Easter 1945 was one to remember

“Serendipity” is one of my favorite words in the English language, since it has played an important part in my life. The dictionary states serendipity is “luck or good fortune in finding something good accidentally”.

My most memorable serendipitous occasion occurred on Easter 1945, when I was in the Asiatic Pacific theater of combat during World War II, as a 20-year-old U.S. Navy sailor aboard U.S.S. LST 582.

We were in a 1,400 ship flotilla with over 500 U.S. Marine troops of the First Marine Division aboard heading for the D-Day Invasion of Okinawa held by the Japanese. The scheduled invasion date was April 1, 1945, which was Easter Sunday and also April Fools’ Day.

As we dieseled toward the target, the serendipitous incident occurred. My Aunt Angeline Cachey from Chicago, Ill., had written me that her brother, Fritz Lowery, was aboard PCS 1391 and to be on the lookout for it.

I had seen him only once when I was 5. Like a needle in a haystack, the PCS 1391 had been tied up to our ship to be refueled with diesel fuel. We had never refueled a ship before. How we were selected, I will never know.

Fritz Lowery was on the deck on his ship and shouted to me Happy Easter, “Mike”. We both recognized each other from photographs since I had not seen him for 15 years. If that was not a serendipitous occasion, I don’t know what is. The date was March 29, 1945.

Now for the rest of the story.

About 1950, I met Fritz at the wedding reception of our relative in Chicago. Recalling the serendipitous incident meeting in the huge convoy was certainly interesting to the attendees at the reception. A once in a lifetime memorable happening of a high seas rendezvous meeting of two World War II veterans arguably proud to be greatest generation persons.

Michael J. Lacivita is a Youngstown retiree and member of the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame and the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.