Hi! Thank you very much for your interesting story. Victor was on the Cutter Storis. On the Coast Guard's website it says:

Mature enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1942 after trying to enlist in the Navy. The Navy told the actor he was color blind and wouldn’t enlist him, but the Coast Guard took more interest in the actor and had him re tested and enlisted him immediately. Mature enlisted as a seaman recruit and immediately reported to the Cutter Storis in Boston Harbor. Known in Hollywood as "beautiful hunk of man", his Coast Guard shipmates, who took an immediate liking to the unpretentious actor, dubbed him "hunk of junk". Mature worked hard, eventually working his way up to Chief Boatswain Mate. Between tours sea duty, Mature appeared at Bond rallies for the Coast Guard eventually starring in the Coast Guard show "Tars and Spars", a morale show which toured the country during WWII. There is more info here: http://www.uscg.mil/history/faqs/victormature.html

Thanks so much again for your question! Have a great day! :)

Shannon

My uncle, John Moore, served on the Storis with Victor Mature. Some great stories, and YES, Mature was well-liked by shipmates. I believe he has a group photo from Greenland where they all grew hefty beards. When I locate it, I'll scan it and forward to this website. Sadly, my uncle just recently passed away.

Dear Mr. Lewis:

Thank you so much for your message. I'm so very sorry about the loss of your Uncle.

Thank you so much for sharing your story about him serving with Victor on the Storis! That is so kind of you to offer to scan that photo of them when you find it! That would be wonderful to see!

Thank you so much again for sharing your story and for visiting the website. I look forward to you visiting again! Have a wonderful day!

Shannon

The ship in question was the troop ship USS Admiral H. T. Mayo, AP-125. I was a crew member of that ship at the same time as Victor Mature. We sailed from San Pedro, CA through the Panama Canal and arrived at Le Havre, France on 12 June, 1945. We picked up almost 5000 former German prisoners of war and brought them home to Boston, Massachusetts, arriving there on 21 June, 1945.

Hi! Thank you so much for your nice message and for the information about being a crew member on the ship with Victor. That is so interesting and I really appreciate you sharing your story.

Thank you so much again for your message and for visiting. I will look forward to you visiting again!

Have a wonderful day! :)

Shannon