When Arnold Marcus ’48 sailed to the South Pacific as a machinist aboard the USS Columbia in the winter of 1945, he never expected to come home.

The Dorchester, Mass., native had enlisted in the U.S. Navy at age 17, knowing he wanted to serve his country. “They didn’t tell me they used real bullets,” he jokes.

Over two years, his unit would endure five kamikaze attacks — suicide missions by Japanese pilots who dove into the Columbia with torpedo bombs strapped to their planes. One such crash, on the deck where Marcus was stationed, occurred just moments after he had left the area. The trauma took a toll: Marcus never spoke of the war to his wife of 67 years, Enid, or to family and friends.

That changed when Rep. Joe Kennedy III reached out for the Veterans History Project. Sponsored by the Library of Congress, the 16-year-old initiative collects first-person accounts by those who served in all branches of the U.S. military during wartime.

“Mr. Marcus is an American hero, and I am humbled to play a small part in telling his story,” Kennedy said upon reissuing the Combat Action Ribbon and Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon, during a service held in September 2016 at the Marcuses’ home in Easton, Mass.

Honored by the recognition, Marcus says that his life has been blessed — including by a connection that brought him to Bentley in 1946.

“The wait-list to get in was long, but my good friend took me to see Harry Bentley,” he recalls. “Mr. Bentley asked, ’Why the hell do you want to come here? You’re a sailor!’”

Marcus assured the founder of his interest and earned admission. His relationship with the school has held steady through what he calls “charmed years.” These include raising three children,
working in insurance, teaching tennis to Special Olympians, cheering on the New England Patriots, and being a partner to “the warmest, nicest, most thoughtful person,” he says of Enid. “I did well.”

The alumnus talks about his wartime experience at bit.ly/arnoldmarcus