The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program is honored to announce the September 2017 story of the month has been selected to recognize the service of United States Navy Reserve Lieutenant, Henry Eugene Vickers. The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program was privileged to interview Lieutenant Vickers shortly after he celebrated his 101st birthday on November the 11th.

Lieutenant Vickers joined the United States Navy and received a commission upon graduation from the training facility at Harvard. Once completing his training to become an officer, Lieutenant Vickers was ordered to USS Ganymede AK 104 , which was a Carter Class Cargo Ship. He spoke of the hardships of leaving home but proudly shared, "you never liked leaving your wife and daughter, but you just did it, there was no question, in those days, this is what you were called to do, you do it." While on the USS Ganymede, he would sail the South Pacific and to visit Australia to deliver troops and supplies. He then received word of a new assignment aboard the USS Panamint AGC 13, a Mount McKinley Class Amphibious Force Command Ship, which was under construction. Upon joining the crew of the USS Panamint, he would serve as the signal officer on the bridge. While sharing his memories of the USS Panamint, Vickers spoke fondly of his friend and bunkmate Lieutenant Thomas B. Hollis, who was honored by the United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program as the September 2014 Story of the Month.

Both Lieutenant Vickers and Lieutenant Hollis would participate in three naval invasions while on board the USS Panamint. Vickers shared his memories of the Ie Shima, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa invasions. He recalled vivid details of near miss torpedo and kamikaze attacks. While recalling his experiences during the Okinawa Invasion, he shared, “Kamikazes were coming all the time, they were aiming for us... I'll never forget this one that went right across us, we shot him down on the other side of the ship.” Of all of his harrowing memories, he was most proud of his family and his homecoming after the conclusion of the war.

The United States Navy Memorial honors United States Navy Reserve Lieutenant, Henry Eugene Vickers., featured within this series titled, Stories of Service, Story of the Month. Each month, this series honors a Veteran’s story recorded by the Stories of Service Program at the Navy Memorial. To learn more about this story and to explore the Navy Memorial archive, visit the Navy Memorial Stories of Service site at https://www.navymemorial.org/stories-of-service.