George Harrison Gilkey 1859 1932

Here are two photos of George Harrison Gilkey my Great grandfather.

He had three sons Charles Moses b. 1887, Henry M., b. 1890 and Joseph b. 1892

Charles Moses Gilkey 1889-1971

A Quote from George L. Gilkey's Book

The Gilkeys

"The Gilkeys are a substantioal dependable

folk, ready to support good causes in the

community. With a marked strain of social

and religious idealism which steadily recurs

in different branches of the family, with

Music and artistic gifts which are less frequent,

but marked when they do occur. And on the other

side of the family ledger, not gifted with a large

share of the world's goods. The "Scotch" strain makes

them very careful in the use of a penny

And a bit tenacious in holding on to it"

George L. Gilkey

From Scotland, England, Plymoth and Main Our Ancestors Headed For Kentucky

COLESBURG: " It appears that the area was settled at least by 1800. Most of the records form the early part of the nineteeth century are from St. Clare Catholic church which was established in the first decade of the nineteenth century. It is not known when the name of Colesburg was first applied to the settlement but it was in use for the station on the Louisville and Nashville railroad's main line by 1858-59. As one of the early settlers of the area was William Cole, it has been assumed that the town was named for him. The 1860 U.S. Census of Hardin County identifies the Colesburg area as Elizabethtown district No. 3. The Post office was renamed Colesburg in 1893."



"Colesburg gained prominence during the 1850's because of its geographic location at the foot of Muldraugh Hill. In August 1851, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad placed two surveying parties into the field to find the best route for a railroad from Louisville, Kentucky, to Nashville, Tennessee. The route was completed prior to October 1859 as that was when the first through timetable for the L & N route was published".



"The construction of the tunnels and trestles for the L & N railroad in the mid 1850's brought an influx of Irish Catholic immigrants to Colesburg. The Civil War, with its three nearby Union forts, also added to the growing population. There were three Union Army forts in the vicinity of Colesburg"

I'm checking out the eyes here. This is my great grandmother, my grandmother, and my father and me.

Here I had fun looking at the eyes of my father as a boy, me as a teenager, my grandmother as a child and her mother. What do you see?

These are my great grand-parents. The parents of Mary Claudia House.

Mary Elizabeth (Molly) Hill 1862-1926

Look at Molly's eyes here. I am certain I have noticed that trait in my father Ed's pictures. I will try and find an example.

This is William David House my great great grandfather b. August 10, 1862.

d. May 6, 1925. He is buried in the St. Clare Church Cemetery in Colesburg, in Hardin Co Ky.

Sadly I read that after the death of his mother the children were placed is seperate homes. In 1880 William David was living in the household of James J. Fowler. Seems I recall the mention of the Fowlers of Colesburg. William and "Molly" had three children. Thier first child James Roy was born on January 28th 1887 and died two years later. Mary Claudia ( my grandmother) was born at Bardstown Junction, Bullitt County, Ky. on November 25th 1890. The last born was William Harrell House born in Colesburg Ky born on Oct. 6th in 1899.

William David House married Mary "Molly" E. Hill on September 29, 1886.

* Photos were received from my cousin Donna Reid

* Information about this couple is from the Book "Samuel House (1610-1661) and His Descendants in Kentucky. by Thomas R. House

Meet Your Great Grandmother Mary Claudia House and your Great Great Grandmother Mary Elizabeth House

"Claudie's" mother was Mary E. Hill -d 1926 and her father's name was William David House. 1862-1925 (Your great-great grandparents.

Below photo from left to right. Claudie's little brother William Harrell 1899-1970, mother Mary Hill d. 1926 and Mary Claudia House 1890-1979


Above is photo of Mary Claudia House

Below is a quote from Thomas House's book.

"In the nearly four hundred years since Samuel House emigrated from England to Scituate in the Plymouth Colony, his descendants have grown in number to the tens of thousands. John Gerome House, who came to Kentucky in the late 1850's was the progenitor of more that 1,200 descendants in five generations. While the origin of this line of the family lies in tiny Colesburg, Kentucky, the family is now spread over most of the United States.
In the course of my research, I found that Samuel House was an interesting individual about whom much has been written. In England, he was persecuted, arrested and imprisoned for his religious beliefs. Samuel was steadfast in the support of his brother-in-law Rev. John Lothrop, and was on of Lothrop's followers who came to New England with him. In New England, Samuel House became a successful shipbuilder and real estate investor.
I have included stories about some of our ancestors that I found in my research, and which highlight details of their lives. For example, David and Nathaniel House, father and son, were Revolutionary War soldiers. Nathaniel House's pension application for service in the war depicts him as an elderly farmer in the process of losing his farm. Also highlighted is the volunteer service by Levi House with the 9th Kentucky Calvary in the American Civil War. While some of our ancestors distinguished themselves through military or public service, most were hardworking families making their way by farming."

