Louis John Walter was born in August 1923 in Sheldon, Iowa. He experienced no problems during the Great Depression. His father was a hard worker in life insurance. Walter's first job was in 1936 when he loaded Montgomery Ward catalogues on a freight train. He also worked in a food store. He graduated from high school about six months before America entered the war [Annotator's Note: Walter graduated in June 1941]. He attempted to enlist in the Navy but had less than perfect eyesight and was not accepted so he elected to join the Merchant Marine. He received his seaman papers from the Coast Guard and was on duty by January [Annotator's Note: January 1942].

Louis John Walter was first assigned to the SS James Buchanan [Annotator's Note: as a seaman in the Merchant Marine]. He served as a loader for the 20mm machine gun [Annotator's Note: Oerlikon 20mm antiaircraft automatic cannon] on the ship even though he was a civilian. Later, he learned to fire the weapon. It was a lot different than firing a .22 caliber rifle. He would eventually be a loader on the three inch and five inch guns. His daily duties consisted of serving the crew three meals a day from the galley. Each meal took several hours to prepare and distribute. His downtime was spent reading and watching sunsets. Unlike the military service branches, upon returning home there was no designated time to return to service.

Louis John Walter left San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California] aboard the William G. Fargo [Annotator's Note: SS William G. Fargo]. The first stop was in Australia. He cannot remember the cargo for the voyage. After another stop at the port of Freemantle, Australia, the Fargo sailed to Ceylon which is now Sri Lanka. Onward they sailed to Calcutta [Annotator's Note: Calcutta, India]. Masses of people were in the streets. He was impressed when he spotted an American flag being flown over what was likely a Consulate. It was quite a sight. After departing Calcutta, the next port of call was about halfway down the east coast of India. Ore was loaded there but Walter does not know the specifics. He did not deal with the ship's cargo. He does remember one passage when a cargo of beer was broken into by the crew. After a few weeks, the ship returned to Freemantle. It was the first time he had any dealings with marijuana. The first cook would get high on it. It was an eye opener for Walter who was the youngest man on the ship. Others on the ship helped him do the right things. Walter served as a messman on the voyage. The crew stayed in the Grand Hotel in Calcutta. The city was a culture shock for him. Walter returned to the United States on the Fargo. They sailed through the Panama Canal and docked at Baltimore [Annotator's Note: Baltimore, Maryland]. He went on to the west coast to catch another ship. He considers himself a west coast sailor. There was no problem signing on with another ship.

Louis John Walter next sailed on a tanker, the Fort Stephenson [Annotator's Note: SS Fort Stephenson]. He had papers indicating he could serve in the black gang [Annotator's Note: engine room crew] or as a deck hand. A deck hand seemed to be true sailors to Walter. They helped with the operation of the ship. Fighters were stored on the deck of the Stephenson for the voyage. There were several stops in Australia before going to Iran to take on a load of gasoline. He returned to Hobart [Annotator's Note: Hobart, Australia]. Hobart and Melbourne [Annotator's Note: Melbourne, Australia] were the only two places he docked twice. The discharge process for the tanker was slowed due to piping issues. After three weeks in Melbourne, the ship headed home. It reached New Zealand and halted while the crew attempted to repair the piping. Sailing on to Panama, the ship reached Mobile [Annotator's Note: Mobile, Alabama]. Walter saw his friend who was in the V-12 Program [Annotator's Note: V-12 US Navy College Training Program, 1943 to 1946]. After a brief stay in Atlanta [Annotator's Note: Atlanta, Georgia], he headed to New York [Annotator's Note: New York, New York] to try and join the action in Europe. He had been a member of the Merchant Marine and had only a slight head injury to show for his efforts to support the war. Later during the Korean War, he would serve in the Army in Hokkaido, Japan. In New York, he boarded the James Smith [Annotator's Note: SS James Smith]. While in the deck gang, Walter went through a four day storm which tore away parts of his ship. The galley was hit hard so the crew was relegated to sandwiches for a few days. The captain watched out for his young sailor during the storm. The Stephenson carried 20 fighter planes and aviation gas. It was hazardous duty. The planes were 51s [Annotator's Note: North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft].

