Navyman 1945

Ben Bauer 1945 ,

Yes I do look much too young and I am. I joined the Navy at age 15, but they didn't know it as I gave a false age when I enlisted in the
1940's , in Omaha, Neb. I took the oath to serve and defend my country. Boy were you ever lucky that I wasn't placed in a position where that was necessary.

Take a good look at this kid, now who would be afraid of him? This is a kid that anybody and everybody would love. I served my time and boy, did I ever get educated about life. It seems that I was in with a club of boys that were only interested in girls. with a bunch of guy chasing girls, there wasn't many intelligent conversations. Women or girls did not serve on board ships back in those days. But girls were few and far between on most stations that the Navy had. I happened to be assigned in the Aleutian Islands on Adak and Dutch Harbor. Eskimo girls were out of bounds if there were any around. Most women and girls were all state side. So all of my time was devoted to learning new trades and skills in the construction field. I was a good student and learned a lot of things that I would never use again. What I learned in the Navy, I now use in the bath tub.

A Bath tub Sailor