Ancestors of Joseph Edward Gilkey

Before I go any further with the desendants of Joseph Edward Gilkey. I am going to take a break from Ed's life that is starting in Norfolk Va with his new wife and step-daughter. Here I will share the Gilkey geneology and a few photos of great-grand parents.

Four sources will be used for this information.

1. "The GILKEYS, A History of the Early American Gilkeys and their Descendants" by George L. Gilkey

2. "Gilkeys of Early Kentucky 1780 - 2000" by Kenneth Edward Gilkey

3. "Samuel House (1610-1661) and His Descendants in Kentucky" by Thomas R. House

4. Photo's were given to me by my cousin Donna Reid.

THE NEW YORK TIMES / FLEET DAY OCT 21,1945

The war is over and Fleet Day honors The Boise.

Front page article in in the far right column.

Honeymoon Photos

I am fairly certain that after this Ed was stationed in Norfolk Va. I love these happy photos. Looks like things are going well for them both. Gladys gets security after a trying time. Rebecca gets a daddy and Ed gets a beautiful gal from a large Louisville family.

FAMILY TIES

It is evident in these photos that Edward was indeed close to his family throughout his service in the Navy. His letters showed his committment to the Catholic faith handed down from his parents as he reported in most letters that he was receiving communion and attending services.

These photos show that while taking leave from his ship it was important for Ed to vist his family. I can imagine the pride his parents must have felt for him and his brother Stanley who also joined the Army during the war. Now it was time to have his own family.

Rebecca (Becky) will hopefully confirm where her and her mom went after Ed had to go back for duty. Records show that Ed came from Phila., PA. on leave to Colesburg and that in May he was stationed in Norfolk Va. The document I have lists Ed's permanent address as 2811 S. 3rd St. Louisville, Ky. I wonder if that was Glady's family address.

Ed Weds Gladys On Leave April 14,1945

Here are your grandparents on their wedding day. Both had survived the depression and the changes that WWII brought. Ed had been around the world fighting on the USS Boise and Gladys had lost her husband leaving her with three year old Rebecca Ann. Glady and Rebecca had moved to Florida after she became a widow in 1943. In March of 45 documents show Ed in San Francisco taking exams to become Chief. He must have wanted this bad as I see he scored a perfect 4.0 on all his tests. Apparently Ed went on leave while Gladys was visiting home and they decided to tie the knot! They certainly had come a long way from bib overalls and chicken coups! Ed came home and shared the news that he was to become an Officer in June. He became Chief Petty Officer Gilkey. Military records note that Edward's pay for his service was $151.80 per month!

It list's their address as 5323 Arthur Circle Norfolk Va. The document confirms that Ed had nine years of school. He was 5' 7" tall and weighed 148.

WWII OVER!

Fleet Day / New York Times Oct 21, 1945

Front Page: Column is on far right.

Gladys Becomes A Widow. May 26,1943

Rt: Rebecca and Gladys Weber

Albert Weber

Mrs. Alva Hayes writes the following in a letter to her son."My dear boy I know this is going to hurt you when I tell you poor Albert is dead. He died Tuesday May 26,1943 poor child how he did suffer and Gladys is sure taking it hard. Poor child left all alone with that baby to care for. The children and Aunt Praxie came to the funeral. Albert was buried yesterday at the grave yard out here at Beechview. He sure was put away nice and had so many flowers the whole room was full. Gladys is taking it hard. She is at home now and she wants to keep her place if she can this year anyway. She has a nice garden and lots of chickens. We will do all we can for her but it's going to be hard. Mom

I only know bits and pieces of what happened to my mother after her husband Albert died. Her daughter Becky would have to tell us that story. I believe Gladys left Kentucky and went to Key West Florida to work for the Dreyfus family. There she had support from her friend Mae Dreyfus. I recall my mother looking back fondly on her time in Florida. I believe her hard times were over now and she became very independent and close with her daughter Becky age 3.

