Francis "Mike" Kearns enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1939. He would go on to serve in the U.S. Navy for 21 years and for17 of those years he served at sea on 11different ships. His first assignment was to the USS Constellation in Newport, R.I. He and the crew slung hammocks on board this old wooden Sloop-of-War vessel and did repairs to her. This is the same ship you see in the Baltimore harbor on display today. It is still commissioned and part of the US fleet. He would serve on two battleships, the USS Wyoming and the USS New York before being assigned to the USS North Carolina for more than four years during World War II. He would see action in Guadalcanal, Tulagi, the Battle of the Eastern Solomon's, Makin, Tarawa, Abemama, the Marshall Operations, attacks on Central Pacific targets, the Marianas invasion, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, to name a few.
In 1946 and 1947 Mike served aboard the USS Mount Olympus, the flagship for Adm. Richard Byrd on the U.S.Navy's Antarctic Expedition known as Operation Highjump. After leaving the South Pole, he was assigned aboard the light cruiser, the USS Fargo for two years and for a short time on board the USS Adirondack. In 1950 and 51 he served aboard the battleship USS Missouri, which became the flagship for 3 different Admirals during the Korean War and saw action in bombardment missions on Hongin and Tanchon. He would serve on 2 more ships, the USS Cabot and the USS Pandemus before ending his career on the Heavy Cruiser, USS Newport News from 1958 to 1960. Mike retired from the U.S. Navy in 1961 and went to work for Commercial Union Insurance Co. as a Safety and Damage Control Specialist until his final retirement.
