These photocopied pictures were sent to the Seafarers LOG by Michael L. Molinari of Brooklyn, N.Y.
Molinari joined the U.S. Navy in 1943 and served for two years as a gunner in the Armed Guard aboard U.S. merchant ships. His first trip was to Murmansk, Russia aboard the Andrew Carnegie, a voyage during which three other ships in his convoy were lost and he, himself, was wounded. (U.S. and British ships, including the Carnegie, were delivering war materiel to that North Russian port.)
His second ship was the Esso Philadelphia (shown at top), which carried oil from Trinidad to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Just off the coast of Africa, the ship ran into a terrible hurricane, during which time its motor stopped working. Thanks to the work of the first engineer, it managed to limp back to the U.S.
Molinari, who is now retired, lives in Brooklyn with his wife Lena. They have seven children and five grandchildren.
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