New Caledonia, Truk and Tokyo.

I had a big sea bag which held the blanket and a small duffle bag traveling to bases in the United States. They were my constant companion. Ports of call in the United States were Evansville Shipyards, down the Mississippi River to Mobile, then New Orleans, through the Panama Canal to San Diego.

Reflecting on the many miles I traveled on land and on the sea, a peace time journey of such magnitude would cost a fortune. Without a doubt my U.S. Navy World War II odyssey was the greatest experience of my life.

X Michael J. Lacivita is a Youngstown retiree and an inductee into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame and Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.