Same Boat, Different Time and Crew

I’m researching a favorite family photo before putting it into the public domain at Wikimedia Commons. It shows my Dad (James Owen Farley) with his men after World War II and the landing craft he was in command of.

The caption reads, “Skipper and crew of L.C.T. 726” Subic Bay, Luzon, P.I. (The Philippines) March 12, 1946.

My Dad is on the bottom row, third from the left. He was one of the maligned “90 Day Wonders”, a group of officers rushed into service during the War. He came in during the last part of the War.

Dad he said he never saw any action except for a lone Japanese Zero that appeared out of nowhere one day over Luzon, dropped a bomb on a fuel depot, and then flew off into the unknown.

He talked about how one man would always have to watch for sharks when the others went swimming. Every service member in the theatre feared our country possibly having to invade Japan.

Compare the photo above to the undated photograph below. Same boat with a different crew. Obviously, with the war still going on or perhaps just ended. Everyone in uniform.