A Generous Aim

By Lee Wayne Maloy, WII Veteran

as told to Doris S. Platt

Lee Wayne Maloy grew up in Los Angeles, one of ten children. His four brothers were seamen, and though one brother had been lost at sea, Lee still chose to go into the service. He joined the Merchant Marines at age fifteen, just before the onset of WWII. Now in his eighties, Lee had the weathered skin common to sailors; the wrinkles on his face told of night watches, storms and adventures. In recounting his stories, he smiled wryly over his increasing age and decreasing ability to recall things.       

“Many of my memories have become gray with time, but a few stand out as clearly as if they just happened. Life at sea was a great adventure for a young man, but it was also harsh, and one had to be tough in order to survive.”

Unlike other men who joined the navy, those of the Merchant Marines were often convicts who had been given the choice to join up, or serve out their sentence in prison. In recalling the beginning of his career, Lee spoke about the rough conditions on board, when new recruits went through initiations called “smokers”. 

“Once, I was in a small ring fighting the toughest man on board. I was knocked down again and again, but each time I pulled myself to my feet, I got a little better and a little more confident. While I never beat the big guy, I learned one of the best lessons of my life: never give up and just keep on trying. My efforts proved to be the right thing because afterwards everyone came over and patted me on the back. Even the guy I’d been fighting became a good friend and looked after me from then on.” 

World War II increased the involvement of the Merchant Marines with the Navy and as a result some requirements came under greater scrutiny. During a compulsory medical exam, the attending physician discovered that Lee had been too young to enlist.

“How long have you been in the service?” the doctor asked.

“Three years, sir.” 

“How old are you now?” 

“Eighteen.”

 “I see.” The doctor smiled and posed a pertinent mathematical question. “And how old were you when you enlisted?”

Despite his deception, Lee was allowed to remain; by the time he was nineteen-years-old he had traveled around the world three times. Lee was part of a crew of 25 men. Merchant Marine ships were smaller vessels, 190 – 300 feet in length, and were considered expendable. Destroyers would escort convoys of 12 – 15 ships, but such measures could not ensure safety. According to the War Shipping Administration, a total of 1,554 Merchant Marine ships were sunk during WWII. Since they were used to transport bombs, ammunition and a variety of explosive ordinance, once targeted they rarely survived. 

“I was on a tanker in the Indian Ocean. We were carrying war supplies to the troops and had been on alert for the entire week having heard that several ships had been sunk by U-boats. The Germans were relentless and usually traveled in “wolf packs” making it difficult to avoid being torpedoed.

“It was moon-bright that night and I could see very clearly. I was on watch on the bow of the ship with binoculars in hand. I surveyed the horizon keeping myself sharp for the task.

“My older brother was on board with me and was down in the galley having his coffee. I had been on watch for several hours and was getting a little cold and hungry. The sea was a luminous green which made every white cap and fish glow. As I scanned the horizon, I suddenly noticed two fluorescent streaks in the distance. I blinked my eyes to make sure of what I was seeing. Yes, it was two torpedoes – coming straight for the bow of our ship.

“I quickly grabbed the phone to warn the bridge, but it just rang and rang without anyone answering. Later they told me they saw the torpedoes as I rang and didn’t think we had a chance. I didn’t think so either, but as our ship rose up on the swell of the next wave, the torpedo on our starboard side missed us completely. The one on our port side was invisible and I wrapped my arms tightly around myself and closed my eyes as if that could protect me from the coming explosion.

“I waited almost paralyzed with the rest of my shipmates as we heard the torpedo skim along the side of the ship, clanging as it went. It banged into us four or five times, and then silence. By some miracle the torpedo’s warhead never came into contact with the side of the ship and we were saved.”

Several months later something even more miraculous happened. Lee’s ship was in the Mediterranean, approaching the dangerous passage through the Straits of Gibraltar.

“It was Christmas Eve and I had just celebrated my 20th birthday. We were happily bound for home, the good old U.S.A. I was once again on watch at the bow of the ship. It was a stormy night. The sea was covered in white caps which makes it almost impossible to see “turkey feathers”, a term we used to describe the white plume that flows behind a submarine periscope when it is close to the surface. Understandably all of our thoughts were of home and of Christmas and being with our families.

“The past days had been quiet and the sights and sounds of the ocean made me relax. Then it all seemed to happen in an instant. I saw a periscope appear off the port side of our ship. The conning tower popped up, with a large swastika painted on the side. It couldn’t have been more than a hundred yards away. I had no chance to ring the bridge this time. They must have seen the U-boat at the same moment I did because the ship was suddenly alive with bells ringing and shouts of men scurrying to their battle stations.  But there was no time to ready ourselves for a fight. There was no time to protect ourselves in any way. The enemy had us dead to rights. The submarine was already on us, rising up out of that choppy sea. I’ll never forget what happened next.

“There was a flashing. Dash, dash, dot, dot dash dot. I mouthed the letters as I saw the German submarine blinking its Morse Code message: M- -E- -R. Could I be reading it correctly? Another “R” and then, dash dot dash dash, a “Y”. It was happening fast as the second word flashed to us in the darkness. C- -H- -R- -I- - S- - T- - M- -A- - S. Then it was over. As quickly as the U-boat had appeared it sank back into the blackness of the sea and was gone.

“We all stood transfixed. No one moved for several seconds as we recovered from our shock and surprise. We had escaped death before by a twist of fate, or maybe luck. But on this Christmas Eve we had been given a gift. As the reality of what had just happened and the words “Merry Christmas” took hold in our minds and then in our hearts, we sent up a cheer – a cheer of relief, of joy and true celebration.

“I have had many wonderful Christmases since then. I was able to marry and spend 56 years with my wife and help raise our three children. Now there are grandchildren and great-grandchildren. But that night gave a ship full of men one of their best Christmases ever.”