The Belle of Portugal

     For my 89 year old father, this ship represents many great WWII stories. He was a Morris code operator during the 4 years that he was in the Army and stayed mainly on this ship, sailing around the coast of Panama, and also hovering around the Galapagos Islands. Currently, he doesn't remember what he ate for his last meal, but he can entertain you with story after story, once you get him going, about his life as an Army soldier stationed on this ship. Our nephew found this photo on the web and offers the  following information, "52 tuna boats from San Diego were conscripted into the service shortly after Pearl Harbor, to serve as Yard Patrol (YP) boats.  The boats were to be used as look outs and supply craft and they were scattered from Alaska to South America.  The government asked their crews to serve on the boats, and they did.  The Belle of Portugal was one of these boats.  Of the 52 boats that were conscripted, 21 didn't return."

    We have a Thanksgiving tradition of writing down 5 things that we are thankful for. My mom and dad probably won't want to participate this year, but they will enjoy sitting at the table and listening to the seven of us share what we are giving thanks to our Lord for this year. My DH will give dad this photo after we are done. We are so thankful that they are with us this year. We are enjoying God's mercies and blessings, for sure.