Today my father, Benjamin W. Kelleher Jr. turned 93 years old. In honor of his birthday I am writing my first post!
My father and I have spent many hours together viewing the photographs that he saved from his Navy Days during World War II onboard the USS Dale W. Peterson, DE337. During the next few weeks I will be posting these images along with any identification or information that I have learned from my dad.
My father was 19 years old when he enlisted into the United States Navy in the Fall of 1943. He headed off to Boot Camp in Newport, Rhode Island via train and bus. After a few weeks of boot camp he had additional training at Virginia Beach and Little Creek, Virginia to become a radarman. In February of 1944 he joined a newly assigned crew in Orange Texas for the soon to be commissioned Destroyer Escort, the Dale W Peterson, DE-337.