This is the final post in a recent series about my grandfather’s Naval service during World War II. Art Cubbage received his Honorable Discharge from the US Navy on 9 April 1946, just short of two years from when he was inducted. At the time of his discharge, Art was a Yeoman Second Class.
Art’s Naval Separation papers had a wealth of information about him at the time, including his address and occupation, both before and after his service, schooling, and Naval insurance and pay.[1]
During Art’s time in the Norfolk, Camp Shelton and the other 3 bases in the area were partially “inactivated at the end of hostilities of WWII” and were later consolidated into one installation named the Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek.[2] This base was commissioned on 10 August 1945. This was during Art’s time of service and I wonder if he attended the commissioning. Little Creek was designated a permanent base in 1946.
Art’s wife Agnes went to Norfolk at the time of his discharge. Above are pictures of Art’s Naval housing and a picture of Agnes in front of his home during his service.
I love this picture of Agnes and Art (except that his eyes are closed!). I found it in a folder from The Windsor House, a restaurant in Norfolk. The date written on the back of the photo is 9 April 1946 – the same date as Art’s discharge. I can imagine my grandparents enjoying a nice dinner together after being apart for two years.
After his discharge, Art went to Pittsburgh and then back to Akron with his family. They lived at Hillwood Homes, which was housing for Veterans, and Art worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad again.
SOURCES:
[1] Notice of Separation from U.S. Naval Service, William Arthur Cubbage, 2C USN-I(SA), 9 April 1945, USN PSC Shelton, Virginia; privately held by the author’s father, original scanned by Laura Cubbage-Draper, 2011.
[2] “Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia,” Military Installations, (http://www.militaryinstallations.dod.mil/MOS/f?p=MI:CONTENT:0::::P4_INST_ID,P4_CONTENT_TITLE,P4_CONTENT_EKMT_ID,P4_CONTENT_DIRECTORY:4960,Installation%20Overview,30.90.30.30.30.0.0.0.0,1 : accessed 6 October 2017).
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