I enlisted on December 12, 1942, and entered the Navy on December 23, 1942. I went to boot camp at Green Bay Great Lakes Training Center and was given a leave in March of 1943. I was then sent to Aviation Machinist School at Millington, Tennessee, until September 10, 1943. We were not allowed very much liberty while at school–one evening every 8 days for 5 hours, and once a month, an overnight. From there I was sent to Gunnery School in San Diego, California. Lucille went back to Chicago being two weeks pregnant. Then next time we saw each other was 18 months later.
I was in San Diego until December, and then went to Hawaii. I was assigned to a PB4Y1 (B-24 Liberator). My position was the nose gunner. In July 1944, we went on to the South Pacific, Morotai, Netherlands East Indies. We lived in tents with makeshift showers–elevated water tanks. Because of the tropical weather, the water was too hot to drink and too cold to shower. There were a lot of strange things we had to contend with. At first, we picked the “weevils” out of the baked bread, but later considered them extra protein. Scorpions were in abundance.
Robert C. Binkley
(my maternal grandfather)
You Think Too Much! 
I love it. I just finished basic in May and have been serving in the 3rd Infantry Regiment ever since. I love hearing the story of your grandfather. I wish that I would have been mature enough to have appreciated my grandfather more and gotten him to tell me about his war experience. In my defense, I was only twelve or thirteen when he passed away. God bless you guys!
Good story.