A letter to Lohbeck,

Uncle Pat, ENS Patillo Ainsworth Finlayson writes Clarence A. Lohbeck  S1/c to see how he was doing since separated.  A lot of the original crew were separated after the V1 bomb his LST-312 in Deptford, England.  Some were reassigned to other ships, other duties while the 312 was being repaired.  After a short while many of the original shipmates found themselves back aboard the 312, others didn't.  These young men went through a great deal together - and missed each other when separated.
 

I've been reading a lot of the letters that Pat and his shipmates wrote to each other - mainly between 1980 and 2002.  They had a lot of reunions.  It was said when they all got together, they were among brothers.  They had all aged, but time never diminished their love for one another.  They had become family during that war.

It's been a bittersweet experience going through these old letters.  As they aged, as time went by, more of the shipmates passed away.  God bless them.