Excerpt from “A Military Mustang”

As I read and reread “A Military Mustang: The Extraordinary Life of Captain John W. Arens” I’m struck by the amount of stories and details he recalled of his life. Here’s an amazing t one worth sharing.

                    Charley

Texas City Explosion
Our ship, an ESSO tanker, was sailing towards Texas City, Texas. Our captain slowed the ship planning to arrive two hours later than scheduled. That saved all of our lives. I was on the wheel and I asked him, “Why did you slow down the ship?” He told me, “Because every time I come in, they tell me to slow down as they are not ready for us, so this time I decided I would slow down before they told me to.” The French ship, Grandcamp was already docked. It exploded at the pier and if we had been on time, we would have been docked next to it. A total of 537 people died that day. It was the biggest explosion that ever happened.   Our ship was diverted to Bay Town, Texas, where we loaded our cargo. I thought of my mom and the cross I was wearing as once again my life was saved. I have a picture in my room next to my bed. It shows a young sailor steering a ship in stormy weather and seas. Christ is standing behind the young man with his arm outstretched pointing the way to safety. Next to the picture is a copy of the seaman’s version of the 23rd Psalm.