Thomas L Cavallo - USMM WWII
Thomas L Cavallo - USMM WWII
Thomas Cavallo was born in New Jersey in 1926 and joined the Merchant Marine when he was 17 after being rejected by the U.S. Navy. “I decided that I would like to be a sailor. I did try for the Navy, and they rejected me on partial colorblindness. So, the next thing would be the Merchant Marine.” Tom would be one of More than 240,000 civilian Merchant Mariners who served as a “fourth arm of defense,” transporting supplies and troops during the war.
During WWII Tom sailed on four different ships, “The third ship was a freighter. Naturally, we had guns on board the ship. The gun crew let some of the regular crew shoot the 20 millimeters.”
After the war Tom continued to sail bringing cargo to Venezuela, Aruba, the Mediterranean, Europe, Brazil, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Greece, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Japan, and once again suppling troops during the Korean War.
To learn more about the Merchant Marine Service visit our page www.https://usawarriorstories.org/watch/merchant-mariners
For more information on the AMMV (American Merchant Marine Veterans) https://ammv.us/
Happy 100th Birthday to Thomas Cavallo (08-22-2026)
USA Warrior Stories producer Ross Rowlinson attended Tom’s 100th Birthday celebration!
