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“…they loaded us onto a transport, the General Meigs. And we went to sea. We were at sea for 12 days. Nobody knew where we were, where we were going, or what was going on. We just, there we were and we were on. There goes the 12th day we were at sea, and I’m an early riser. I got up early one morning. I went out on deck, and I could see land off in the distance. And an older man, the ship’s company on the General Meigs, was coming by. I said, “Hey, what is that over there?” He said, “That’s the coast of New Jersey. You’re home.” We pulled into New York City. He said, “We’re going to New York.” We pull into New York City. Now, this is 1944. There’s still a lot of war going on. We went into New York City, and every tug in the city came out and with the plumes escorted us in, right by the Statue of Liberty. Most thrilling moment of my whole life. We went to Pier 90 – the very pier we had left from a year before – and it seems the entire city of New York came out to welcome us.”