Joseph Marino

Joseph Marino

SSML2

I was born in San Francisco, California on November 13, 1926, and weighed in at 13 pounds and 6 ounces. My family and I moved to Santa Rosa, California in 1935.

I enlisted in the Navy when I was 17 years old and went to Boot Camp in San Diego, California on November 4, 1944. I went aboard the U.S.S. Nassau on February 5, 1945. I came from a family of Bakers. At that time there was no room for a baker on the ship. I was then put in as acook. That lasted about two weeks when some sailor in the laundry was promised the next position as a cook. I got bumped again, and took the job in the laundry. It turned out to be the best place on the ship. Early chow, every day liberty (when we were in port), no watches, and I pressed Blues for the shipmates at $1.00 each. We always had money. I was in what was called Ship Service Division (SS).

I had three memorable events. One was the friendship of the crew; then the day that Japan surrendered, VJ Day; and the trip to Tsingtao, China which was October 1945. We had two Marine squadrons aboard to lift off to Tsingtao. Those were the last planes, I remember, that flew off the Flight Deck. We had liberty that day, and saw the Chinese people and how they lived.

In 1946, we were assigned to the Magic carpet Fleet, bringing back planes, trucks, jeeps, etc. In May of 1946, we were given orders from Pearl Harbor to go to San Francisco, unload our cargo and proceed to Tacoma, Washington. On our arrival, the Navy Yard started decommissioning "The Nasty Maru". On June 15, 1946 I had orders to report to Pier 91 in Seattle. I left the Nassau, with about twenty men left out of the crew. At that time she was painted silver, ready for the Mothball Fleet in Olympia, Washington. I arrived by train (with square wheels) at Shoemaker, California. I was discharged from the Navy on June 26, 1946. My rank at the time was S.S.M.L. 2nd class Petty Officer.

I was married on October 6, 1962 at Reno, Nevada to my Merrilee. Together, we have five sons, nine grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

To end this story, I don't think getting together with the Nassau crew after all these years would have been possible without Sam Moore and his family. Thank you Sam, and God bless.