Vic Zanotti in Uniform

Seaman Vic Zanotti clung on to whatever was within reach, as the ship weighing tons tossed about the ocean like a bathtub toy. He was below deck in the engine room tending the engines when the Typhoon hit. “It was pretty rough,” Vic remembers. Besides trying to do his job in terrible conditions, he also had to fight the waves of nausea that came over him. Fortunately the ship and crew survived the onslaught of severe weather. This was only one of the memories that he has of the time that he spent in the Navy serving during the Korean War. Enlisting at the age of twenty, Vic chose the Navy because of his love of the ocean. He attended boot camp in San Diego before being assigned to the USS Merrick. From there he was stationed at Hawaii while the ship was being overhauled. He remained there for four years before being discharged in 1954. Once out of the service Vic took on a job that was just as valuable to our country. He worked as a psychiatric aide through the Veterans Administration, taking care of the soldiers returning home from their tours of duty. It was there that he helped others weather the storms in their own lives triggered by the tragedy of war. “I learned to be patient and really understand people,” he reflected. Vic remained a steadfast fixture there for over thirty years caring for thousands of veterans.