Submitted by the family of Delbert Moll
Retired Master Sgt. Delbert J. Moll was a WWII veteran, Merchant Marines (Coast Guard) veteran, U.S. Army (paratrooper with the 11th Airborne Division) veteran, Korean War veteran and retired from the Air Force with 23 years of honorable service, as a 1st Sergeant. He also served seven years in the U.S. Air Force Reserves. He was awarded several military awards including the Air Force Commendation Medal.
Moll served his country in a very patriotic and dedicated way and was a member of the WWII Greatest Generation. He possessed a fierce sense of pride for his country and his military service.
His military service took him to such places as England, France, Germany, Korea, Japan, Okinawa, China, the Pacific Islands and several bases in the U.S.A.
Moll was one of the more than 243,000 civilian volunteer mariners who served aboard ships that provided the greatest sealift in history. Critical to the war effort, the U.S. Merchant Fleet delivered troops, supplies, ammunition and equipment all over the world, including invasions from Normandy to Okinawa. The fleet often became sitting-duck targets for enemy submarines, bombers and kamikaze pilots all the while trying to dodge mines planted in their water routes.
For more on Moll and the Merchant Marines, please see this week’s print edition.