Louis John Walter departed New York [Annotator's Note: New York, New York] on the James Smith [Annotator's Note: SS James Smith] in early June [Annotator's Note: June 1944]. Walter had been at the Radio City Music Hall watching the Rockettes when the show was stopped to announce the landings at Normandy [Annotator's Note: Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. A few days later, the James Smith joined a 105 ship convoy and sailed to Liverpool [Annotator's Note: Liverpool, England]. After a few days, the ship sailed to Omaha Beach where it was used as a supply ship. Its cargo was transported to shore in Ducks [Annotator's Note: DUKW; amphibious truck]. The Smith carried a locomotive on deck which required a crane to offload. The ship returned to Cardiff [Annotator's Note: Cardiff, Wales] after offloading its cargo. The cycle was repeated to bring on new cargo and offload at Omaha Beach. During this time, Walter and a friend donned GI [Annotator's Note: government issue; also a slang term for an American soldier] clothing and hitchhiked with an FFI [Annotator's Note: Forces Françaises de l'Intérieur or French Forces of the Interior, the French resistance] truck convoy. The two Americans made it to Paris [Annotator's Note: Paris, France] and spent three days. The streets were alive with celebrating Frenchmen. Walter and his companion were not given passes [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] but not missed on the ship. Omaha Beach had ships used as breakwaters. Walter and a buddy made their way to Carentan [Annotator's Note: Carentan, France]. When checked by MPs [Annotator's Note: military police] for a pass, Walter made it through the check but his buddy was caught. The GIs talked the MPs into letting the two civilians go. They spent the night in a foxhole. The next morning after eating, they returned to the ship. When he first went ashore at Normandy, artillery fire could be seen and heard in the distance. He arrived in Paris three weeks after it was liberated. Walter was an able bodied seaman at the time as were his companions on the two adventures ashore. While on one of the breakwaters, he and a friend activated a smoke pot that filled the entry area of the breakwater with smoke and briefly shut down transit. Returning to Cardiff and reloading, the James Smith sailed for Antwerp [Annotator's Note: Antwerp, Belgium]. After viewing a movie at a theater, a V-2 rocket [Annotator's Note: German Vergeltungswaffe 2, or Retribution Weapon 2, ballistic missile] landed on the stage the next day killing many people. Walter was close enough to another explosion that it blew the windows out of a bar he was in. This was the period of the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. Military authorities in Antwerp checked Walter and his companion because of the German tactic in that battle of dressing in GI uniforms and speaking English to infiltrate the lines. The Merchant Mariners were told to return to their ship. They did and sailed back to the United States and New York soon afterward. When he reached the union hall, he would sign up for a voyage without any knowledge of the destination or cargo. He had no control over his travels.

Louis John Walter sailed on the James Fallen [Annotator's Note: unable to verify ship name]. A couple of Walter's friends found themselves in trouble for pilfering cargo destined for a PX [Annotator's Note: post exchange]. Walters decided to sail the Pacific Ocean once again. Sailing to Eniwetok [Annotator's Note: Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands] and then Leyte Gulf, a 15 ship convoy formed up and sailed to Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan] for the big battle. Walter's ship carried a contingent of SeaBees [Annotator's Note: members of US naval construction battalions] to the south to Puerto Princesa near Palalong [Annotator's Note: Palalong, Philippines] where Tokyo Rose [Annotator's Note: nickname given by Allied servicemen to any English speaking female radio personality broadcasting Japanese propaganda in the Pacific Theater] welcomed their arrival. One Japanese airplane dropped ordnance near the airstrip the SeaBees were constructing but no damage was done. After a couple weeks, the ship returned empty to the United States. Walters returned to New York [Annotator's Note: New York, New York] to sign on to a new ship. It was faster than the Liberty ships [Annotator's Note: a class of quickly produced cargo ship]. The ship sailed through Tunis, North Africa and then unloaded at Leghorn, Italy. They returned to the United States with a regiment and headquarters of the 10th Mountain Division. Just out of Norfolk [Annotator's Note: Norfolk, Virginia], the announcement was made about the dropping of the atomic bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945]. At Norfolk, Walters and a buddy took a ferry up to Baltimore [Annotator's Note: Baltimore, Maryland]. That was where they learned the war had ended. The police closed the bar when the news was announced. The celebration was in the street. When the 10th Mountain Division was returned to the States, there were about 1,500 bunks for the 2,000 troops. Many of the men were seasick. Walter had to clean vomit from the ship. Food on the ship was generally good. The troops had their own cooks. Poker games were constantly underway. Walter and his buddy had mixed success at wagering. Following the end of the war, Walter went to Charleston, South Carolina where his ship loaded coal for Oslo [Annotator's Note: Oslo, Norway]. The ship sailed to Sweden and then loaded paper pulp. Returning Stateside, a load of beer was taken on in Providence, Rhode Island. Traveling through the Panama Canal, the ship docked at Los Angeles [Annotator's Note: Los Angeles, California], then San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California], and then Portland [Annotator's Note: Portland, Oregon]. Walter was ready to continue sailing but his father talked him into returning to Iowa with him. Walter was married but that was not compatible with sailing. He had sailed to Sweden on the Knute Rockne [Annotator's Note: SS Knute Rockne]. Walter's last ship was the Norwich Victory [Annotator's Note: SS Norwich Victory]. Three years after signing on his first ship, he signed off in January [Annotator's Note: 1946].

Louis John Walter had few of the military benefits as a civilian [Annotator's Note: Walter served in the United States Merchant Marine] during the war. In 1988, Congress took note of the Merchant Marine's accomplishments and provided them with housing, medical and education benefits. Walter received a discharge from the Coast Guard following that determination. He had previously been discharged from the Army [Annotator's Note: for service subsequent to the Merchant Marine]. He never knew he was in the Coast Guard until he received those discharge documents. World War 2 changed his life. Of the 36 boys who graduated with Walter, six of them were killed in the war. Walter managed to be in locations either right before or right after significant actions. His only injury during the war was the result of an errant wave that hit his ship and tossed him next to the wheelhouse and cut his forehead. The G.I. Bill helped many of the veterans attend college where they would not have been otherwise able to do so. The United States economy boomed. Walter's father sold life insurance and the war helped him. Walter got married as a result of his service. The war resulted in the United States and Russia becoming the two major world powers. Unlike current wars, the American GI [Annotator's Note: government issue; also a slang term for an American soldier] was away from his family for a much longer time. The loss of lives and money were the most negative aspects of the war. Walter knows little about The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana]. He assumes there will be Higgins boats [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP] there.