Finding Hope after War

Finding Hope after War – The Japanese attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu on December 7, 1941.

An Interview with my Dad

Finding Hope after War- My Dad, Albert Markus, born on February 14, 1925, was a young man of seventeen when He enlisted in the Navy. He joined the service at the Fresno Post Office before his 18th birthday in 1942. Leaving his hometown of Fresno, California, he headed for San Francisco on a Southern Pacific train. Upon arriving in Frisco, he would first go to the basement of the Post Office for a light physical examination.

He and other recruits were picked up by truck and taken to a Navy Training Base in Farragut, Idaho. In Farragut, Al received a complete physical examination and a new Navy uniform, sending his civilian clothes back home. The training lasted for three months.

Basic Training

Dad has one vivid memory of his time at the Naval Training Base in Farragut, Idaho. He remembers finding Hershey chocolate bars on base in the PX that were scarce. He ate the entire box in one sitting, enjoying every bite!

After basic training, he returned to San Francisco, where he was stationed at Treasure Island. He waited for the ship he was stationed on to be completed at the Todd Shipyard in Alameda.  

Tour of Duty

The crew boarded the USS Pierce and traveled to several islands stationed in the South Pacific. From San Francisco, their first stop would be Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands for approximately one week, staying aboard ship.

He traveled to Makin Island, Guadalcanal, Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian, Palau, Okinawa, and the Philippines in Tacloban on the island of Leyte and other islands such as Luzon, which was part of Mindanao.

Emotional Memories

Dad was on deck when an enemy plane tried to bomb the USS Pierce while anchored in the Philipines. He could see the face of the fighter pilot as his plane hit another boat about 300 feet away. Flames filled the cockpit, and it sunk into the ocean. My Dad still gets emotional as he remembers the face of the young pilot before he died.

After leaving the Philippines, the USS Pierce headed to Japan approximately a week after the atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945. The ship anchored near shore. After leaving, they traveled to Korea, where they landed, each given a Japanese rifle as a souvenir.  

Albert was a 3^rd Class Petty Officer working as a radar operator to look for enemy ships and planes. He served in the Navy from 1942 to 1946. After the war, he received his discharge papers to go home on February 24, 1946.

Life After the War

After the war, He hitch-hiked from Pleasanton, California, to get home. After arriving, Al re-enrolled in high school at Fresno Tech to graduate and receive his diploma. He went to Fresno State, where too many service members were impacted. There was no room to sit in any classes; Albert left Fresno State after a few weeks and headed to San Francisco, where he applied to Cogswell Polytechnical College.

After graduating from Cogswell, he returned to Fresno to work as an Electrician. He married and started a family in 1963.

Finding Hope

After years of struggling through life, my Dad felt led to attend a revival meeting held one night at a church near the home where we lived in Clovis, California. At the end of the service, the pastor gave an altar call, and he gave his life to Christ. I am glad that my Dad’s life was changed that night for the better after accepting Jesus as his Savior. This change is evidence that anyone can find hope after the war.

At ninety-five years of age, it’s inspiring to see how much he loves the Lord and shares his faith with anyone God puts in his path. His life proves how God can change our lives if we only put our hope in Him! What a blessing to know anyone has a chance of finding hope after the war.

Listen to the interview with Albert Markus and Paul Loeffler, the Host of Hometown Heroes. Hometown Heroes is a weekly radio show honoring the men and women whose service and sacrifice have secured our freedom. Featuring interviews with veterans, primarily from the World War II generation, Hometown Heroes presents history through the perspectives of those who lived it. 

EPISODE #667, 2/6/2021: 95-year-old Albert Markus of Fresno, CA, details his World War II service as a radar operator aboard the attack transport USS Pierce (APA-50).