"On February 11th my father, Bob Steele, passed away at the age of 90.

Dad joined the Navy in January of '42. After completing boot camp in San Diego, CA he attended Aviation Metalsmith school at Sand Point Naval Air Station in Seattle, WA. In September of '42 he was assigned to the USS Bogue (CVE-9) in Bremerton, WA. Following squadron training in San Diego, the Bogue was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet in Norfolk, VA for Anti-Submarine Warfare.

In January of '43 Dad was assigned to the Belleau Wood prior to her commissioning. An AM2/c, he was a member of the arresting gear crew, V-1 Division. He remained aboard for nine war cruises before shipping back to the states, from Eniwetok, on August 28, 1944 aboard the Liberty Ship Nathaniel Currier. Once stateside he underwent knee surgery and was in the hospital for five weeks.

In November of '44 Dad was promoted to AM1/c and assigned to the VR-5 Transport Squadron at Sand Point NAS where he remained until his discharge in November of '45.

Dad never talked much about his experiences during WWII. He joined the Association of Shipmates in 1993, attended several of the reunions and remained in close contact with a few former shipmates. For more than 30 years his Shellback certificate from the Belleau Wood has been framed and displayed in the family room. Next to it is a charcoal sketch of the Belleau Wood with a plane about to land on her deck. The sketch is dated September 5th, 1998 which, coincidentally, was Dad's 79th birthday."

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