WWII experiences are priceless

It is estimated by the end of 2017 only about 500,000 of the World War II veterans out of the 16,000,000 who served will be alive. Since about 500 are dying each day, we will be extinct like the Civil War generation and long forgotten.

At 93 I am thankful to be above ground rather than under it. I thought of it as a two theater global conflict, the European and Asiatic Pacific conflagration. I served for 33 months in the U.S. Navy about half of it in combat in the Asiatic-Pacific sector with two D-Day invasions under my belt: Jan. 9, 1945, in Lazayen Gulf in the Philippine Islands and April 1, 1945, in Okinawa carrying troops of our First Marine Division.

I was a Second Class Petty Officer in the engine room of the U.S.S. LST 582, and at times I felt I would never see the light of day again. Recalling some memorable events, a seven-day trip down the good old Mississippi River on our shakedown cruise, from Evansville, Ind., shipyards to New Orleans, La., port. Traveling during daylight only for fear of getting stuck on a sandbar.

Then to the Panama Canal from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. It was our shortcut from one ocean to the other. Our first shipment was 38,000 cases of Budweiser Beer destined from San Diego, Calif., to Pearl Harbor. Each case contained 24 cans. Beer, beer, every where and not a drop to drink. We were forbidden to drink it. It was destined for troops in Pearl Harbor.

I entered the U.S. Navy still age 18 and was honorably discharged at 21. It was a 24/7 round the clock work schedule, with no overtime pay.

My first paycheck in May 1943 was $21 for a month.

Finally, a high school classmate of mine who was deferred (4F) from the military boasted that he had saved $20,000 while I was in the service, 10 times the amount I had saved, yet I would not trade my experiences for his. Amen.

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