Serendipity and the Liberty Ship

So there I was, as per usual these days, goofing around on the internet. Out of the blue, there was a photo of the John W. Brown, a World War II 'Liberty Ship'. I did a virtual 'spit take'.

'Juanie' in his school uniform

The John W. Brown was my brother Juan's high school! Back in-the-day, The ship was leased, & harbored in NYC. Here's the ship's press:

Following her service in World War II, S.S. JOHN W. BROWN was loaned by the government to the Board of Education of the city of New York. From 1946 to 1983 she served as a floating maritime high school, training thousands of young men to be merchant mariners. Some of those former students have found their way back to the ship and now serve as volunteer crew members.

I could not believe I'd stumbled on the ship by accident like that. I read further and holy mother of sea faring folk, the ship was docked in Baltimore Maryland Harbor - you know, where my family lives! I texted my Baltimore peeps about it and today, my brother Juan, escorted by his son William, revisited his old alma mater. A magnificient photo shoot ensued!

William loves recreating photographic snapshots in time & this must be his best yet

I hear that Juan and William enjoyed a great day on board the Brown. William told me that Juan was quite chatty with the crew on board, telling them tales of his experiences in his unusual high school.

Ready to sail away

I do not recall much of what Juan may have told me of his high school, other than the hazing he recieved there. The new students would be ordered to fetch a bucket of blue smoke or other such non-existant items, such as a left handed hammer and such. The new kids would search until it dawned on them what they were in fact seeking. It was all in good fun, and from what I recall, the point of the exercise was to relax the new kids and enjoy a good laugh.

Juan was quite pleased to get a chance to revisit his old school, still afloat after all these years. William told me that Juan was given a cool hat to honor his day on the S.S. John W. Brown.

More Liberty Ship info:

Liberty Ships were a class of cargo ship built during World War II. They were old-fashioned, utilitarian vessels that could be built in a hurry. They got the name Liberty ships because the first one built was named S.S. PATRICK HENRY. Various claims for the Liberty design have been made by U.S. citizens - even a gold medal awarded - but they are erroneous and no award was deserved.





If only I were not still recovering from the 'minor' annoyance of almost dieing, and being hooked up to oxygen tanks for the time being. Boo-hoo, huh? I wish I could have flown east to join Juan and William for a tour of the Brown. I never got to visit the ship in its hay day as a school. Oh well, there is always next time.