Stanley Smith - Mickey Strand - Veterans Series

Mickey Strand - Veterans Series Skip to Main Content

World War 2

Click on Veteran's photo to see their service story. These Warriors served during the World War 2.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where can I donate?

I have created a way to accept donations to grow the project, use the WWII Veterans Portrait Series Go Fund Me.

Where are you located?

I live in the San Diego area but have traveled to many locations to interview and photograph Veterans.


How Long is an Appointment?

Appointments usually last an hour. But please free up time for Mickey to set up lights and cameras, hold the interview, and take some still photographers for in the project.

Do you accept reservations?

Yes is the simple answer to the question. Each appointment is set up as an individual session. Group sessions have been set up when I visited a senior living facility or many of the California Veterans Homes.

Copyright © 2024 Mickey Strand – Veterans Series
U.S. NAVY Shipfitter Third Class World War II and Korean War Stanley S. Smith was born in Bellflower, California, on December 4, 1925. He graduated from high school in 1943 and joined the Navy on April 7, 1943. After boot camp, Stanley attended the Shipfitter Instruction Apprentice School at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia. A ship fitter is an enlisted Sailor or civilian who works with high-tensile, high-yield strength steel materials. It had the Navy rating badge with two crossed hammers. Shipfitters fabricate, assemble, and erect all structural parts of a ship and coordinate all fixed-tank work on submarines and ships. They use heavy machinery such as plate planners, shears, punches, drill presses, bending rolls, bending slabs, plate bevelers, saws, presses, and angle rolls. These craftsmen perform grinding, drilling, and fit-up operations on submarines and surface crafts. For most shipfitting, men crouched and sprawled on their hands and knees to fix leaking pipes and re-fit various plating across the ship, lifting heavy objects and generally maintaining both the outside and inside hull soundness. As the vessels experienced damage, shipfitters became increasingly in high demand and valuable aboard a ship. Often, these varied jobs took shipfitters across multiple decks and levels of the ship. During his service, Stanley served aboard three ships: the USS Rocky Mountain (AGC 3), the Command Ship of Commander, 5th Amphibious Force, and the Pacific Fleet; the USS Vulcan (AR 5), a repair ship operating in the Mediterranean Sea, providing support for the repair of damaged vessels; and onboard the USS Harris (APA 2), an attack transport ship. Shipfitter (Repair) Petty Officer 3rd Class (SF3) Stanley S. Smith was honorably discharged on December 23, 1945, after two years of active duty service. He was awarded the Philippine Liberation Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal. After Stanley's service, he became a firefighter in Riverside, California. He was married to Roberta, and they had four children. Stanley also worked as a welder for Union Carbide and Masonite and owned a motel in Laytonville, CA, along with a laundromat and a walnut grove in Chico, California.
mickey,strand,photograph,nikon,Z8,REdding,portrait,VPS,veteran,CALVET
Stanley Smith - Mickey Strand - Veterans Series
U.S. NAVY Shipfitter Third Class World War II and Korean War Stanley S. Smith was born in Bellflower, California, on December 4, 1925. He graduated from high school in 1943 and joined the Navy on April 7, 1943. After boot camp, Stanley attended the Shipfitter Instruction Apprentice School at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia. A ship fitter is an enlisted Sailor or civilian who works with high-tensile, high-yield strength steel materials. It had the Navy rating badge with two crossed hammers. Shipfitters fabricate, assemble, and erect all structural parts of a ship and coordinate all fixed-tank work on submarines and ships. They use heavy machinery such as plate planners, shears, punches, drill presses, bending rolls, bending slabs, plate bevelers, saws, presses, and angle rolls. These craftsmen perform grinding, drilling, and fit-up operations on submarines and surface crafts. For most shipfitting, men crouched and sprawled on their hands and knees to fix leaking pipes and re-fit various plating across the ship, lifting heavy objects and generally maintaining both the outside and inside hull soundness. As the vessels experienced damage, shipfitters became increasingly in high demand and valuable aboard a ship. Often, these varied jobs took shipfitters across multiple decks and levels of the ship. During his service, Stanley served aboard three ships: the USS Rocky Mountain (AGC 3), the Command Ship of Commander, 5th Amphibious Force, and the Pacific Fleet; the USS Vulcan (AR 5), a repair ship operating in the Mediterranean Sea, providing support for the repair of damaged vessels; and onboard the USS Harris (APA 2), an attack transport ship. Shipfitter (Repair) Petty Officer 3rd Class (SF3) Stanley S. Smith was honorably discharged on December 23, 1945, after two years of active duty service. He was awarded the Philippine Liberation Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal. After Stanley's service, he became a firefighter in Riverside, California. He was married to Roberta, and they had four children. Stanley also worked as a welder for Union Carbide and Masonite and owned a motel in Laytonville, CA, along with a laundromat and a walnut grove in Chico, California.