Interviewer(s): J. P. Theriot. Houston, TX

Affiliation: University of Houston/History International

Jim Giblin, a native of Virginia, lives in Friendswood, TX. He spent more than 40 years in the maritime industry. He joined the Merchant Marine in 1942 and served on tankers and Liberty Ships during the war delivering oil and supplies to the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and the Pacific. His ship, the Stephen F. Austin, was torpedoed off the coast of North Africa in '43, After the war, he took a job with Ogden Marine on tankers out of the Port of Houston. He made his way to captain and eventually became the company's port captain, overseeing the daily tanker operations. After his first retirement, EXXON hired him to be a pollution and safety inspector for their tank handling operations.