12

Page 12 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2020 ASKS | FROM PAGE 2 enough for him, it’s good enough for me. Then I dove over. To this day – we had a crew of about 700 – but where I was, there was no one in the water, officers or anybody on that side of the ship where I was. And when I dove into the water, I was thinking to myself, “Mo, this is how you’re going to die.” There was nobody around me. The activity was on the other side of the ship. Q: So, you were all by yourself in the water? A: Yeah. I was all alone. I didn’t see the officer that I saw jump in – nobody. Come to think of it, I believe most of the people were off the ship – we only skeleton crew on at the time. And I think we only lost about 60 men. Q: And then somebody came to rescue you and plucked you out of the water? A: Out in the bay. I figured I was dead in the water and was going to die when I saw a Higgins boat headed toward me. I yelled to them. They picked me up and brought me to Casablanca. From there, the Thurston took us back to the States; the Thurston took us to Norfolk, Virginia. Q: So, what happened to the Scott? A: Oh, she went down. Q: So, being torpedoed, was that the scariest part of your life? A: I tell you, I nearly soiled myself. When the first torpedo hit us, I was thinking nothing but death. “This is it,” I thought. Q: Do you think about that event a lot in the passing years? Do you have bad memories or bad dreams about it? A: I must have over the years, but now that’s passed; it all has passed. Q: Did you ever hear from your former comrades? A: There was one guy. He lived in Leominster. We had a meeting in Boston. He came from Leominster. This was right after the war. Other than that, I haven’t heard from anybody. Q: Have you ever had a chance to talk to a school class about your experiences in the Navy? A: Never. Q: Well, what would you tell them if you had a chance to talk to a class? A: I’d tell them to just do the best of their ability. Don’t shirk. Don’t fake it. Do the best of your ability, because that’s all you can ask for. Q: Do you think Veterans Day means as much to kids today as it does to you? A: No, I don’t think it means that much to a lot of kids today. But when I served, it was World War II; the nation was at war, and everyone in this country had to do their part to protect our way of life and the freedoms we enjoy. That’s something that people who lived through World War II don’t take for granted. Q: When you look back at your service with the Navy, what are the positives that you bring away from that time? What are the best things that came out of it for you? A: Clean living and a feeling of pride in your country Q: What do you feel best about your service to your country? A: Being able to put in my little efforts to help do what we did. Q: And being part of The Greatest Generation? A: Yeah. At the time, the little bit I did, I felt helped what we aimed to do. It helped a little bit in our final outcome. Mine was just a drop in the bucket, but I was there, and I did my best to fight for my country. Q: Anything else that you would like to share about your service? A: All I’d love to share with my grandchildren or anybody is to do the best you can – that’s all – to the best of your ability. Q: One last story. Tell me about the day when you helped save two people and a cat from a house fire when you were a Revere firefighter. A: We had a house fire at 18 Highland St. I was driving the truck, and we drove around the corner and the flames were coming out the windows of a three-story family house. … I went up on the ladder where a heavy woman was at the window. And I asked her to fall on my shoulder. And she did. She was burned in the back. And I went down the ladder – one, two, three steps – and I said, “Lady, this is as far as you go this way. I can’t go any farther.” And I called the other firefighters to help me pull her down. Well, they grabbed her thighs and I held her underneath her armpits, and we walked down the ladder to a waiting ambulance. And that’s the last I ever heard about the woman Q: Then you had another lady and a cat. Isn’t that right? A: Oh, yes. Then I switched the ladder over to another window, and the lady is pointing to a cat. I said, “To hell with the cat. C’mon.” And I grabbed her by her shorts and I pulled her out of the window. Her name was Walsh. And I never heard anything from her again. Q: And then you went back and got her cat, right? Because the picture from the old newspaper shows you bringing down the cat. A: Oh, I must have gotten the cat, but I don’t remember it. Q: So, you saved two lives and a cat in that one fire. And you have the old pictures to prove it. A: Yeah, but I felt saving a fellow firefighter was more dramatic. Q: Was that on the same day? A: No, that was another fire at a different time. But he never would have made it down. Q: So, that’s when you kicked in the door? A: Yes. Q: So, how did you become a fireman? Is that something you just went into after the war? A: No. I opened up a fruit store on Broadway in Revere. I was doing that. That’s how I got on the Fire Department. Ninety-nine percent of the HIGHLIGHTS | FROM PAGE 4 rean War and was stationed in Germany with the Army Security Agency, for which I also did my service time, stationed in Japan. After his service he enrolled in Bentley College and earned his degree in accounting. He then became an accountant in the General Electric Company in Lynn. He remained with GE for 40 years, rising to Finance Manager. He joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Saugus after his service. In government, Barry spent a dozen years as the Moderator of the Town Meeting, and he selected me as his Assistant to the Town Meeting to aid him in action. He left Town Meeting when he was elected to the School Committee, where he became Chairman. He later was elected to the Board of Selectmen, pushing through the town’s capital improvement program which reguys in the Fire Department were veterans, and the station was right there, across the street. Guys would keep telling me to take the exam because it was a good job. And I said, “Not me. I’ve got no bosses, no clocks to punch. I’m my own boss.” And they kept telling me, “Take the exam. It’s a good job.” I kept telling them, “Not me.” But then I started going with Vicky [his future wife] and I started to think differently. And I told myself, “You got to do something. You don’t want to be in a fruit store all of your life.” So, I took the exam for the Fire Department, and that’s the second best thing I ever done in my life. The first one was marrying that girl [Victoria]. Q: Was she your high school sweetheart? A: No. I met her at a Valentine’s Day Party in Revere. And I went with two girls that night. Then, all of a sudden, I spotted her and asked her to dance, and that was it – love at first sight. I brought her home and got my kiss that I remember...Whoo! And I saw sparks; I was in love. And I married her and I had a beautiful home and a family. And she’s a good person. She’s the perfect person for me. And that’s why we’ve lived this long. Q: So, that’s the secret to your longevity? A: That’s right. Absolutely. Being with Vicky keeps me going. She’s the best thing that has ever happened to me. sulted in many new buildings, mostly schools, updating the Public Library, and the Saugus Senior Center. He also served as Chairman of the Saugus High School Sports Hall of Fame and recruited me as a member and aide. He started up the CYO basketball program in Saugus and was active in the Saugus Socialites, a girls’ marching band. His next sporting adventure was as my assistant coach in Saugus American Little League. He recruited me to be part of the Saugus High School football broadcasting group, where we had many good years together. He received many sincere accolades, including one from Selectwoman Debra Panetta, who recalled him as “well respected in town, a kind, fair, and he was always a gentleman.” Janice Jarosz described Barry “as a nonjudgmental HIGHLIGHTS | SEE PAGE 18

13 Publizr Home