Harry Weiss, of Warsaw, grew up during the Great Depression south of Kansas City. He watched his parents struggle to make ends meet. His father served in the Army during World War I and his mother was a French war bride.
When World War II came along and Weiss was old enough to quit school, he enlisted in the Navy. He was 17. He went to Farragut, Idaho, for basic training. Then he went to Seattle and served on the USS Salinas. The crew’s primary job was to bring fuel, oil, mail and other supplies to the 9th Fleet cruiser division in the Aleutian Islands.
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