A MEMORIAL TO
JOHN JOSEPH
MACHI
A WORLD WAR II MERCHANT
MARINER
MAY HE REST IN ETERNAL
PEACE
THAT HE SO RICHLY
DESERVES
I dedicate this Memorial
to Joni
(Machi) Terrio and her children on this first
anniversary
of the
death of her father. Joni let me try and pay the homage
that your father deserved as a Merchant Marine and his service
to our country.
I hope that this memorial will help relief some of the suffering
and
pain that
you and your children have gone through.
Paul Henriott, CWO, USA,
Retired
USS Oakland Webmaster
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A MEMORIAL TO
JOHN JOSEPH MACHI
AUGUST 31, 1921 -
NOVEMBER 24,
1997
SEAMAN
    
COMBAT
BAR
DEFENSE MEDAL PACIFIC WAR
ZONE
WWII VICTORY KOREAN SERVICE BAR
 
JONI
(MACHI) TERRIO
HIS LOVING
DAUGHTER
On
November 24, 1997 my Father finally
lost the war his
body waged with Congestive Heart
Failure
that
had
raged for over 33 years. The battles were many... the
artificial
valve in 1965... one of the first to be done in open heart
surgery...
the bypasses. The onboard Defibrilator and the pace maker... all
minor victories
that
bought him a few more years. He left behind a wife, a
daughter (myself),
four grand daughters and one grandson... all of which miss him very
very
much. During his 76 years he saw alot, suffered greatly, and complained
very
little. He was a quiet man, with a heart of gold, who loved his family
and his country
above
all else. When WW II came... and the
Navy
wouldn't accept him because of a
heart
murmer
left
him through the ravages of Rheumatic Fever he turned and joined
the Merchant Marines and served in Army Transport. I remember
many stories when I was little of his time in the Merchant
Marine.... but
none of the important facts that would truly help me pay homage here
that
he deserves. I know he had his ship
shot
out
from
under them a couple of times... That several more times they
barely
limped back to harbor.I'll never forget how he
looked
when he spoke about firing the weapon at the attacking planes...
how his
hands froze on the grips of the gun, or the look in his eyes when he
spoke
of the enemy shooting our men in
the
water for
sport
when they'd sunk their vessel. That he was there the day after
the
Infamous bombing of our ships in Pearl Harbor...
and he served in moving the remains and in other clean up details.
When he left
the service
there were no thanks... and he never complained. When he
died... he did not receive the flag or salute the VA would have allowed
him because there
was no
service to perform it. All their
limited
income allowed for was cremation
and the
scattering
of his ashes in what is called a communal garden, and I was in
no
position to help that either. I think he deserved more than
we
could do for all he'd done... for his country and for us. And so, with
what I
CAN do... let
this little corner of the net stand in
his
memory.
|
 WIDOW
AND MOTHER
RUTH IRENE
(SEWELL) MACHI
 
JONI (MACHI)
TERRIO
HIS
LOVING
DAUGHTER
THE
GRAND CHILDREN
WE LOVE AND MISS YOU
GRAND-FATHER
BARBARA ANNE
(JAEHNKE) WILLIAMS
AMANDA
LYNN JAEHNKE
STEPHEN
CHRISTOPHER
TERRIO JR.
IRENE
RENE
TERRIO
TARA MARIE
TERRIO
To the brave men
of the
Merchant
Marine
I have to take my
hat
off these
fine men that were the members of the Merchant
Marine. The U.S. Navy armed guard that went with them and maintained the
guns. The Navy escort
ships
that
provided the screen protection against the
German
submarines. It was a job that had to be done and not to many wanted to
do
it. They put their lives on the line day in and day out. Bravery and
sunking
of the ships was the talk of the day. It
was
not uncommon to be sunk, get resuced by
another
ship and get sunk again all in one day. In other words they went
through hell
day in and day out. They never gave up and victory tasted that much
sweeter
to them. I just hope that the generations that follow will not forget
their
sacrifices.
THE WAR WOULD
NOT
HAVE BEEN WON
WITHOUT THEM.
United States
Merchant
Marine
FROM THE GRAND
CHILDREN
FROM THE
OFFICERS AND
CREW
USS OAKLAND
CL/CLAA-95
Requiescat in
pace!
--------- May
he rest in peace!
This Web Page was
created
by and
is maintained by Paul
D.
Henriott
Last updated 25
March
2006
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