Navy memories of WWII endure

As a nonagenarian, the older I get the more difficult it is to clear the cobwebs from my mind. What is the alternative to growing old? Not a good one. It’s best to keep on going with life’s trials and tribulations.

Reflecting on one of my life’s most interesting and unforgettable memories would be was when I was a 19-year-old U.S. Navy sailor during World War II. I was a crew member of a newly constructed, large landing craft ship, the U.S.S. LST 494, built in Evansville, Ind., at the mouth of the Ohio River.

We began a seven-day cruise (called a shakedown cruise) down the great Mississippi River to New Orleans, traveling in daylight only for fear of getting stuck on a sandbar. This was a temporary assignment for me and the other sailors on the crew, which was called a nucleus crew.

I was the only one of the 30 assigned to the crew of the U.S.S. LST 582, formed at Chicago’s U.S. Naval Station Pier, waiting to pick up a new LST at Evansville, Ind. I made the identical trip down the Mississippi River for the second time.

The LST 494 participated in the D-Day Invasion of Normandy, France, while the LST 582 was in two D-Day invasions in the Asiatic Pacific Theater of Operations.

Another memorable event was going through the Panama Canal locks from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. It was an incredible one-of-a-kind experience for me. The Panama Canal was the U.S. Navy’s shortcut from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

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