Today's Featured Biography

 
Ernest Skoropowski

With the urging of Mr. Clancy I attended Massachusetts Maritime Academy. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in nautical science, a USCG license as third mate, and was commissioned as an ensign in the Navy Reserve amidst a class of 50 midshipman cadets. I wasn't top in the class, but neither was I the anchorman! Probably like many other high school graduates I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do with my life so being trained for a particular career path in the merchant marine and military helped remove some of the indecision.

I sailed between Vietnam and the Persian Gulf for a couple years during the war as third mate on "vintage" (rebuilt from WWII) clean oil tankers owned by Keystone Shipping Company. In 1974 I married Gudrun (Stella) Malinsky, BMHS Class of '69. Son Garth was born in 1976 and son Brett in 1980. We stayed in Billerica until Garth was born, then moved to Dover, NH.

I steadily raised my USCG merchant marine officer's license and began sailing as a vessel master in 1979, serving aboard deep-sea tankers, containerships, and roll-on/roll-off ships in the commercial merchant marine. My sea-going travels took me all over the world.

Among annual training duties during my Naval Reserve career, I was a returning shiphandling instructor at Little Creek, VA. I received an honorable discharge as a Navy captain in 2000 and joined the Army Reserve in 2001 as a warrant officer in the Transportation Corps.

I retired from the commercial merchant marine in 2004. My last position was master of the S.S. HORIZON CHALLENGER, a containership trading between the U.S. East Coast and San Juan, PR.

As a drilling Reservist in the Army I served as mate and master aboard several harbor and sea-going Army tugboats. In 2007 I started active duty in the Army as a chief warrant officer and served as a Marine Safety Inspector at Fort Eustis, VA for 3 1/2 years. The Army currently has 170 vessels in their fleet, mostly landing craft and tugs, stationed all over the world. I retired from the military in 2010 and continued working at Fort Eustis as a civilian in the same position I held as CW3.

Stella is a 5th grade public school teacher, and we are in the process of mapping out future plans for a retirement location. We are also impatiently waiting for some grandchildren, but the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be getting dimmer!

Great job by the reunion committee for the 45th!! If possible, would like a list posted of those who actually attended. Seeing old friends was neat. And oh, by the way, Neville - the breakfast on Sunday morning was not complimentary!

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