POST FALLS, Idaho – Jack Marshall says that every so often, he goes through the letters and photos his father took during his time in the Navy. Marshall’s father, Maynard Marshall, enlisted in the Navy in 1936. Ready to end his service in 1940, Maynard could tell something was in the water and stayed.
“Tensions with Japan and China were not the greatest, so they asked him to stay. And, of course, in 1941, something happened in December,” said Marshall.
Marshall’s father’s ship, the U.S.S Northampton, was set to arrive in Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, but they were delayed a day and arrived in the aftermath.
“He told me that only officers were allowed on deck because of all the carnage that was going on and things floating in the water.”
A year after Pearl Harbor, the U.S.S Northampton went down; Marshall’s Father remembered this vividly.
“Very scary because being on the ocean myself is just pitch black. All you see are stars.”
What survived the sinking ship are the memories made on it, all of Maynard’s photos and postcards. “I’m surprised it survived that long.”
Marshall says it’s his obligation to his father to keep these memories alive, “he gave them to me before he passed away. So, it’s my duty to keep them until I pass them on to the next generation.”
