Capt. Kurt N. Kleinschmidt

摘要

I was born and raised in Philadelphia. My father retired from the Army Reserves and I have an uncle who retired from the active-duty Navy. When he was home, he used to take us down to the Philly Shipyard, so I guess that's probably where my interest in ships started. I'd never really heard about the Merchant Marine service until I graduated from high school. I was working various jobs, driving a truck around town and at a gas station and things like that, and then I heard about the Merchant Marine and Piney Point [the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Maryland]. I decided that's where I wanted to go, because it sounded like a good way to see some of the world. So I started as an ordinary seaman and worked my way up through the ranks.