North Shore Towers Courier n December 2016 7 WWII Vet Yeoman Second Class Arthur Dock and wife Shirley What’s Up, Dock? Arthur Dock was and continues to be a self-professed card, finding humor throughout his life. Dock served as Yeoman Second Class in charge of engineering on CV-15, the USS Randolph, in the Pacific Theater. Quick with a quip, he once wired his mother for more money with, “Oh, heck! Flat broke. Send check. No joke!” This aspect of his character certainly helped see him through in his 2 ½ years in the Navy during World War II. After a torpedo strike once, Dock crawled through a raging fire to man his battle station in the engine room. While during another attack, his ship sustained a hit from a Kamikaze pilot, killing 25 crew members and forcing the Randolph back into port in Oahu for repairs. Tragically, the ship to take the USS Randolph’s place at that time was the USS Franklin (CV-13), which subsequently suffered the loss of more than 800 crew members in a Japanese air attack in March 1945. According to the amiable Veteran, he is also a “neat freak.” When he enlisted, he begged his father to help him get into the Navy, because enlistees at that time had no choice as to which arm of the services they would be assigned. The reason: showering. Dock couldn’t imagine being stuck in a trench for days on end without taking a shower. His crew mates would often hear him in the wee hours of the morning sneaking one after “lightsout.” It’s a quirk, which lingers to this day, as confirmed by his wife, Shirley. Still, the happy couple will have been married 70 years this May. No doubt, Dock will get cleaned up for the occasion. USS Franklin, the aircraft carrier on which Dock served not nice guys,” he explained. He was transferred to the First Infantry Unit in Germany where he ended up examining fraudulent hospital cases. This latter experience led to his using the G.I. Bill upon his return home to study to become a lawyer. Conversely, Dr. Stanley Schwartz was far from enamored of his duties. After Basic Training at Camp Blanding in Florida, Schwartz was sent to Rutgers to study engineering. “I hated it,” he confessed. “I wanted to be a dentist.” Schwartz eventually left the service as a Private First Class and did just that, going to dental school and enjoying a career as a dentist. As a medical school, Vietnam Vet and Board Member Dr. Stanley Goldsmith initially obtained a Barbara Heller, whose three cousins all served during WWII, holds a copy of an article about one of her cousins who was shot down in 1944 over Germany. She stands with emcee and Korean War Vet Fred Chernow Army Reserve Vet Bud Bank who served in the army transportation division deferment before volunteering to be an officer and a physician, subsequently serving from 1963- 65. Assigned to a tank division as a first responder, he was sent to train with the heavily-armored vehicles in Schweinfurt, Germany, the same area where Erwin Rommel received his training. “I never once fired the .45 they gave me, but I did fire several tanks,” he noted. Helen Schecter rounded out the reminiscences, offering a touching female point-of-view to the memorial in honoring her late husband, Jack. Drafted at 18, Jack took part in the D-Day invasion and valiantly fought in the Battle of the Bulge as part of General Patton’s 3rd Army. A beautiful video of late North Shore Towers musician, Martin Fladell, playing taps and inspiring video, featuring images of NST and its residents before the American flag, while Alan Jackson’s “Proud to Be an American” played, created a rousing finish to the proceedings. Vietnam War Vet and Board Member Stanley J. Goldsmith talks of his experiences WWII US Navy Lieutenant Commander Joe Giaccone salutes the flag during the Pledge of Allegiance Korean War Vet JAG (Judge Advocate General) lawyer Bernard Greenbaum and wife Phoebe
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