The veterans' creased and age-spotted hands gripped gray railings yesterday as they boarded the John W. Brown. Peering up the steep gangway as the 60-year-old Liberty ship prepared to sail from North Locust Point to the Key Bridge and back, three veterans recalled a time when they were strong-muscled enough to scramble up a rope ladder.
"When you are 17 years old and half-crazy, you didn't give a damn," said William Kalwa, a 75-year-old veteran from Dundalk, who with pals Jim Maginnis, 81, of Rosedale, and Don Mason, 75, of Eastwood, took a free ride on the John W. Brown as part of an annual tribute to area veterans and those killed in foreign wars.
The three were joined by about 500 other veterans on the vessel, which is maintained by volunteers with Project Liberty Ship. Many of the volunteers were on hand yesterday to run the ship, an oil-powered steamship that was built at the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard in Baltimore in 1942. Liberty ships were so named by President Franklin D. Roosevelt because of the rifles, troops and trucks they ferried to distant battlefields during World War II.
"One of the reasons we plan this trip is to recognize the veterans that have served in all the wars," said Joseph T. Colgan of Project Liberty Ship. "But it's more important to recognize the veterans who never heard themselves called 'veterans.'"
On board the ship, there was a memorial service for those killed in the two World Wars and the Korean and Vietnam wars. As a bugler played taps, a wreath of flowers was thrown into the harbor by a color guard of veterans.
One of those watching the ceremony from the deck of the John W. Brown - which was named for a labor leader from Maine - was Jack Cuthbert, 83, of Rodgers Forge. Cuthbert served in the Army's 29th Division, which was made up of men from Maryland. Cuthbert stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.
"I was scared to death," said Cuthbert, who was wounded twice during the war.
Cuthbert, like many veterans on the John W. Brown, said there's no easy way to describe what it feels like to look into the eyes of an enemy soldier and pull the trigger on a rifle. As a result, younger generations may never fully comprehend the sacrifices veterans made, he said.
"I don't like to elaborate on the war," he said. "It's done and it's over and it's history."
The memories of war, however, remain vivid.
Navy Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Vernon Toft, 82, of Dundalk, recalled sweeping Mediterranean waters for German mines. He said that he and the rest of the crew "got used to the terror" of war.
Ralph Brown, 79, of Salisbury, a Navy veteran who served aboard Liberty ships as an armed guard, recalled the staccato crack of the 3-inch gun he manned.
Many veterans who visited the ship yesterday also invited their families to tour it after the 45-minute harbor cruise. Family and friends lined the dock, waved flags and held up "Welcome Home" signs. The Chesapeake High School Choir from Pasadena serenaded the crowd.
J. Louis Aiello, 78, of Kingsville, a Navy radio operator, was excited to see his two daughters and their families waiting for him. He said that being on the Liberty ship - Aiello served on two such ships during World War II - brought back many memories, some humorous.
Aiello was on his first wartime deployment when the ship on which he was sailing, the SS Lambert Cadwalader, broke down off the coast of Florida. When another crew member asked him to send an SOS, Aiello admitted that he didn't know how to work the radio - it was different from the Navy equipment upon which he'd trained. (Liberty ships - only two of more than 2,700 exist today - were operated by the merchant marine.)
"The guy had to push me aside and send the SOS himself," Aiello said, laughing.
For Aiello's family, it was a day to learn history and pay respect to veterans, said Anna Aiello Roberts, 38, of Bel Air. Her son, Alex, 7, didn't comprehend his grandfather's wartime service until she explained it to him. After that, he knew what sort of sign he wanted to make.
"He told me we had to make a 'Thank You' sign to thank all of those people," she said.