Service Aboard the "Wee Vee"-- Part 2

Reiter was one of seven brothers (and one sister) who had spent many days boating on the nearby St. Croix River.  He wanted to join the Coast Guard right away after Pearl Harbor, but they wouldn't take anyone younger than 18.  The Navy took boys as young as 16.  He joined the Navy in January 1944, at age 17.

He married Jan. 9, 1944 and left for boot camp at Farragut Naval Station in Idaho.  (Really, a naval station in Idaho?)  After training he went by train to Bremerton, Washington, in May 1944.  He recalled that his assignment to the USS West Virginia was quite random.  On arrival, the man in charge of placement pointed his arm at newly-arrived sailors and would say, "From you over to you, the West Virginia."

Tony Reiter became a Seaman First Class and his battle station assignment was to the lower handling room of the powder magazine where he loaded 16-inch shells onto an elevator to the turret.  To this day, he can still go through the loading procedure.
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The West Virginia and its new 2,700-man crew sailed to Pearl Harbor in October 1944.  He said that on the way they crossed the equator many times as they zig-zagged to avoid Japanese submarine attack.

More to Come.  --GreGen