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| Marcel in 1944 | Marcel on 14 November 2010 |
Marcel 'Mac' Desrosiers was born on July 3rd 1925 in Lowell, MA., where he attended Ste. Jeanne d'Arc grade school. On July 5th 1935 his family moved to Waltham, MA, where he attended St. Charles Elementary & Highschool, from which he graduated in 1942.
Mac talks about growing up in Lowel and Waltham: 
After highschool Mac became a shipsfitter apprentice at the Boston Navy Yard, where he helped rebuild the USS Wakefield (AP-21), the former SS Manhattan from the United States lines.
Mac talks about his pre-war jobs:
His oldest brother Ed joined the Massachusetts National guard in the mid-thirties and became part of the 211th Field Artillery. Brother Bob was drafted on August 26th 1942, and because of his watch making skills, became involved in instrument repair and map making.
Mac talks about his brother's military service:
Motivated by his father's World War I service in the Navy, as well as his brothers already serving in World War II, he enlisted in the Navy on July 2nd 1943.
Mac talks about enlisting:
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July 5th 1943, Marcel went to Newport, RI, to join company 696 in basic training. Until the end of August, he shared a quonset hut with 11 other guys with whom he participated in conditioning, close order drills etc. While there, he declined to become a radioman and was offered submarine service, but in the end was going to be trained as a gunner's mate.
Mac talks about basic training & gunnery school:
Between basic training and gunnery school he had enough of a break to attend his sister's wedding in Boston, after which it was back to Newport for about 8 weeks of gunnery training.
He took classes on a variety of calibers of Navy weaponry, and ended up second in his class, earning him a promotion to Gunner's Mate 3rd class.
Mac talks about advanced gunnery school:
After gunnery school Mac attended Advanced Gunnery School in Dearborn and Pontiac, MI. While there he was made proficient in the mechanics of the 40mm and 20mm guns. Training took place in the River Rouge Ford plant in Dearborn and the Pontiac plant in Pontiac. Room and board took place in the Ford facilities in Dearborn.
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| Single mount 20mm Oerlikon | Quad mount 40mm Bofors |
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After finishing Advanced Gunnery School, Marcel was stationed at the amphibious base at Little Creek, Va. Several weeks later, he was transferred to the USS LST 177.
Mac talks about Little Creek, VA:
While on the LST 177 in the Little Creek area, they field tested improvised floating tanks off of Cape Henry and Virgina Beach beaches.
Little Creek Amphibious base and Cape Henry - Pardon the Chesapeake Bay-Bridge tunnel, which obviously wasn't there at the time.
In March of 1944 the LST 177 swapped the homefront with the European Theatre of Operations. It took them 21 days to cross the Atlantic. The trip was uneventful until Convoy UGS 36, of which LST 177 was part, was attacked by German aircraft.
They unloaded at Bizerte (Tunisia) and started moving equipment and British, French, Senegalese and American troops to Palermo and the Italian mainland. Later, ferrying equipment between Naples and Anzio. On the return trip the LST 177 was often loaded with damaged but salvageable equipment as well as injured personnel.
Mac talks about life aboard the LST-177:
While docked in Anzio, they were often harassed by a 28 cm German railgun, referred to as "Leopold" by the Germans and as "Anzio Annie" by the allies.
The Leopold's current location, across the street from the US Army Ordnance Museum
in Aberdeen, MD
Mac talks about the railroad gun:
After been seen off by Winston Churchill they left Naples with a load of LCVP's and troops in the hold to participate in the invasion of Southern France on August 15th.
The sound of British battleship HMS Ramillies' 15" guns, which was there to silence the batteries at the entrance to Toulon harbour, reverberate in Mac's ears untill this day.
Mac's Mediterranean theatre of operations
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In the fall of 1944, Marcel returned to the States by a United Fruit Line banana boat, and was re-assigned to Little Creek, VA. Shortly thereafter he was assigned to Naval Training Center Miami. The trainride was memorable because of the derailment in Franklin, VA.
In Miami, he helped traine Chinese and Russian sailors on weapons maintenance. While stationed there, he worked at night in Miami Beach, at the Land of Sun Dairies company, from 5 to 11 to make some extra money.
Mac talks about his Miami assignment:
Several months later he was transferred to USNS Algiers in New Orleans, and stationed on the AOG 15.
Aboard the AOG 15 he was in charge of a security crew, making sure the gangplank was manned and the ship was secure.
During his assignment there he also provided crowd control during a parade for Fleet Admiral "Bull" Halsey, in New Orleans.
Mac talks about his New Orleans assignment:
In January 1946 Mac got re-assigned to the staff of the Commander Operational Development Forces in the Norfolk area, operating from the USS Adirondack - AGC 15.
USS Adirondack - AGC -15
© navsource.org
Mac talks about his Norfolk assignment:
While there, he and other gunner's mates participated in a experiment in which brass semi-fixed ammunition cartridges where replaced by composite materials i.e.bakelite.
At the time, he was eligible to get out, but instead extended to July. In july he was put in charge of 25 sailors with orders to Boston to get discharged together.
On July 6th, 1946, Marcel's three years and one day World War II service came to an end, and he joined the inactive reserve.
Certificate of Satisfactory Service - Front and Back
US Naval Reserve ID card - Front and Back