According to letters to his mother, Edward moves on to his girlfriend Beverly in 1944. On April 29, 1944 Ed writes "Ask Bev to come over" "I gave Bev the fur".Nov 9, 1944 "Well what did Bev think of her blouse and skirt? I know she was surprised and I hope it fits her alright. Be sure and let me know. I had a letter from her yesterday."In a letter dated Mar 3, 1945 "This war is looking very good and all bets in our favor. The sooner it's over the better. Have you seen Bev or Gladys?" Love Ed

The Boise Gets Back In The War!

THE BOISE GOES BACK TO ACTION!

Boise City Honors the Men of USS Boise

L.A. Times November 20, 1942

Granddaddy's Shipmate Joe Fenton

Well I made another discovery tonight. It's a discovery that makes me feel somewhat heavy hearted, like I just discovered my fathers most private secrets. It's so amazing that my sister Claudia and I don't recall hearing about our fathers war time experiences. We only knew he was a Chief and that he dedicated his life to serve our country. It's even more amazing that I am discovering his story almost thirty-eight years after his death. A few years ago while I was doing all this military research on my father Ed, I found a shipmate from the Boise still alive. His name was Joe Fenton. We spoke on the phone two or three times as he gave me information.

One week he sent me a package of typed papers and a photo of himself holding a shadow box full of medals. At the time I was more interested in his medals than the papers. Tonight I opened the package and read the papers. It was his story of being on the U.S.S. Boise and his personal feelings concerning the war. No wonder my father never spoke of the war.

Joe began his story by letting us know a little of what life on the ship was like. "Getting used to Navy was something else, Beans for breakfast on Sunday mornings, fall in to do this and march to do that, learning a new job"."The days went by quite fast as a lot was really going on, we were kept real busy". "Being in Hawaii was great. The big battleships all around us at Pearl Harbor, ships going in and out all the time". On November 18, 1941 we go under weigh, left Pearl, and later in the day met up with five freighters. We had no idea where we were going or what we were doing. We all strung out in a line and the days went by. About four days later, the captain told us where we were going, bound for Manila Philippines."December 1941" A week or so went by, we were steaming at about 12 knots, rather slow, but of course had slow freight ships with us, did not know at the time but later heard the ships were filled with workers going to Clark Air Base."

We had been at sea two weeks and one night at about mid-night, battle stations come over the loud speakers, bugle's blowing man your battle stations, what excitement, makes your blood pump fast, but being woke up from a sound sleep hearing that, man! Did not know what was going on, we were not at war, the ships all stopped and our gun turrets all trained out to port side. Suddenly we could see ships in the far distance. Just shadows passing slowly by, I mean dozens of them, who they were we didn't know, (we knew after December 7). The only reason they never saw us, we were on the dark side of the moon, we could see so clearly, because they were between us and the moon". "We sat there about four hours, not moving until we knew for sure they were gone. If they had seen us I wouldn't be writing this now, thank God it was in the days before radar was being used. " "We were at radio silence so couldn't call anyone and tell them what we had just seen. Anyway we started on our way and got in Manila December 6. Just in time for the ship to have liberty. We all got ashore, port side first night, then starboard side the next night, strange thing happened though our liberty's ended with us being back on board at midnight. As soon as all were on the ship at midnight, we left port that night, strange"."The next morning, December 8 we suddenly went to battle stations at about 8am. An announcement came over the loud speakers that Pearl Harbor was under attack. Almost immediately an announcement came back that Manila was under attack also, there we were just 8 hours out of harbor on our way to Cebu which was a couple of hours ahead of us (what to do)? In just hours we got word that we were at war with Japan".

JOE'S ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE OF ESPERANCE

"You will have to understand a lot more went on than I can put down here. Some things I don't want to, Some thing's I have spent a lifetime trying to forget. All of the second deck was on fire, everyone forward of the bridge was dead, killed either by concussion, shell fire, or drown when they turned the water into the powder rooms. The three forward turrets were hit by direct shell fire, captains bridge blown apart, but before the 126 men died they knew we had done some damage." "Action from time we started to the end was twenty seven minutes. I found out later that we were firing by ourselves. That is why we took all the hits. The Japs thought we were alone. Well the "Galloping Ghost" as we called our ship lived! "Wed. Oct 13th all bodies were out of turrets now, terrible job, can't get to the bodies down below yet, as we have to be able to pump out the rooms. That afternoon we got the bodies sewn into bags and we had all hands not on watch stand aft and we buried them at sea, 64 men, took all afternoon".

