Valerie Brinkman got a World War II history lesson at her job as a graphic designer for Rosenbaum's Signs & Outdoor Advertising recently.

Brinkman, 25, created a 6-by 3-foot poster about the USS Savannah for Pat O'Neill, an 87-year-old World War II veteran from Rapid City who served aboard the cruiser for four years.

"I learned a lot doing this job," Brinkman said. "It was fun."

The poster, which charts the 9,475-ton Brooklyn class light cruiser's 56 ports of call and the three battle stars it earned in WWII, was donated to the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum in Savannah, Ga., in a ceremony May 26 attended by O'Neill. The oversized world map is surrounded by black-and-white photographs of the naval ship, including some taken after it was hit by a German torpedo near Salerno, Italy. Two hundred and six of O'Neill's shipmates lost their lives in that attack. The names of those who perished are listed on the poster, too.

"It's really an impressive map that keys all the ports the cruiser went to during WWII and shows all the battle stars that it won. We're very pleased to receive it," Karl DeVries, assistant director of the museum, said.

The mural, which O'Neill designed, maps the travels and travails of the storied WWII cruiser, but it also tells the story of his life in WWII. He came aboard the ship as a seaman in 1940 and left as a warrant officer in 1944.

"It was home to me for more than four years," he said.

Savannah is home to the museum that tells the maritime history of one of the oldest ports in the U.S., for which the ship is named. The museum, which gets 55,000 visitors annually, contains an 8-foot model of the USS Savannah and the ship's bell. O'Neill's donation will be on permanent displayed in a classroom there.

Savannah was also the location of the last reunion of the crew of the USS Savannah, which was held in 2006.

"They're getting older and unable to travel," DeVries said. "It's very special for him to give it and for us to receive it. It commemorates the ship, and I think it provides closure for him, since there won't be any more reunions."

Contact Mary Garrigan at 394-8410 or mary.garrigan@rapidcityjournal.com