'Til Death does Us Part

HIM

If you are not looking for it, you might just miss it; even on a map. In Berks County, Pennsylvania is a small town of Pennsylvania Dutch origin. It is called Macungie. This small town seems so “out of the way”; just so “out of the middle of nowhere.”

A young couple, Irvin and Margaret Grim are raising their two-year-old son, Richard, when along came their second, Clifford. As Margaret would tell it, when Richard was born on June 28, 1931, her mother-in-law convinced the young couple to give him two middle names. So, Richard became Richard Franklin Luther Grim. Once again, at the urging of Irvin's Mother, Margaret and Irvin named their second son, born September 15, 1933, Clifford Irvin Francis Grim.

Such a long moniker for a small boy; however, being named after his father and a cousin, Clifford has some huge shoes to fill as he gets older. Clifford was followed not long afterward by another brother, and this time Margaret put the kibosh on another child with double middle names. Kermit Carl Grim is now the youngest brother of three. The final addition to this growing family is Diane Elaine Grim; the baby of the family and the only girl, she becomes the favored sibling of Clifford. Both Clifford and Diane had fond memories of Clifford brushing Diane's hair when she was little.

This family can not stand still, and the family moves from Macungie to Emmaus, Pennsylvania; another “blink you miss it” town. However, that is not the family's final stop. The metropolis of Reading, Pennsylvania becomes their final home where Margaret and Irvin Grim will raise their four precocious children.

How much trouble four children can be is not lost on Margaret. As a stay-at-home Mother, Margaret has her work cut out for her. In the basement of their home, the floor had a slight hill; but, more importantly, there was an old baby buggy with huge wheels stored there. This would be the perfect bit of fun for Richard and Clifford. Richard stood at the bottom of the hill and Clifford at the top. They put Diane, now five years old, into the baby buggy. Clifford would push the buggy down the hill, and Richard would send her back up the hill.

This went on for quite some time, until Margaret discovered them. Although Diane was having fun with the ride, the brothers were now in trouble with their Mother. Diane, Richard, and Clifford are not completely clear what the punishment was for the baby buggy ride; however, Margaret and Irvin must have found an appropriate discipline.

All four children are raised in Margaret and Irvin's Lutheran faith. They are active members in their home church, attending many services. Clifford, as a teenager, found he had issues with anger. As Clifford remembered, it was not until he accepted Christ Jesus as his Lord and Savior, did the anger in him subside and he was able to finally find his peace.

Clifford learned the value of hard work while living in Reading with his parents. Irvin Grim worked in a foundry. He worked hard for his family every day. During the summer vacations from school, the Grim children would spend countless hours at the “truck” farm of their grandparents, Charles and Amanda Grim. They were expected to help around the farm with the vegetables, chickens, and other chores during their stay.

Clifford's first job was delivering newspapers around an area in Reading. He had a good throwing arm, and hit his mark ninety-five percent of the time. Still, delivering newspapers would not be his last job in Reading. As a teenager, Clifford worked at a bakery; the same bakery close to McKnight Street where his brother, Richard worked.

Clifford would, later in life, complain about how doughnuts are made today. He worked on making doughnuts and deliveries for the bakery. Glazed doughnuts back then, did not have glaze that would water down after sitting for a few days. Clifford made sure the glaze on those doughnuts he made was the kind that made a glazed doughnut keep its consistency.

During his Reading High School life, the Korean War began. His brother, Richard was drafted into the Army. Clifford, wanting to make his own decision on what service he would enter, enlisted in the United States Navy While still in high school. Richard left Reading for US Army boot camp in May of 1952. Two months later, Clifford reported to Bainbridge, Maryland for US Navy boot camp.

Clifford showed the Navy that he was a smart cookie, and after boot camp, he headed off for A-school training at Great Lakes Training Center in Great Lakes, Illinois. Clifford excelled in his machinist class at Great Lakes. He was allowed to choose what ship he wanted to serve with during his career. Clifford had already decided that a destroyer was where he wanted to be. He selected the USS Charles J. Badger, DD-657 that was on a shakedown cruise near Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Badger's home port was Newport, Rhode Island; however, Clifford had to take a cargo ship from the Philadelphia Naval Yard to Cuba to report for duty on the Badger.

As Clifford told it, the ship then went through the Panama Canal around to San Diego, California, as they were to escort a carrier to the Sea of Japan. A stopover at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and some dry dock work later in Okinawa, Japan, led Clifford and his ship into the Realm of the Dragon. While in the Sea of Japan, the Badger was the rescue ship for any pilot who ditched his plane in the waters. During his tour of duty, Clifford's duty and General Quarters station was the aft engine room of the destroyer.

Once the carrier was ordered out of the Sea of Japan, the Badger was given orders to make a World Cruise. This cruise would span 1953-1954. During a stopover in Hong Kong, the Badger took on some passengers.

As Clifford told the story, four United States Marines stationed aboard the carrier obtained permission to travel to their next port of call on the USS C.J. Badger. The night the marines came aboard, Clifford saw the four of them on the fantail of the ship, laughing and having a glorious time. That was the last time for the rest of the cruise to the port that Clifford or anyone on the Badger saw those Marines. The self-proclaimed rough, tough, and ready marines were in their bunks for the rest of the cruise, seasick. The Indian Ocean was a rough ride. At times, Clifford could see the carrier they were escorting, but at other times, that carrier was nowhere in sight. As a carrier is a larger ship, it rolls but does not toss around as much as a destroyer. Clifford thought that those Marines did not know what they were getting into when they asked permission to hitch a ride on a destroyer.

The World Cruise continued through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean Sea, stopping at Naples, Italy; Ville Franche, France; Barcelona, Spain; and Lisbon, Portugal. The ship made the Crossing of the Equator during this trip, and Clifford received his first and only tattoo. For years, the family, including Clifford could not remember what the tattoo looked like. The ink had bled over time.

Clifford stayed with the United States Navy from 1952 to 1956, and on the Badger for the whole of his Navy career. He was honorably discharged in July 1956 with the rank of Machinist Mate Second Class. However, during his Navy tour of duty, his life was changed by one girl.