Bargain Basement War Heroes
What Did You Do in WWII, Grandpa?
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“What Did You Do in World War II & Beyond Grandpa?” Chapter #21 Part #1 Grandpa’s Story The following pages are excerpted from my original booklet written in 1996 and was entitled “Saint or Sinner” Non-Fiction (A Sorry Tale) In early 1942 while officer training at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy I shared a two level bunk with Abba Schwartz who with Eleanor Roosevelt’s help became Jack Kennedy’s Asst Secretary of State for Security and Consular Affairs before, during and after the assassination in 1963. Unfortunately, the HUAC investigation did not know I existed and therefore did not hear my true life story involving ABBA. Abba’s book “Open Society” seems to connect him to G. Soros “Open Society” organization way back then. Abba’s link to Immigration Reform and its effect is the genesis of today’s illegal immigrant disaster. Reference #1 Newspaper Article Titled “Deviates Still in State Dept” Reference # 2 Newspaper Article “On the Stand” Early in 1942 during World War II, I applied for and was accepted by the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point N.Y. The risk and publically perceived danger of the Merchant Marine Service was very high. We were seemingly losing the war then and our Merchant Ships were being sunk by the hundreds. My credentials were very nominal and not impressive but acceptable. In Oct 1942, I reported to the Academy and was assigned to section 251 which was quartered in Greyhound barracks, an old recycled CCC building, and was located right next to Chrysler building’s study. Our section was made up of 25 cadets and I, along with the others selected our own bunks, which were double tiered. After throwing my gear on to a lower bunk bed near the door another member of our section named Abba Schwartz prevailed upon me to give up the lower bunk to him which I did. Abba and I became friends or at least buddies in a way. The name Abba Schwartz like everyone else meant absolutely nothing to me. The only thing that was obvious is that I was a nineteen year old Boston Irish Catholic and that Abba was a 28 year old Jewish man with loads of credentials. I found out that he was a graduate of Harvard Law School and had a degree from Georgetown Foreign Service and was a partner or owner of a Wall Street Law Firm. Abba stood out as anachronism to the rest of the cadets which had backgrounds more like mine, but not necessarily Irish Catholic. In retrospect, Abba probably needed a “shipmate” to relate to, as things were completely topsy turvy, with school, war, routine, etc. Being a rather easy going naïve, young, and friendly cadet I firmly think now that Abba picked me to be friendly with, more than the other way around. He actually was a very savvy guy which I definitely was not. Unfortunately the Academy schedule didn’t leave much room for socializing but I was close to Abba Schwartz as could be. He was a Loner which did not bother me, however the more I dealt with him I saw some things that were really challenging. He went to great lengths to try to keep me as a friend or at least a “buddy.” Especially, since I had decided on a course of distancing myself. It was interesting though because I did not hob nob with rich intellectuals in my previous environment before Kings Point. I accepted this as a consequence of war. All my section mates were different and I think I got along pretty good with them all. Abba spent his cadet days much like I did; some of it now is very vague but many things stood out. I was brought up like most Depression Kids, at least in my family, work, school, church and “take nothing for nothing.” This personal quirk of mine turned into almost a game with Abba and me.
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About the Book
A World War II Merchant Marine combat veteran does more than just rock the boat with this book. This grandpa opens up a can of worms that should cause some “squirming” in high places, past, present, or future.
1. Kennedy’s assassination, Oswald, the State Department, Congress, and big name personalities are all featured and highlighted in Grandpa’s story within.
2. Accusations of a “criminal law” that was enacted by the wartime Congress, which removed every government benefit that the early volunteers for the Merchant Marine had and reclassified them as migrant workers.
3. Why was there acceptance of the never-ending scapegoating of these brave heroes, which was nothing but pure, self-serving lies and distortions by the press, broadcast media, politicians, and higher-ups in the military?
4. Read the absolute truth about the Merchant Marine that is related in this book. You can make up your own mind about the wartime Merchant Marine. Their wartime contribution to winning that war is incontrovertible. Why was the report to President Truman at the end of the war kept a war secret and not made available until 2009, sixty-five years later?
5. Read the author’s take on the wartime start-up of his alma mater, the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York, which is now considered the hidden treasure of our federal academies.
6. It is doubtful if any of our seamen, especially our African American volunteers, understood what really happened in the wartime Congress. Those thousands of widows and children who lost all benefits should force a federal disclosure of the facts, and the hope of this book is to put them all on full alert. The disclaimer and speculation is clearly indicated in the early part of this book. Read President Obama’s response.
About the Author
In 1940, Bernard F. Flynn graduated from Boston English High School, the oldest public high school in the United States. In early 1942, he was accepted as an officer candidate in the newly established Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York.
He sailed in deadly waters as a cadet trainee all of 1943 and graduated as a licensed officer in 1944. These ships supplied the war under combat conditions.
He went active duty afloat on a US Navy cruiser in 1945 and left the navy in 1947.
He got married in 1947 and raised eight children, but his youngest died at eight years old from a fall. He was employed as a sales rep in 1947 and became the president of a rope, cordage, and twine firm that he started and ran until 1993.
In 1990, his wife of forty-three years died of ALS. In 1993, he remarried. His second wife of fifteen years died from a massive heart attack in 2008. He presently lives alone in a ten-room house, keeping the home fires burning.
Publishing Credits The author has no other book efforts. However, he has numerous feature articles published after an interview, mostly in the Gannet News chain, local Westchester, New York, journal news. Most of these articles are included in his book, which details his seagoing tales.
He created a twenty-page booklet “Of and about the Class of 1944” which was distributed in 2004 to surviving grads at a homecoming and in fundraising mailings. First it was1500 copies, then another 1000 to the 1945 class. Several of his articles were featured in Memorial Day special editions and senior citizens’ newsletters.