Homer Lewis, Jr., of Garfield, Md., wanted to join the Navy in 1943, but at 17 he needed a parent's permission. His mother refused. "So I waited till my dad had a couple of beers in him," he says, "and he signed for me."

Lewis trained as a rangefinder and served on the USS Bronstein, a destroyer escort. "Our job was just to hunt down submarines," says Lewis, "and we started finding them pretty quick."

In fact, on its shakedown cruise the Bronstein dropped depth charges on a German submarine lurking in the waters off Coney Island. Lewis learned after the war that the sub was destroyed.

The Bronstein won a presidential citation for sinking two subs and disabling a third in a 24 period. It later sank another and even transported the hidden treasury of the exiled Polish government to safety to New York.

"It was a very exciting and scary time."