John Morris
John Morris is 95 years old and a WWII veteran. He graduated from
Yale University in 1941 and the next day he enlisted in the Navy. He said that
everyone in 1941 was expecting something to happen, but Pearl Harbor was still a
shock. He also said that they knew once Pearl Harbor happened, America would be
fighting. As the war went on, he became a lieutenant commander. While he was in
the war, he was never in a brutal battle and he feels lucky for that. “First
you’re afraid you’re going to die, but then you’re afraid that you’re not”
Morris says. He said it was horrible that America had to end the war with Japan
by dropping the A bomb. There were many civilians there that lost their lives;
however he was glad the war ended. He notes that “There is no such thing as a
good war; it (World War II) was a necessary war where we know what we were
fighting for.”
Thomas Jackson:
Thomas Jackson is a World War II veteran from Long Island. He
worked in the air force, as a cryptographic technician, someone who works with
war codes. He first enlisted in the war in 1942, but was not yet sent out to
war. While he was enlisted in the war, he went to school at Rutgers College in
New Jersey. Here, he was an English major. He went to school here until his
service was needed out in the field. Then, he was called to Boot Camp. He did
well there, and could work in all fields, except he had a lack of skills in
mechanics a slight hearing problem so Mr. Jackson was made a war clerk. His
first two months of training were at Fort Dix in New Jersey. It was then
determined that he was needed in the Air Force. Then, he went to Clerical School
in South Dakota where he learned secretary skills. While he was training in
Nebraska, he then was ordered to go overseas. He went to Camp Patrick Henry in
Virginia, which was near the water, and then he set out across seas on a liberty
ship, where he had a small bunk and was often kept up late at night from others
playing the card game, crap. He thankfully had a friend who had their own room,
who allowed Mr. Jackson to sleep in his room sometimes and get a good night’s
rest. On New Year’s Eve, he landed in Italy and was then moved to fight in Bari,
Italy. Mr. Jackson later became a sergeant in the Air Force.
Robert Fournier:
Bob Fournier, age 17, went straight out of high school into the Navy.
There he spent two years in the Pacific on the USS Kearny.
Bob did not like the war or living on the ship, but he fought for his
countries safety. Some of the conditions he explained to us were the cramped living conditions, such as the
tiny bunks where you couldn’t turn over without hitting your shoulder on the
bunk above you. To get an idea of the size of the ship, he explained it was about a football field long and about
several cars wide and packed with 150-200 men on board.
Another one of Bob’s dislikes was the persistence of sea sickness. He
shows his strong hatred of this condition in his words, “I was so god damn sea
sick I didn’t care if I lived or died.”
Bob absolutely loved the pancakes on board but after he was sea sick he
couldn’t even stand the smell of them. He explained his job as a “pencil
pusher” in which he kept all of the ships records intact by filing them. His job made no difference though;
because when it came to battle he was like every other naval man on the ally
side. Bob had no idea about the
Jews being persecuted until he overheard it and was shocked.
He completely agreed with the A-bomb droppings because they had shortened
the war and saved many American lives.
He had a “let’s go get em” attitude when the news of Pearl Harbor hit him
and he had the same response to 9/11.
William Legrow
William Legrow lived in Massachusetts before the attack on Pearl Harbor. He graduated college in 1942, the same year he joined the Army Air Corps. He was assigned to Fort Devin and stayed there a few days, before taking the train to Nashville. He was classified as an Air Corps navigator for a B-24 Liberator. Next, Legrow went to Louisiana to learn how to fly. The job of the navigator was to instruct the pilot what to do and where to go. Legrow’s crew’s job was a replacement crew. When another crew, unfortunately, was shot down or injured, they would take the place of them. Legrow replaced the Bangin’ Lulu’s crew and the average flying hours per mission was 10 hours. The B-24 Liberator was the hardest plane
to fly during World War II, like a flying death trap. When the planes would goout to fly their missions, they would have to get in formation. Unlike England, the American B-24 Liberators flew in formation because it would help cut down on the amount of damaged planes. England would fly in a straight line which gave the enemy an easier target to shoot at. It took the planes an hour to get in formation because the Liberators would take off in 30 second intervals. Legrow flew 30 missions and his base was in England. Legrow’s longest mission was from his base to Berlin and he was given the Distinguished Flying Cross for his outstanding accomplishments.
