“This is home, and so big too.”
Pictures are also from Bill Bass’s time in Boot Camp in Great Lakes and elsewhere.
The U.S.S. Midway, my father’s ship, passes a smoking volcano while sailing across the Mediterranean, 1952. Home away from home, and far away indeed. The volcano is Mt. Vesuvius on the edge of Naples, Italy.
Bill Bass, U.S. Navy. 1948-1952. My Dad before he even met my Mother. These pictures survived my house burning down in March 2010 and thus some damage remains evident. Life is messy.
These picture frame glimpses of my late father, William Merritt Bass, known as Bill, from old fotos and papers recovered from my 2010 house fire. He served in the United States Navy from 1948 to 1952. Bill Bass started out, as did many new sailors, at the historic Recruit Training Command Center at Naval Station Great Lakes. This was boot camp, in the midst of a bitter cold winter, located on Lake Michigan, in the upper NE corner of Illinois between Chicago and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The majority of his Navy years, however, was spent upon the U.S.S. Midway, an legendary aircraft carrier rich in history. Born, raised, and educated in Virginia, Dad lived his entire life in his native Commonwealth except during his time in the military and when he was traveling. Dad was proud of his service to his country during the early Cold War.