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| Name | Narrative | Branch and Rank | Unit and Specialty | Conflict/Arena | Born/Died |
| George B. Downes, Jr. | George B. Downs, Jr. was born March 29, 1926. He enlisted in the US Navy in 1943 at age 17 and served during WWII and the Korean Conflict. He served aboard the USS Hector (AR-7), a Vulcan class repair ship. After shakedown along the West Coast, the new repair ship sailed for the Pacific, reaching Pearl Harbor 9 April 1944. She remained at Pearl Harbor effecting repairs on various ships, primarily landing craft, until she departed for Eniwetok on 5 June. Arriving there 13 June, Hector spent the summer at Eniwetok and then sailed for Ulithi 30 September. Her biggest repair job of the war came to her 27 October at Ulithi as the cruiser USS Houston, torpedoed twice by Japanese submarines, was towed alongside. Although hampered by a severe typhoon season which twice sent her out to sea for safety, Hector managed to repair Houston by the end of the year besides aiding many other smaller craft. Hector departed Ulithi on 16 February 1945 and five days later steamed into Tarragona, Leyte Gulf, to repair ships as the battle for the Philippines raged. This task completed, she returned to Ulithi 30 March and continued on to Saipan 22 May. After the war ended on 1 September, Hector remained in the Pacific to prepare various ships for return to the United States. After the war, the Hector departed Saipan 21 January 1946, She reached Long Beach, California 3 February. After serving as a repair ship there, she sailed for her first WestPac cruise 7 May 1947, thereby settling into a peacetime schedule interrupted 3 years later by the outbreak of Korean War. Hector sailed into Yokosuka 18 September 1950. From there she continued to Inchon, Korea, arriving at the scene of the Inchon Invasion, 25 September. For the remainder of the Korean War Hector alternated repair service along the Korean coast and in Japan with normal duty out of Long Beach. In 1954 she was presented with the Battle Efficiency Plaque for the year 1953–1954, and again in 1955 was awarded the same plaque for the year 1954–1955. George earned the rank of MOMM3 in the US Coast Guard and END3 in the US Navy. He married Helen M. Sabo. They moved to Delanco in 1978 and were residents for the rest of their lives. George became a typesetter for the Philadelphia Inquirer. He died March 4, 2001 at age 74 and is buried in Brig. Gen. Wlm. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Arneytown, NJ. | USCG MOMM3 US Navy END3 | USS Hector (AR-7) | WWII Korea Okinawa Pacific Theater | 1926 - 2001 |
Updated October 30, 2023