Harold Wellington was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts in September 1924. He had one older brother and one younger sister. His parents were farmers in New Hampshire and Vermont. Wellington grew up in Vermont. His father was a farmer and his mother was a housewife and helped on the farm. It was a dairy farm. They would ship the milk to Boston [Annotator’s Note: Boston, Massachusetts]. Wellington worked on the farm. His brother went to a trade school in Maine. Wellington stayed on the farm until he was 18 years old, then he went into the service. After Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], everyone was joining the service. He went down to join the Navy. They could not take him because they had too many men. He was told to go to the Merchant Marines. He wanted to go to sea, so he joined the Merchant Marines.

Harold Wellington remembers Pearl Harbor was attacked on a Sunday [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. They were on their way home from skiing when they heard about it. They knew their lives were going to have to change. His father would not sign the papers for him to join the service. He stayed on the farm until he turned 18 years old, then he joined the Merchant Marines in the fall of 1942. He went through boot camp like any other service. He learned how to launch and row a lifeboat. After boot camp, they went to a hotel in New York where they stayed until they were assigned to a ship. Wellington was assigned to a Liberty Ship [Annotator's Note: a class of quickly produced cargo ship], the Edward Fanning. Wellington was put in the engine room or fire room. He started off as a fireman. He did not have any training. He taught himself. There was a fireman, an oiler, and an engineer. He always liked engineering. He always wanted to work on farm equipment. When they were in port, the fireman was the only man on duty. He would sleep and read during his down time. They would replenish the food when they would get into port. They had a good baker. His first trip was to London [Annotator’s Note: London, England] and then back to New York.

Harold Wellington went into London [Annotator’s Note: London, England] in early 1943. While in London, they had a guide show them the famous sites. The Germans came over and bombed. Every night they would have to take cover. On the voyage to Europe, they did not have any problems. On the way back, the U-boats [Annotator's Note: German submarines] picked them up and followed them to the New York harbor. They attacked every night and morning. They relied on the Navy armed guard. They got along with their Navy counterparts. The Merchant Marines did not get paid more money. They did not get all the things they were promised after Roosevelt died [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States]. If they were not assigned to a ship, they did not get paid. Wellington saw a torpedo when he was on the bow of the ship. Another time when they went across from New York to the Mediterranean, a submarine got damaged and floated by them. They had a tough time in the Persian Gulf. He got by everywhere he went as long as they had money. Cigarettes were like gold, because they could sell them on the black market.

Harold Wellington thinks there would not have been a war effort without the Merchant Marines. They would not have had any supplies. In Florida, years after the war, was the first time he had ever seen a Merchant Marine hat. He was thanked by one guy who said they brought all the supplies and saved their lives. Wellington left the Merchant Marines in 1946. He was in Marseille, France when the war ended. The curfew did not mean anything when the war ended. The men went ashore and bought all the booze they could buy. His job did not change. After they had three years in the service, they could get out. A couple of years later, the draft board called and said he was never in the service and he was drafted into the Army in 1949. He served in the Army for a year, then they sent him home and said he would spend six years in the reserves. He hated the Army. He went to a Navy recruiter to get released from the Army. He spent four years in the Navy. He was a tank mechanic, but he always worked on jeeps. He was assigned to the 8th Anti-Aircraft Artillery. He was assigned to the USS Mississippi [Annotator’s Note: USS Mississippi (BB-41)] when he joined the Navy. He tested missiles in the Chesapeake Bay. This was new. Wellington was back in the engine room. He was the boiler tender. He was discharged in July 1954. When he came back from Europe, he was sent to Boston [Annotator’s Note: Boston, Massachusetts] for discharge. The USS Mississippi was the oldest ship. It was a World War One ship [Annotator's Note: World War 1, global war originating in Europe; 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918]. The USS Iowa [Annotator’s Note: USS Iowa (BB-61)] had air conditioning and was nice.

Harold Wellington loved being in the Merchant Marines. He loved the travel and the work. He could not get a job after the war ended. He is proud of his service. He is glad that is where he was. He did not get any benefits, but it was a great experience. Their reputation was known as drunken sailors. Today they are getting treated better. He is proud of his Congressional Gold Medal [Annotator’s Note: The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The Merchant Marine was awarded the medal in March 2020.] because someone has finally recognized the job they did. He thinks it is important to have museums. He is involved in a museum in his hometown. They have a room dedicated to the Merchant Marines. Not many people know what they did.