World War II veteran. Joseph "Eddie" McCann Jr. passed away at the age of 80. He joined the U.S. Navy when he was 13 years old. He was the youngest coxswain in World War II, and landed with the first wave on D-Day at age 15. McCann grew up in Everett and attended Garfield Elementary School, Our Lady of Perpetual Help and North Junior High School. Raised with four sisters by a single mother, he worked on fishing boats and hitchhiked to Seattle to work as a bellhop. Tall for his age, at 13 he convinced a stranger to sign papers so he could enlist in the Navy. By 15, he was a decorated veteran, after seeing action in North Africa and Sicily. The Navy discovered his age when he was 16, but he was allowed to continue serving after the war. In August 1945, while on leave in Orlando, Fla., he met the love of his life, Helen, who was working as a soda jerk. They married 10 days after they met. He was 16 years old, but his ID said he was 21. After the war, McCann was a family man, with three children, and settled in California. After being injured while on duty as a policeman, McCann brought his family back to Everett in 1961. He worked as a juvenile probation officer, for the Department of Corrections as a counselor, for the Everett police in crime prevention, and as an analyst. He was preceded in death by his mother and stepfather, Irene and Harvey Roberts, and sisters Twyla DeLashmutt and Mary Enos. He is survived by his wife, Helen; sisters, Edith King, Jane Parker and Teri Jones; brother, John Roberts; children, Joseph Edward McCann III and his wife, Martha; Linda Jean Borozinski and her husband, Charles; Stephen Chris McCann; and Michael William McCann and his wife, Anzhela; nine grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. Teri Baker is writing a book about McCann and his war years.