A journey, shaped by unexpected Army transfers, began with desert warfare training in the Mohave desert, where it became apparent that his endurance hiking and mountain climbing skills far exceeded his mechanical abilities. The next thing Ted knew, he was training along side US Army Rangers on the grounds of Achnacarry Castle in the Highlands of Scotland. Then, because of a need for mountain climbing instructors, without warning he was ordered back across the Atlantic to the Army’s new Low Altitude Assault Climbing School at Seneca Rocks, in the West Virginia Maneuver Area.

Now he was in New York City, where the Cunard luxury liner Queen Mary was docked in the harbor It was July, 1943, and the Queen Mary was painted battleship gray.

On The Queen Mary, Ted's wealthy hotel magnate Grandfather had once cruised from New York City to England, with a stop in France. Ted remembered his Grandfather's stories of this ship that in 1930 at Clydebank, Scotland was built to carry over 2,000 people . It had five dining areas and several elegant lounges. There were two cocktail bars and two swimming pools, there was a music studio; there was a squash court. The ballroom was grand beyond comprehension, and documenting every journey, a wall-sized map was traversed by a crystal model of the ship itself.

What the inside of the Queen Mary of his youthful dreams was like now, Ted would soon find out. What was important now was that she could carry entire divisions. Zigzagging at regular intervals, at the speed at 29 knots, she sailed through U-boat infested waters. 40-millimeter anti-aircraft guns were mounted on her decks