Interviewed by:

Anna McMakin and Zachary McGinn

" ... Met many different cultures, seen the Great Pyramids, which was absolutely fascinating,
and also spent many, many months at sea, seeing absolutely nothing. So it's the best of both worlds."

~ Thomas Osowski (6:03)

Thomas Osowski's Story:

Thomas Osowski is a local veteran from Provincetown, but now resides in Eastham with his wife and two daughters. Growing up, he worked in boat yards and was always around water, with military influence from relatives. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy at age seventeen, and started the thirteen week journey through boot camp at age eighteen.

After he finished boot camp, he was stationed on the USS Iowa, a battleship, for two years, the USS Gallery, a perry-fast frigate, for over three years, and a submarine base in Groton, Connecticut, for about three years. In the Navy, he was a fire control technician who controlled electronics for warfare which included shooting the big guns and missiles, protecting the ship, and saving lives. Throughout his naval career, he went to the Persian Gulf three times and visited many places in Europe, but also was out at sea for many long periods of time.

Unfortunately, on April 19th, 1989 around eight o’clock in the morning, there was a turret explosion on the USS Iowa that killed forty-seven of his fellow shipmates.

He made the best out of every situation, including the joke between him and his shipmates on the USS Gallery, which was comparing the boat to a floating beer can because it rocked so much, and reminiscing over one day when a tugboat passed the ship and he asked a friend, “Is this thing moving?” His friend told him that he was in for a fun time, and another time where they were on the quarterdeck together they came across two new recruits who were in the same position that Mr.Osowski was once in, which the two got a laugh out of.

After nine years in the military, Mr.Osowski returned to the Cape as a Petty Officer, Second Class. Mr.Osowski has seen the light and dark sides of the military, and the memories from his nine years of experience will stick with him forever.