Jack Delmond
Yeoman First Class
United States Naval Reserve Force
America's Navy
Once a mighty image of rising American naval power, the U.S.S. Newark, now sat as a limp antiquated ship in the New York harbor when Jack Delmond visited it (1). The bulky steel battleship was being used as a makeshift hospital, though its remaining deck gun did provide Jack with a good photo opportunity (1). Jack was a young Italian immigrant who had left his home of Gagliano, Italy for a chance at the American Dream in New York City. The opportunities offered by the newly created United States Naval Reserve had led him to enlist and it was with this formation that he served stateside during World War One. He would choose to stay in the Navy well past the conclusion of the war and was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia in 1920. His superiors had noticed his knack for organization and would assign him to administrative duties as a Yeoman First Class, which included a fair amount of typing. This experience would prove highly valuable to him upon his retirement from the Navy in 1926 as he was able to attain a job as a typist at a factory in New York City. His new career would set him and his wife, Lena Antina, on course to be able to raise a family and live happily, the manifestation of the American Dream.
Sources:
(1) dreadnaughtz666. “USS Newark (C1).” Naval Encyclopedia, 24 Oct. 2019, www.naval-encyclopedia.com/ww1/US/uss-newark-c1.
(1) dreadnaughtz666. “USS Newark (C1).” Naval Encyclopedia, 24 Oct. 2019, www.naval-encyclopedia.com/ww1/US/uss-newark-c1.