John Morris is 95 years old and a WWII veteran. He graduated from
Yale University in 1941 and the next day he enlisted in the Navy. He said that
everyone in 1941 was expecting something to happen, but Pearl Harbor was still a
shock. He also said that they knew once Pearl Harbor happened, America would be
fighting. As the war went on, he became a lieutenant commander. While he was in
the war, he was never in a brutal battle and he feels lucky for that. “First
you’re afraid you’re going to die, but then you’re afraid that you’re not”
Morris says. He said it was horrible that America had to end the war with Japan
by dropping the A bomb. There were many civilians there that lost their lives;
however he was glad the war ended. He notes that “There is no such thing as a
good war; it (World War II) was a necessary war where we know what we were
fighting for.”
Thomas Jackson:
Thomas Jackson is a World War II veteran from Long Island. He
worked in the air force, as a cryptographic technician, someone who works with
war codes. He first enlisted in the war in 1942, but was not yet sent out to
war. While he was enlisted in the war, he went to school at Rutgers College in
New Jersey. Here, he was an English major. He went to school here until his
service was needed out in the field. Then, he was called to Boot Camp. He did
well there, and could work in all fields, except he had a lack of skills in
mechanics a slight hearing problem so Mr. Jackson was made a war clerk. His
first two months of training were at Fort Dix in New Jersey. It was then
determined that he was needed in the Air Force. Then, he went to Clerical School
in South Dakota where he learned secretary skills. While he was training in
Nebraska, he then was ordered to go overseas. He went to Camp Patrick Henry in
Virginia, which was near the water, and then he set out across seas on a liberty
ship, where he had a small bunk and was often kept up late at night from others
playing the card game, crap. He thankfully had a friend who had their own room,
who allowed Mr. Jackson to sleep in his room sometimes and get a good night’s
rest. On New Year’s Eve, he landed in Italy and was then moved to fight in Bari,
Italy. Mr. Jackson later became a sergeant in the Air Force.
Robert Fournier:
Bob Fournier, age 17, went straight out of high school into the Navy.
There he spent two years in the Pacific on the USS Kearny.
Bob did not like the war or living on the ship, but he fought for his
countries safety. Some of the conditions he explained to us were the cramped living conditions, such as the
tiny bunks where you couldn’t turn over without hitting your shoulder on the
bunk above you. To get an idea of the size of the ship, he explained it was about a football field long and about
several cars wide and packed with 150-200 men on board.
Another one of Bob’s dislikes was the persistence of sea sickness. He
shows his strong hatred of this condition in his words, “I was so god damn sea
sick I didn’t care if I lived or died.”
Bob absolutely loved the pancakes on board but after he was sea sick he
couldn’t even stand the smell of them. He explained his job as a “pencil
pusher” in which he kept all of the ships records intact by filing them. His job made no difference though;
because when it came to battle he was like every other naval man on the ally
side. Bob had no idea about the
Jews being persecuted until he overheard it and was shocked.
He completely agreed with the A-bomb droppings because they had shortened
the war and saved many American lives.
He had a “let’s go get em” attitude when the news of Pearl Harbor hit him
and he had the same response to 9/11.
William Legrow
William Legrow lived in Massachusetts before the attack on Pearl Harbor. He graduated college in 1942, the same year he joined the Army Air Corps. He was assigned to Fort Devin and stayed there a few days, before taking the train to Nashville. He was classified as an Air Corps navigator for a B-24 Liberator. Next, Legrow went to Louisiana to learn how to fly. The job of the navigator was to instruct the pilot what to do and where to go. Legrow’s crew’s job was a replacement crew. When another crew, unfortunately, was shot down or injured, they would take the place of them. Legrow replaced the Bangin’ Lulu’s crew and the average flying hours per mission was 10 hours. The B-24 Liberator was the hardest plane
to fly during World War II, like a flying death trap. When the planes would goout to fly their missions, they would have to get in formation. Unlike England, the American B-24 Liberators flew in formation because it would help cut down on the amount of damaged planes. England would fly in a straight line which gave the enemy an easier target to shoot at. It took the planes an hour to get in formation because the Liberators would take off in 30 second intervals. Legrow flew 30 missions and his base was in England. Legrow’s longest mission was from his base to Berlin and he was given the Distinguished Flying Cross for his outstanding accomplishments.