After Mr. McMullen finished fireman school, he was assigned to the USS Tuscaloosa. At the time, the Tuscaloosa was in Normandy, so Mr. McMullen was put on a troop ship that would take him to the Tuscaloosa. On this ship, The General Meigs , Mr. McMullen had to keep a lookout with binoculars for enemy ships, subs, and planes. After a few weeks, the troop ship reached Oran, Africa and Mr. McMullen boarded the Tuscaloosa. Once Mr. McMullen boarded the Tuscaloosa, it headed back to the Philadelphia Navy Yard for general overhaul.
General overhaul is when the upkeep of the ship is checked and the ship is repaired.
After general overhaul was finished, the Tuscaloosa traveled through the Panama Canal and up to San Diego to refuel and get supplies. Then the ship went to Pearl Harbor for a few days and refueled. I visited older friends from my neighborhood in Philadelphia who had gone to Pearl Harbor after the attack to help repair the Navy Yard. The Tuscaloosa then anchored at Ulithia. Ulithia was where ships went that were waiting to be assigned to battles.