When World War II started, David Cousins was in junior high. By the time he was 15, he’d quit school and signed up for the Merchant Marine.

“I often wonder why my mother let me do it,” said Cousins, a Cape Elizabeth resident.

During that time, the attack on Pearl Harbor had fused the populace together. Citizens felt it was their duty to protect their country. It was common for boys to volunteer for military service rather than wait and hear their number called.

Cousins was no different. “I was gung-ho,” said Cousins. “All my friends were doing it.”

In the Merchant Marine, Cousins lived aboard a tanker, carrying oil between Texas and New Jersey. One dark evening around midnight, Cousins and the crew heard another oil tanker sending out an SOS. About 20 miles above Cousins’ tanker on the East Coast, they were being attacked by a German submarine.

During that time, German submarines patrolled eastern waters while Japanese submarines waited on the Western borders. They laid in wait like animals hunting their prey, attacking weaponless ships. “It was all part of the war,” said Cousins.

Cousins’ tanker did not answer the call. Rather than help the attacked ship, Cousins tanker went the long way around, avoiding the conflict. “We didn’t have any guns. You just didn’t dare to help people like that, because you knew they were waiting for you too,” said Cousins.

As Cousins tanker cruised the long way around the point of attack, a bright ball of fire exploded into the sky. Cousins knew if they responded to the SOS, their fate would have been no different. This cemented his resolve.

He wanted to fight back. “I figured, I have to do something about this. At least I’d be on a ship with some guns, and we could shoot back,” he said. So, on his 17th birthday, he signed up for the Navy.

After about six months of training, he was sent to Okinawa, to the pulse of the war. At that point, America had already conquered the majority of Japan’s surrounding islands, said Cousins.

Cousins’ vessel shipped human cargo overseas. From Pearl Harbor to Okinawa, every trip transported as many as 1,500 troops to the Japanese Island. They descended the vessel for battle. In his time, Cousins made as many as six of these tours, bidding farewell to thousands of American soldiers, some never to return.

Soon after, the war ended. Cousins was sent to China for a year, where he again shipped human cargo, this time not in search of war, but away from its remnants. Japanese soldiers who lived in China for years with their families were sent home.

Cousins believed then and still believes that it was his responsibility to protect his country from German and Japanese invasions. He is modest about his role in the war. If you ask him, he’ll tell you he didn’t do much at all. He just did what was necessary at the time.

“A lot of guys saw a lot more than I did. You mostly just try not to think about it too much,” he said.

Cape Elizabeth resident David Cousins is a World War II veteran. Cousins was in Japanese waters, when Japan surrendered to the United States.