Night Watch, Paying Attention, and My Father

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U.S. Navy WWII LST (Landing Ship Tank), from All Hands magazine

My father, Bernard Ives Gill, was a Lieutenant J.G. on an LST during World War II. One of his duties was standing watch on the bridge. Being a rather junior officer, he often got the night watches.

On one of these, both he and the sailor at the helm were experiencing the wakeful serenity of duty. Below, the ocean streamed by. Above, stars slowly rolled around the pole as hours passed and the convoy sailed towards its destination.

More at A Catholic Citizen in America.

(It was just another watch, until they noticed how big the ship they were following looked.)

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