"When we arrived in Santos all the ships at anchor gave us a cheer as we went by and dipped their flags. Now we had the terrible job of going down below and getting out those bodies. A few days later, after the bodies were buried on the land we up anchor, and left for the USA. We had to get repaired as there was a lot of war to fight yet."Joe's Account of the Invasion of Italy"The invasion was about to begin, we moved into towards the land off of Salerno Italy, and pounded away at the beaches. The Germans were attacking all day long and we were taking a heavy toll on them. The army started in, in there landing boats, and a lot of them were not making it. Finally Gen. Patton asked if we could do anything about a division of German tiger tanks just over the hill out of sight of the beach. They were shooting up the landing craft badly, we said sure could, if you give us a little fire support. So Patton put a Lt. up on a hill, this guy was good. He directed our gun fire and we knocked out the whole division. We got a presidential citation for that. (The whole ship)".

On the next wasn't too good. We shot down 28 of our own airplanes loaded with our own paratroopers, it was terrible, they came at dawn, weather cloudy, they gave us no recognition signal, had no knowledge of them coming. All the ship started firing, and we weren't missing much. They were flying low, could have been Germans, we didn't know. That night and the next morning bodies floated all around us. We were under heavy attack by the German Air Force." During all the shooting our sister ship pulled in between us and the shore where we were firing. We put a shell right into her. Soon there were no other jobs to do. We headed back to the states. What a reception we got as we pulled into N. Y.NEW GUINEA April 22, 1944"Thousands of troops went ashore today. Fighting went on all summer. Fight, rest, fight, rest. I am so sick of it. Death is always just around the corner or over the hill." (January 1, 1945)

"General McArthur came on board and stayed with us several weeks. He used us as his headquarters during the invasion of Luzon. We saw 450,000 men going ashore. What a sight! We were down to soup and coffee. Don't know where Christmas went. We never had a chance to think about it." The USS Boise CL47 ended up with 13 Battle starsFour Japanese ships sunkSeven aircraft shot down13 landings in Pacific2 in Mediterranean area2 night surface engagements42 months in war area at one time"Only God knows how many men we have killed""I always think that perhaps we could have prevented the whole thing. It we had only got the alarm off Dec. 7th when we saw the Jap fleet headed to Pearl Harbor. Maybe we could have prevented this war. I get real sad about it""If the Boise had made any move that evening, the US fleet would have been destroyed and it would have cost us our lives."

Mr. Fenton also mentions another book called "The Lonely Ships" by Edwin P. Hoyt. that details the battles of the USS Boise.

Fleet Day / New York Times Ocg 21, 1945

BOISE SINKS SIX SHIPS

I teared up a little when I found this photo. Ed was on this ship coming home from a terrifying event. Many of his friends possibly died the day before. It gave me a real sense of pride to see this photo.

“ In twenty-seven minutes the Boise had taken on six enemy ships north of Guadalcanal – two of them heavier than herself—and all six are now at the bottom of the sea” excerpt from Pick Out the Biggest by Frank Morris

A quote from the book “Pick Out The Biggest” by Frank Morris

"The damage control officer was on a micro phone giving a blow by blow commentary of the battle. He noticed men around him going tense with expressions frozen on their faces". “No one was saying a word” “In the stillness of that crowded central station, deep in the Boise’s interior a voice boomed out in baby talk: “Daddy- I want to go home now!” “Grins spread as men settled back and relaxed”.

Quotes from Ed after an interview with the Louisville paper.

•“A damage control officer volunteered to man a microphone on the ship’s loudspeaker system and broadcast a running account of the battle from reports relayed to him by phone from observers on deck”.
•Ed said “ I was below deck at a control station listening through ear phones to check if other control stations were in order. I probably knew what was going on more than most crew members.”
• “When Jap shells struck the Boise, the shudder was like a sudden slack on a train”
•“None of us left our post, there was too much to do”
•Ed confesses that the only time he was scared was when he heard the reports that the torpedoes were headed towards them.
•Ed’s proudest moment was when the Boise sailed into an American port for repairs. “The workmen stopped work, cheered, whistles blew, and a band played!”

