I was sworn into the Navy on 16 February 1944 at the age of 15 1/2. I was assigned as a gunner on the SS Selma. We sailed to Finschhafen, New Guinea, with supplies for the Army base there. We survived two torpedoes from a Japanese submarine. When you're a 15-year-old in the middle of men who are mature, you grow up in a great, big hurry.