March 21st, 2009
Sandy,

My dad was born in Gordon County, Georgia, July 15, 1923 and was the youngest of 10 children, (5 boys and 5 girls). Like many during that time, they didn't have much. His father died when he was just a boy. He grew up in a very small rural community called Hopewell, in Whitfield County, Georgia, and went to school in Cohutta, a nearby community also in Whitfield County. He was an avid athlete, and in high school, he lettered in several track and field events, as well as basketball, which was his passion. He also loved baseball, and later in life, coached us kids in youth leagues. After graduating from high school, he moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee and worked in a men's clothing store, while attending business school there.

He enlisted in the Navy, July 26, 1943, at the age of 20, at the NRS in Chattanooga. From there he went to the NTS in San Diego, California, and then to the USN Personnel Distribution Center in Shoemaker, California, before boarding the USS Salt Lake City, October 14, 1943. Boarding as S2c, and later S1c, he was honorably discharged from Naval Service of the United States on February 10, 1946, with a rank of Y3/c.

During his time aboard the SLC, he assisted on the bridge, and was a loader when called to station. My dad served under three Captains, and along with his shipmates saw action in the Navy's campaigns in the Gilbert, Marshall and Marianas Islands, including the hellish battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

After the War, he returned to Whitfield County and got a job working for a survey company, and later the local Coca-Cola Bottling Company in Dalton, Georgia. Shortly after returning home, he met my mother, Evelyn, who worked in the local employment office.

He then moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and took a job at the General Motors assembly plant building Chevrolets. He had a brother who lived in Cincinnati, and eventually went to work with him running a Sonoco filling station. Later he returned to Dalton and married, and my mom and dad then returned to Cincinnati, where they lived for five years. Less than a year after I was born in 1954, illness in my mother's family brought us back to Dalton. He was then employed by the City of Dalton, City Clerk's Office, as Assistant City Clerk. Several years later he was elected City Clerk, and retired from that position after 23 years. My mom and dad raised three children.

I am respectful of those of the "Greatest Generation", and the sacrifices they made for their country, and their families. My father, Andy Lowery, exemplified those of that generation. He died February 27, 2006.

I've spent much time on your website, and found the roster and deck log entries containing the information about my dad that you mentioned. My dad rarely talked about his time aboard the SLC, and usually only when asked specifically. There are many things I would like to ask him now, since information about the Navy, and World War II are more available, thanks to the internet.

Since my youth, I'm 54 now; I've been interested in WWII and those who served. Information your website provides has piqued my interest even more. Though I haven't read everything on your site, yet, I intend to.

Thanks again for what you have done, and continue to do, keeping alive the SLC and those who served aboard her.

Kindest regards,
Mark Lowery