In
1941-1942, Hugh was a lens grinder who worked at a production plant for precision optics in Camden, New Jersey. His childhood friend
Jeanette, who he would later end up marrying, was a teenager and
worked as a typist and secretary in an office, also in Camden.
Hugh's parents lived on Deveraux Street in Philadelphia, and he
likely rode the train over the bridge to get to Camden. They wrote
letters back and forth and he probably saw her during this time.
Based on Jan's birth year of 1928, she would have been 14 when Hughie
enlisted. Hugh was born in 1919 and was older, he was about 23 years
of age. (He enlisted in 1942, possibly to escape the draft) He
enlisted in US Navy Reserves, not the Navy proper.
Hugh
had always loved amateur radio and electronics, tinkering with them
almost since their invention. He probably took all the radios in
his parent's house apart and put them back together as a kid, with or
without success. He got his first real radio operator's license in 1937, so he
was already a ham by the time WWII broke out. His bedroom walls were
no doubt plastered with QSL cards. His first radio call sign
assigned to him was W3GYY. Later on it became W2YAM and much later,
K2CP. In his radio room in the 1980's were boxes of vacuum tubes, a
throat mike used by fighter pilots, a couple old military radio
headsets, a primitive code practice machine that used a magnetic tape
reel recorder, and Heathkit equipment he had built and tested himself. He had an old telegraph transmitter key and receiver tapper
from the late 1800's or very early 1900's. When I was little I used
to play with a small code practice rig he had hooked up, as well as
listen to cassette tapes he had with code lessons. He used to say
that “Real radios glow in the dark!”
His
old pal Tommy George (*actually his cousin) applied for a ham license
the same day as Hugh. Hugh's call sign was K2CP and Tommy's was K2CJ.
They remained friends until well into their 70's. Both Hugh and
Tommy were licensed for over fifty years.
Hugh
remained in contact with many of his WW2 submarine veterans well into
the 1970's, '80s and '90s. He kept detailed lists of the men's
names, their last known addresses and even their radio call signs. It
may be worth contacting some of these people by mail --or their next
of kin-- to find if they are still around. The most recent veteran's
rosters I have in my possession are dated 1985 though. A lot changes
in 30 years (like me growing up for example). Still it may be worth a
shot in the dark.
I
don't know what Hugh was interested in at the time the war came to
America. I don't know what movies he liked, or what music he listened
to, or what books he read. I can only guess based on what was popular
at the time. I know he always loved books though, as he would sign
his name inside the cover of each one as “From the library of Hugh
N. Siegel”.
Hugh
was always into boats and the sea. His own father served in the Navy
around the turn of the century. Frederick Valentine Siegel was a
gunner's mate aboard the steamship USS Indiana, and he fought in the
Spanish-American war and the Boxer Rebellion. He may have given Hugh
his middle name, Nelson, in tribute to Admiral Horatio Nelson, but
this needs to be verified. So the Navy was in his blood. He always
loved fish and sea creatures, and the ocean. We have many pictures
of him at the beaches in Wildwood and Ocean City, New Jersey. As far
as I know he never surfed though. He did not seem athletic; by that
I mean he did not seem to enjoy sports. Though later in life he
enjoyed camping, backpacking, hiking and skiing. He moved to upstate
New York for this reason, to be closer to the Adirondacks.
He
enlisted and was accepted into US Naval Training School as a Radio
Tech 2nd Class because of his civilian experience. He
worked at a message desk in the Commandant's office about the same
time Jan was a typist. They could both type very well, and Hugh
later convinced Jan to get a Novice-grade ham license (listen but
code transmit only)
When he was still in training at the Navy academy, he learned that his Dad died of a heart attack on his way to a fire (he was a fireman). Then his mom died two years later. he received that telegram after arriving in Australia, having just survived the worst ordeal of his life. He went to live with his uncle George on Albion
Street.
Hugh
worked at Frankford Arsenal in Philadelphia for awhile before being shipped out.
