The book "Growing up through the Depression and During the War" was written by myself, Tony Fiorentino, to give you an idea of how a young boy, along with his family, survived The Depression between 1929 and 1938. My mother passed away when I was seven (7) years old and from that point on I had to, more or less, depend on my own wits and knowledge and become a young man who went into the Naval service during the World War.
I spent most of my time on submarines fighting the Germans and Italians in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico patrolling and training other future Submariners.
After almost being sunk three (3) or four (4) times, two (2) of which were with the assistance of our own Coast Guard, I decided to transfer to surface ships. I fought the Japanese through many of the campaigns in the South Pacific helping to capture all of the islands between Hawaii and Japan.
There are a lot of horrible stories of war experiences witnessed and told by me in this book.
Following the Japan surrender, I was discharged at Lido Beach of Long Island, NY on Dec. 15th in 1945. I returned home to New Jersey and my family and took advantage of the GI Bill of rights, which entitled me to learn how to fly. There are stories about flying, boating, motorcycles and women.
I tried to catch up on all the things I'd missed, in the four (4) years of service duty. I kicked around in New Jersey for the next couple of years and finally moved to Brooklyn, NY. While there, I belonged to a gang and was getting into quite a bit of trouble, being young and wild.
I eventually joined the Merchant Marine where I served from 1949 to 1953 and then sailed with the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey during the Korean War, to ports in Texas and South America.
After a few bad experiences and ending up in jail in Baytown, Texas, I decided I had had enough of the Merchant Marines.
I once again returned home to New Jersey in 1953 and went back to work for the Construction Union. Having bounced around with my motorcycle, flying and following the recovery from a horrible crash on my Harley, I joined the Moose Club and thought more seriously about my future. While bartending there I met a girl and decided I would settle down and get married, again, at 28 years old.
I feel sure that when you start reading this book, you will find many interesting stories and chapters, as many people have told me The contents of this book is about, Love, Naval service in WW 11 war, merchant Marine, Marriage, Young fun, Flying, Boating, Motorcycles, life in New Jersey.
I hope you all enjoy it very much as I have, living and writing it. God bless you all. And best wishes for all of your desires and dreams.
Sincerely, Tony Fiorentino
