 Shortly before Feller left for combat , his father died of brain cancer in early January 1943 . Five days later he married Virginia Winther whom he met while in Florida for spring training ; she was a student at Rollins College . After the marriage , Feller returned to service as Gun Captain aboard the Alabama and kept his pitching arm in shape by throwing near a gun turret . Feller and the Alabama crew spent most of 1943 in the British Isles along with USS South Dakota , but in August were reassigned to the Pacific Theater of Operations . Feller 's first taste of direct combat was at Operation Galvanic in November 1943 . The Alabama also served during Operation Flintlock while primarily being used as an escort battleship in 1944 . Feller participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea before his combat duty ended in January 1945 ; he spent the rest of the war at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station as an instructor . 
