Ralph G. Marcarelli was born in July 1924 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father was a cabinet maker and his mother was a housewife. He remembers being hungry and cold during the Great Depression. His Italian heritage was frowned upon by other people. His parents were immigrants and spoke little English. There were four children in the family. His father's wages were meager to support his family. Marcarelli would take soft coal from the railroad trains to heat the house. He was cold back then and that feeling remained with him throughout his life. His father had to work incessantly to provide food, clothing and shelter for the family. Marcarelli lived in the same house for 29 years until he married. Marcarelli attended school through high school but did not understand education until after World War 2. Although his father thought that the wars in Europe and Asia should never have started, he was confident that the United States would win in the end. His father did not understand Mussolini [Annotator's Note: Italian fascist dictator Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini; also know as il Duce] joining Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler]. Family members were still in Italy. Money would be sent to support family members in Italy. In December 1941, Marcarelli lived in an enclave in his neighborhood when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He wanted to join the military after the attack. He ran away from home to enlist in the Marines even though he was not yet 18 years of age. Reaching the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the recruiter sent a request to Marcarelli's father for him to agree to his son's enlistment. Luckily, his father did not approve. Marcarelli figures in retrospect that he could not have handled a gun. He only weighed 110 pounds. He eventually joined the Navy on 31 July 1942 when he was 18 years old. He chose the Navy because he was too light in stature to carry a gun. Being onboard a ship would be much better for him. He had to eat many bananas and drink water in order to have sufficient weight when the recruiter put him on the scales.

Ralph Marcarelli reacted badly to inoculations when he entered the Navy at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. He missed boot camp training as a result. He worked in the Navy Yard with various assignments. He felt lost because he knew nothing about the Navy. He did not know about liberty application so he just left to return home. He was arrested when he returned. He was charged with being AWOL, or absent without leave. He did not know what he was doing so the officials went easy on him. They did not know what to do with him. He was Italian so it was thought he would make a good cook. He attended cooks and bakers school. He flunked out of the school because he had problems rising early in the morning. He was next assigned to a yard tug. He still knew nothing about the Navy. Afterward, he was sent to Little Creek, Virginia which he though was a mudhole. It was a training facility for Higgins boats [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP]. At the training facility, the Navy band would march in the morning for reveille. Marcarelli would join them. After breakfast, training would occur to learn how to load and disembark ground troops utilizing the landing craft. That went on up to four times a day. Following the training, he was sent to the West Coast and then was shipped out on a captured German ship that was renamed. After 18 days out of San Francisco, the ship reached Milne Bay, New Guinea. It had sailed without escort. There were no threats from Japanese submarines. When the ship crossed the equator, the Navy members had their comical crossing ceremony to become a "shellfish." It was a big party. Marcarelli had one thing in mind and that was to live. He volunteered for the galley. He ate well. He saw flying fish that jumped aboard the ship while it was underway.

Ralph Marcarelli saw nothing but jungle when he landed at Milne Bay, New Guinea. He came from the city to the jungle. Women wore no cover over their breasts. Men wore tin cans in their ears. Everything was strange. The Australians had driven the Japanese out of the area earlier. The training on Higgins boats [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP] continued there. Marcarelli was assigned to an LST or landing ship, tank, which was a larger ship capable of carrying tanks to the beach. The Higgins were LCI or landing craft, infantry. A series of landings were planned for three locations on the northern shore of New Guinea. Wewak, Hollandia and a third location were targeted. It had been a predominately Dutch location in New Guinea before the Japanese captured it. After a softening bombardment by large Allied warships, the Japanese ran away. The LSTs and other supply ships would drop their cargo off on the beach after that. After the beach was secure, a supply of Japanese sake was discovered and returned to the ship. The crew drank it up and got drunk. The ship's captain confronted his crew and disciplined them by reducing their rank if they had drank the sake. In 75 years, Marcarelli never revealed that incident. It was a Captain's Mast [Annotator's Note: a form of non-judicial punishment in the Navy] on the high seas. Marcarelli was penalized for drinking the sake. He felt the Japanese could not do anything right. They were the enemy. The United States military's capability and supplies won the day even though the enemy had been there for a while. Turnbull, an Australian airfield, was near Milne Bay. Japanese submarines set up a blockade preventing Allied ships from entering the bay. Food became scarce. The crew had to hunt and fish to survive. Marcarelli learned to adapt to his situation. He ate different foods and was able to endure. He found the natives to be strange people who looked and dressed differently.

Ralph Marcarelli was aboard an LST [Annotator's Note: landing ship, tank] when he ventured around many islands to resupply bases there. The last island he went to was Luzon. A cemetery was near the landing location at Subic Bay. Marcarelli remained there until he was shipped back home. Points were used to determine the priority of troops returning home. While in New Guinea, he had a 30 day leave in Australia. He landed in Brisbane. He drank milk and had fresh vegetables. He flew in a PBY seaplane [Annotator's Note: Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat] to Sydney. He was treated wonderfully and the city was wonderful. He had steak and eggs for breakfast. He did have several new experiences with language and customs differences in Australia. Marcarelli found that to be the case with a waitress in a restaurant and an Australian soldier in a pub in Sydney. On Luzon, the experience was strange getting past the cemetery to put up living quarters. Everything was strange and new. He kept up a mosquito net and took his atabrine [Annotator's Note: an anti-malarial medication] to prevent malaria. In Luzon, he did not know what was going on as more and more people arrived by ship. One night, he stepped in water buffalo excrement. That cured him of going out at night. The Filipinos collected scraps off the American dishes to take home to their families. Marcarelli met a woman he had a relationship with while there. Marcarelli was humbled to think that he was a liberator for the Philippine population. At times, he was proud of himself, but at other times, he was ashamed of himself. These were people who spoke his language.

Ralph Marcarelli had his best experience back in the United States when he entered Seattle [Annotator's Note: Seattle, Washington] in the fog and heard American bands playing John Phillip Sousa [Annotator's Note: American veteran of the US Marine Corps and Navy who is known for composing military marches]. When the fog lifted, he saw the bands and the people welcoming the ship home. It was the nicest thing. He had enough of the Navy and feeling like a displaced person in that service. He wanted to go home. He went to pharmacy school and became a pharmacist. He got married and had seven children. His wife was also a pharmacist. The family moved to California and Marcarelli attended law school. He became a legal or lawyer pharmacist. His most memorable experiences during the war occurred upon his return to the United States in Seattle in the fog when he heard a band and saw many citizens welcoming his ship back. Another time was at New Year's Eve in Times Square in New York City [Annotator's Note: New York, New York] when he found himself kissing a strange woman. When the war broke out, he knew he had to volunteer and do something. Not being large enough to carry a gun, he decided the Navy was for him. His service during the war made him a man. He discovered what he wanted to do. His son and daughter gave him a hat they purchased at The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana]. People recognize him for his service when he wears it. That makes him feel like laughing to himself. He has enjoyed visiting many museums and feels The National WWII Museum is fantastic. It brings to life things he had forgotten for 75 years. Today's world is a strange one. His children did not serve in the military. Marcarelli ran away from home at 14 years of age and joined the CCC or Civilian Conservation Corps. He was sent to New Mexico to work in the caverns. He learned about life. You cannot steal from life but have to give back. He raised seven children and is still married to the same woman for 67 years. He loves his daughter's husband who has been like a son to him. World War 2 made him appreciate his religion and what the country gave his father and mother so that Marcarelli could achieve what he did. Marcarelli experienced everything his father told him not to do and those experiences have served him well.