Chief Petty Officer
Merchant Marines
William M. Atha, Sr., was born in 1925. He served in the Merchant Marines as a Chief Petty Officer where he spent a lot of time making freshwater out
of saltwater and performing the other duties necessary to run a ship. Mr. Atha remembers learning how to run a ship, getting caught in some fierce
storms in the ocean, and saving a drunk shipmate who fell overboard.