Jack Rhodes
USN Armed Guard

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John C. "Jack" Rhodes, a World War II Navy veteran who was a longtime Project Liberty Ship volunteer, died July 22, 2002, at the age of 79.

A Baltimore native who was raised in the Hamilton section, he graduated from Polytechnic Institute. Jack enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1941. A gunner's mate, he was a member of the Armed Guard, manning the guns that protected merchant ships from aerial and surface attacks. He served aboard Liberty ships, an aircraft carrier, tankers and landing craft in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. During the Normandy invasion, he was aboard LCIR 770, a rocket fire support vessel, and had a narrow escape after ships in front and back of LCIR 770 were sunk by enemy fire.

After his Navy discharge in 1946, Jack returned to Baltimore and worked as a watchmaker and machine repairman until his retirement in 1985.

Jack became interested in the JOHN W. BROWN when Project Liberty Ship moved the venerable Liberty ship to Baltimore in 1988. Jack joined in the challenge of putting the BROWN back in operating condition. The particular focus of Jack's efforts was the Armed Guard quarters in the aft of the ship. His fellow volunteers recalled his pride in restoring the crew's quarters to their original condition and returning the ship's armament to working order. He worked hard trying to get the rust out of the old guns, he would paint lockers, he would do whatever needed to be done. He would even take woodwork home, on which he worked in his workshop. He was easygoing, hard-working and very conscientious, a good-natured, jolly fellow.

Jack was a longtime member of the Board of Directors of Project Liberty Ship, resigning in early 2002 because of failing health.

The sea was always in his blood, and he was always proud of his work on the BROWN.