3:13 | After serving off Italy and southern France. the destroyer tender USS Denebola sailed all the way to Kwajalein in the Pacific. There, metalsmith George Barber worked on repairing destroyers that had been damaged. The Denebola would also take on wounded sailors for transfer to a hospital ship. He remained in the reserves after the war but had more important things to do than go to Korea.
Keywords : George Barber metalsmith Kwajalein Marshall Islands Eniwetok destroyer tender Bethlehem Steel shipyard seasick French Toulon France Free French Korea
He chose the Navy because of the bunk and the chow. George Barber was an experienced welder so he was assigned as a metalsmith on a destroyer tender. He left the ship in Sardinia for a time attached to a motor torpedo base, maintaining PT boats. He was touched by the hungry children who would gather at the chow hall and he made friends with sailors from the Italian navy, who were also hungry.
George Barber served aboard the USS Denebola in WWII. These are photos from his personal collection.