"It was like having my mother's arms around me"

Quick answer: What is the story of Elgin Staples and his mother's life belt?

Elgin Staples, a young sailor from Akron, Ohio, was blown off the cruiser USS Astoria at Savo Island in 1942 and kept afloat by an inflatable life belt. His mother, Vera Mueller, was one of three inspectors in an Akron rubber plant's lifebelt division, so the belt may have passed through her hands.

John found this story while preparing his keynote for the American Gold Star Mothers, and went digging for the details. Before the war, Akron made tires. By 1942 the same mills and hands were making life belts for the Navy, thousands a week. At the end of one line, Vera Mueller, who'd waited tables before the war, tested the seams and valves and pressed her inspector's number into the belts that passed. She took the job when her son shipped out. Elgin Staples enlisted after his junior year of high school, trained at Pearl Harbor, and went to sea aboard the heavy cruiser Astoria two days before the harbor was attacked. He wrote home that the sunsets at Midway were the most beautiful in the world. In 1942, at Savo Island, he was blown off the Astoria with shrapnel in his leg and kept afloat by a life belt. His mother was one of three inspectors in her division. The odds were one in three it had gone through her hands.

Why it matters for leaders: The work done quietly at home, done right, reaches the front line in ways we may never see.

Q: What did Vera Mueller do during the war?

A: She worked at an Akron rubber plant, testing the seams and valves on Navy life belts and stamping her inspector's number on the ones that passed.

Q: When did Elgin Staples go to sea?

A: He enlisted in May 1941, trained at Pearl Harbor, and went to sea aboard the heavy cruiser Astoria on December 5, 1941, two days before the attack.

Read the full essay on Substack → https://heroespath.substack.com/p/it-was-like-having-my-mothers-arms

By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation