Hingham

I wasn't due to start my work today until early afternoon, so I took an early morning trip to Hingham, just across the bay from Boston. As it happens, my dad was in the Navy during World War II, and on 11 May 1944, he helped to rescue fourteen men from a burning, exploding ship just outside Boston Harbor, a ship which had been loaded with condemned ammunition at the Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot, for disposal in deep water. I'd never known about the incident growing up as my dad rarely talked about his naval service. It wasn't until he died in 1992 that I learned he'd received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his efforts, and it wasn't until seven years ago that I began to delve into what happened that day. When I'm done with my work at the conference, I'll take a train to New York to visit one of the few living sailors who was on the ship with my dad that day.