Wednesday, July 15, 2009

“The Ship the Nazis Had to Get”



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Some time ago I did a little research on my father's WW II military service.
It turns out he was a '90-day wonder' who volunteered for the Naval Reserve on November 1, 1942 and was eventually assigned to the Merchant Marine vessel SS Seatrain Texas, which was designed to carry tanks and locomotives to North Africa and Europe for the Allies.

Although my father was not yet aboard the Seatrain Texas at the time of its most famous voyage, some may find that story fascinating, so it is linked below.

This link captures the story of the 'Daring Voyage of SS Seatrain Texas, Code Name: Treasure Ship.'



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Seatrain was not a pretty ship, but it was very functional and blessed with good fortune.
And, as it turned out, its delivery of the first US Sherman tanks to fight 'the Desert Fox', Rommel at the 2nd Battle of El Alamein, was the deciding factor in turning 'Operation Torch' into an Allied victory in North Africa that prevented the Axis from capturing Egypt, the Suez Canal and the Mideast oil fields..