#VirtualMemorialDay

As WWII continued, my father Jim Buck Bowen was in his 40s when he enlisted on 18 Aug 1944 into the U.S. Navy. He reported for duty on 29 Aug as an F2C aboard the USS Restless (PG-66) patrol boat.
9 Sept - 15 Sept many ships were caught in the 1944 North Atlantic Ocean hurricane. The weeklong storm was deadly. Dad's ship survived, but five naval ships went down at sea at the cost of 455 lives. Restless limped back to New York and on 27 Sept Bowen and other shipmates were transferred to the U S. Naval Hospital in Brooklyn.
7 Nov, he was released with an honorable discharge. Though short-term, I am proud my father was willing to serve.