My Uncle Chuck, who I was named after, was a Navy Physicians Mate 2nd Class (corpsman) and assigned to the 1st Marines. He was part of the first wave to hit the beach at Peleliu, Palau, on Sept. 15, 1944. The enemy knew that killing corpsmen would cause more problems with the wounded so they were a target even though they were not armed and wore the red cross on the arms of their uniforms. Uncle Chuck was killed on 9/23/44 and is buried there. His name is on the wall on the westside of Benaroya Hall in Seattle with other names of Washington military members killed in the service. Dad and Uncle Chuck were good friends and Dad was introduced to my Mom by my Uncle. In 1940, right out of high school, Dad was hired as an machinist apprentice at Keyport. Since he was working at a military support facility when the war started, he was not eligible for the draft. After Uncle Chuck was killed, he quit and enlisted in the Marines. He was onboard a ship steaming toward Japan to be part of the planned invasion when the bombs were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima and the Japanese surrendered. His ship was diverted and ordered to the Bikini Atoll to be part of the atom bomb test. He was one of the first Marines on site after the test.