| Abstract: |
Sigmund H. Wojcik (b. 1917 was the son of Polish immigrants. He grew up in the Tremont area of Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated
from Lincoln High School in June of 1935. Wojcik joined the Naval Reserve at 17 and re-enlisted in the Navy in 1940 after
receiving his draft card. He served first on the USS Wilmington, and then on the USS Polaris, a Navy supply ship. While on board the Polaris, Wojcik served in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific, and held the position of Chief Boatswain's Mate. He met
Mike Ruby on board, and the two became fast friends and roommates. In September of 1945, after the end of the war, he received
his honorable discharge and returned to the Cleveland area. Mike A. Ruby (b. June 12, 1918) was born in Campbell, Ohio, and
moved to Cleveland shortly after. His family moved to Parma before he was enrolled in junior high school. Always enjoying
a fascination for the water, Ruby joined the Naval Reserve at 17 and served in the United States Navy during World War II
on board the USS Polaris. Most likely because of his skill at hands-on work, Ruby worked as a painter and a carpenter, eventually earning the title
of Chief Carpenter's Mate. While on board the Polaris, Ruby served in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific. He is the best friend and former bunkmate of Sigmund H.
Wojcik. Although the war ended in September of 1945, Ruby was one of the last members aboard the Polaris to be honorably discharged, which he received on October 14, 1945. The collection consists of oral histories, scrapbooks,
photographs, sailor's logs, newspaper clippings, various printed material (mostly printed during WWII), and other miscellaneous
objects. James S. Wojcik, Sigmund Wojcik's son, helped his father gather many of the materials found in the collection, including
many photographs and a scrapbook. A smaller part of the collection was sent in by Mike Ruby himself.
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