THE BATTLE OF ESPERANCE

•The BOISE sailed again on April 4, 1942 and rejoined the Pacific Fleet. May 18,– 24, 1942.
• They were ready for sea by June 20, 1942. On July 14, she arrived in Auckland and on July 17, she sailed for Pearl Harbor arriving on the July 25, 1942
•On August 6, 1942 The Boise was in enemy waters. Two sea planes scouted about 550 miles from Tokyo. Those two sea planes never returned and were never found.
•On Sept. 14, 1942 BOISE put to sea with Task Force 64 to participate as covering and support for the purpose of landing the U.S. Marines as reinforcement on Guadalcanal.
•On Sept 16, 1942 the Boise joined Task Force 64. They put out to sea on Oct 6, 1942 on a raiding mission off Guadalcanal to break up the Tokyo Express which was nightly delivering reinforcements and supplies to the Japanese at Cape Esperance on Guadalcanal. On Oct 11, 1942 they were ordered to attack and the Battle of Esperance was fought that night. The Boise sunk six Japanese ships under fire, it sustained extensive damage from enemy fire, and suffered personal casualties. One hundred and seven men lost their lives that evening. Due to the damage sustained the ship was ultimately sent to the States for repairs, arriving at Philadelphia Navy Yard on November 19, 1942.

After reading about this battle I was very surprised. Dad had never talked about this experience to me or anyone as far as I know. This information has made a few things more clear in understanding my father's personality. I wanted to know all about this experience he had been through. My research helped me to locate three books about the U.S.S. BOISE and Battle of Esperance. I will list them below.

•"With All Our Might" by Vincent A. Langelo
•The Battle of Cape Esperance" by
•Charles Cook
•“Pick Out The Biggest” Mike Moran And The Men Of The Boise by Frank D. Morris

THE UNCHARTED REEF

(This article was discovered in a L&N magazine.)
Click on article to read it.


•On November 11,1941, Boise departed Pearl Harbor as ocean escort for a troopship convoy bound for Manila. The convoy arrived in Manila on December 4, 1941, and two days later Boise was ordered to proceed to Cebu to rendezvous with the SS GERTRUDE KELLOGG and escort her to Honolulu.
•Thankfully Ed had not arrived in Hawaii but was still on his way to Cebu when the Japanese hostilities began on December 8. He just missed the bombing of Pearl Harbor by days. The Boise was now ordered to join the USS HOUSTON for duty in the U.S. Asiatic Fleet, Task force 5.
•On January 20, 1942 Ed experienced his first action against a Japanese advance. He describes this experience in the L&N magazine article.

On January 21st Ed’s ship struck an uncharted reef in Sap Strait sustaining severe damage to the bottom of their ship. They had to turn back and head to Colombo, Ceylon, and finally to Bombay India for repairs.. Meanwhile the ships he had been with continued and were all sunk in a battle. Ed lived because his ship was damaged by an uncharted reef!

1942

JOSEPH EDWARD GILKEY June, 1942 in Callifornia visiting his sister Lucille.

ON LEAVE IN HAWAII

(Ed is pictured on the far right)

In a letter dated October 1940 Ed expresses his hopes that Wilke doesn’t defeat Roosevelt. Ed hears in August of 1940 that Gladys is going to have a child. (Rebecca Anne was actually born in April) He then reports going out and having fun dancing, movies and having steak. According to his naval record he was getting tested for leadership and mechanical ability at this time.

•In June of 1941 Ed was in Pearl Harbor
•On June 26, 1941 he made second class.

•In August of 1941 Ed tells his mom he is writing

Beverly.

He tells his mom “I intend to stay single

awhile now”.
•Ed’s weight is 147 lbs and says “it is too hot to eat much”. On Sept. of 1941 Ed was headed to Long Beach California.

Ed tells his mother that he is going to mass and holy communion.

Ed continues to sign his letters to his mom with “Oceans of Love”, Edw.

1938 HEADLINES IN AFRICA

Here are two of the four seaplanes from the U.S.S Boise flying over Cape Town Africa.
After the Boise passed their final sea trials in January 1939, she operated with the U.S. Pacific Fleet. The ship had a brief visit in Long Beach, California in September, and then returned to Pearl Harbor in October 1941. The Boise then resumed operations with the Fleet. During WWII two of the four planes from the Boise were missing in action.

