Off Topic for Bellatrix1965

[Gary1]

I thought about sending this as a PM, but I thought maybe a few other people would find it interesting, too.

Bellatrix is, of course, a star that navigators used to use for sextant star shots. Not a terribly easy star to find, by the way, but it's bright enough to be on the list.

Bellatrix was also a US naval ship. An attack transport that served with some distinction during World War II. As to why and how I know this: my dad spent his years in the Navy aboard her. She was present for the invasions of Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Eniwetok, Tulagi, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and like almost every cargo ship, she made the trip through the Panama Canal to be present for Normandy.

Her designation was originally AKA-20, which was changed to AKA-03 after the war. If you're a WWII movie buff, watch the old footage, and if you see a landing barge with KA-20-12, which shows up frequently, that was my dad. He was a boatswain's mate and assault boat coxswain.

Hope you enjoy the pictures. The last one is The Old Man, circa 1943. And no, I didn't flip the picture. During WWII, some rates like Boatswain's Mate, Quartermaster's Mate, and a few others were 'Right Arm Rates'. Some time after WWII, the Navy decided to drop that, and all 'Crows' were on the left sleeve.