James C. Pallone , Apollo, Veteran of three wars

James C. Pallone of Apollo has served his country through three wars. In 1943, at the age of 15, he decided to join the Merchant Marines. Leaving Apollo where he grew up, he took a bus to Pittsburgh and applied to become a Merchant Marine seaman. He took his physical and passed all the tests but they sent him back home until he turned 16. That was o.k. with him because it was only a few months until his birthday on July 7, 1943.

The United States Merchant Marine fleet of ships is used to transport imports and exports in peacetime and during times of war delivering troops and supplies as an auxiliary to the United States Navy. The merchant marine is a civilian except in times of war, when they are considered military personnel.

Age 16 came quick and Jim was sent to the Merchant Marine Sheepshead Bay Boot Camp in Brooklyn, New York. For three months he was trained in seamanship, engineering, steward department duties and gunnery practices. U.S. Navy sailors usually manned the ship’s antiaircraft gun, but merchant seaman had to be trained in case the Navy couldn’t staff the ships.

Little did Jim know that his wartime service was going to start off with a bang! Nearing the end of three months at boot camp, he was suddenly taken in the middle of night to board a Merchant Marine ship. His duty was about to begin. The next thing he knew the ship was on fire while still docked and tugboats came to move it out to sea. Although it wasn’t a major fire, it proved to be stubborn taking several days to get it out. What Jim discovered in the process was that the ship was loaded with blockbusters, aircraft bombs that weighed from 4,000 to 12,000 lb! They had to get it out of the harbor in case the fire set the bombs off. No wonder it was moved out of the harbor so quickly!

His next surprise was several days later when his ship caught up with the convoy crossing the Atlantic. They were positioned on the outer perimeter of the convoy to protect the other ships. German submarines were ruthlessly attacking Allied shipping in the Atlantic and putting his ship on the outer perimeter would offer a highly explosive target that would distract the subs while the other ships escaped. Although Jim never was on a ship hit by torpedoes, he said they were using depth charges frequently on his trips across the Atlantic.

By night these buzz bombs came in over Pallone's head hitting the city where he was docked

Docking in the deep-water Southhampton harbor, England, Jim was about to experience the next phase of the war. The Germans launched the V1 bomb, better known as the "Buzz Bombs". These flying bombs made a very distinct sound as they flew overhead at low altitude, before the timing mechanisms expired, and the bomb fell to earth, and exploded. While guarding the ship on night duty these buzz bombs would start coming in very low over their heads to hit Southhampton and London. His shipmate said to Jim, “Let’s get out of here” and Jim replied, “Where can you go?” Part of Jim’s duties was taking shifts guarding the ship.

After a week in the Southhampton harbor, the ship sailed to make two calls in Africa unloading the blockbuster bombs. They returned to the United States, reloaded, and then set sail for Europe. On this trip, Jim was to witness the effects of the Normandy invasion. They docked again and waited for the invasion to be completed and the area cleared so they could navigate as near as possible to the shore. The bombs were unloaded to landing craft and transported to the shore. Jim said this particular trip involved one of the largest convoys in the war.

Jim returned to the states and took leave from the Merchant Marines. He returned to work, but not for long. He was drafted into the Army on January 2, 1946. Sent to basic training and then mechanics school to learn about auto parts his tour of duty was suddenly ended by being discharged. He came home, went back to work in the steel mill, and joined the Pennsylvania National Guard. He decided at this point to go back on active duty, but he had to switch to the U.S. Army Reserves in Indiana before he would be accepted. He did that and then joined the Army. Jim served his country through the Korean and Vietnam wars, was stationed in Germany for five years and then Japan for another five years before returning to the states.

After returning to the states, Jim took a position as a U.S. Army recruiter and was trained in Wilkes Barre, PA. He served a short time in Scranton and then took an assignment in Kittanning, PA where he completed his U.S. Army career in December of 1969. He had been promoted to a Sergeant E-7 and won many accommodations for his achievements as a recruiter. Jim said, “I never missed a quota”.

Jim had married during WWII and had four children. He resides today in Apollo and is an active member of the American Legion. He also is a strong advocate for the U.S. Merchant Marines and is very proud of his service with them. A major cause he has championed was for Merchant Marine’s to be recognized as Veterans. That was accomplished, but Jim believes there still are many who do not know this. “They could get a lot more benefits if they knew they could be classified as Veterans”, he said.

Watch the video interview with James C. Pallone at: http://www.alle-kiskitoday.com/webcasts/1676