Cecil James Reinsel

Dad served on the USS Menifee APA-202, a Haskell class attack transport ship commissioned in the U.S. Navy in November 1944, serving during the final months of WWII. Dad drove one of the landing carriers transporting troops to the shore for battle. One night when returning to the ship they found the Menifee had fled their anchored area in the Pacific as they were being fired upon. The landing carriers tied up together and huddled their bodies for the night to keep warm enough for survival. Thankfully the next morning the Menifee returned to pick up the landing carriers and drivers. The Captain of the Menifee was only 19 years old and Dad was only 17 years old. Dad quit High School, lied about his age, and enlisted in the U.S.Navy!