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Letter To Mom February, 1939

“Dear Mother and all, I received your letter in Boston and was glad to hear from you all. We were delayed on day on account of bad weather. It snowed and the wind blew so hard. We just set out in the harbor and let her snow. We had nothing to wear. But of course we had plenty to eat and a nice warm place to sleep and a radio to listen to until ten O'clock. It was so bad we didn’t get to go ashore. We made a test run Wednesday and started at six in the morning and finished at five in the afternoon and the ship really took a beating. We made all kind of run’s and tests and it stood up, so I guess the government has accepted it”.
“It is nice and warm here in Portsmouth and I hope it stay’s that way”

Letter from Ed to his mom from Guantanomo Bay Cuba March 20, 1939

“Saved fifty dollars so far”
“I don’t spend much money and don’t
go to shore that often.”

Ed always lets his mom know he goes to mass every Sunday!

In 1939 Dad reports being in Boston. Portsmouth and Cuba

Signed, “Oceans of Love” Edw.

Isn't it great how he signed this letter? That's a lot of love to be sending to his mom. It was clear that he didn't want his mother to worry about him. It was also very clear that Ed wanted his mother to know that he was continuing to go to church every Sunday. Ed really loved his mom!

I highlighted the above quote about Ed saving his money because it contradicts what I was always told by my sister. I was always told that Gladys Hayes decided not to marry Edward Gilkey because he wasn't saving his money. Gladys Hayes married a man named Albert Weber from Louisville while Ed was out to sea. He was notified by a friend that Gladys was going to have a baby. SNAP!

LETTERS (1938)

Letter from Ed to his mom. October 10, 1938

( Sometimes I will only be writing bullet points from Dads letters because his penmanship was a challenge to read.)

At this time they were testing Ed's ship before the shake down cruise.
Ed got sea sick and had head aches.
He found the shooting of the seaplanes off the deck was most exciting. “ the first one almost cracked up and I liked to have swallowed my tongue” he said. “After they took off I was ok”
“While we were trying to get tied up the propeller guard slid over the dock and the propeller hit a pilling and messed up the propeller”.
“I went to holy communion”
“Don’t worry about me on my cruise”
“The pictures were real good. You should have yours by now. Don’t be ashamed to show your good looking sailor son off” “I know you will have it setting right on the dresser where you can look at it all the time"." I sent Gladys Hayes one too”. We will sail for Philly tomorrow”
“Hope to see you Christmas. Don’t worry about me”.
“I told Gladys to come out and see you all and that you would be glad to see her. So treat her nice. She was always crazy about you and dad”.
***********************************************************************
Letter to Ed from his cousin Leona Lyons, Ky.
October 10, 1938
Dearest cousin,
“Well here I am slow again, I received your letter some time ago and have failed to answer it. We had company Saturday night and yesterday Aunt Claudie, uncle Charlie and Stanley. Aunt Claudie said you were leaving in a few days and for me to be sure and write to you. We sure were surprised and glad to see them all”.
“You should have been here, we had music Saturday night. Buddy plays the guitar, other boys play fiddle, mandolins and jug. Mama plays the organ and also Buddy plays the French-harp. The girl he goes with plays the mandolin. Yesterday evening we put some hay in the truck and went hay riding. We all had a big time. Uncle Henry is working in Louisville.
Marvin still has his job in the bank at Hodgenville. His wife works in the county agent’s office. They have a nice small home and a car”.

“ Uncle Albert and the boys are keeping house. He doesn’t have any work only odd jobs.
We were glad to hear of your success in the navy and hope you will continue to have success. A warning : Don’t get stuck on one of those African girls while you are gone”!

Your cousin,
Leona Gilkey

DAD CROSSES THE EQUATOR

Ed was sent to Virginia to be on a brand new ship. On Oct 17, 1938 the Boise left Norfolk Va. for it’s Shake Down Cruise. It docked in Monrovia, Liberia, then crossed the Equator on November 6, 1938. The BOISE also stopped in Cape Town, St. Helena, then back to Norfolk, Va. after traveling 13,916 miles. The photo above is actually a memento pillowcase saved my Ed's mother. This was given to me by my cousin Donna.

USS Boise May, 1943 as seen from the USS Yorktown.