kell high school welcomes wwii veterans!. james j. mehornay – “jim” born 1923 at harper...
TRANSCRIPT
Kell High School welcomes WWII
Veterans!
James J. Mehornay – “Jim”
• Born 1923 at Harper Hospital in Detriot, Michigan.
• Joined navy at 17, became a coreman/medic and then joined marines.
• Served overseas and fought at Guadalcanal, Guam, and Iwo Jima.
• Navy – Petty Officer, 1st class.
Be sure to ask about…
• How long his journey was to the Pacific.
• Times spent training in the Pacific.
• Fighting at• Guadalcanal
• Guam
• Iwo Jima
• How he met his wife and how they got married.
Richard F. Gambino – “Doc”
• Born in Martinsberg, West Virgina in 1924 at home.
• Worked for .$10/hour at an apple and peach orchard before the War.
• Tried to enlist seven times before accepted by the army.
• Spent time overseas in France: Utah Beach, Normandy, Alsace Lorraine & the Rhineland (as part of Patton’s 3rd Army)
• Army – Staff Sargent • Leader – Heavy Machine Gun Section
Be sure to ask about…• His attempts at enlisting.
• His father’s reaction to Pearl Harbor.
• Arriving at Utah Beach following the start of D-Day operation in June 1944.
• Having a German soldier point a gun at him.
• Cooking potatoes in his helmet.
• Being seriously injured and trapped in a demolished building for days.
• What General Patton was like.
• Receiving his Bronze Star.
Frederick C. Kramer – “Fred”
• Born in Salina, Kansas in 1926 at home.
• Father was an engineer on the Union Pacific RR.
• Family endured the Dust Bowl while living in Kansas.
• Joined air force reserves at 17 and was shipped off to Texas.
• Air force: Private 1st Class
Be sure to ask him about:
• His experiences and memories of the Dust Bowl.
• His multitude of odd jobs to help out his family while in high school and college.
• How his tooth/root canal saved him from going overseas to fight.
• What life was like being on base in the USA while fighting was happening overseas.
Ask any of them about:
• How their families dealt with the Great Depression.
• Their memories of finding out about Pearl Harbor.
• Their pay… or lack there of.
• How slow the mail was and why.
• About the food they were served – K and C rations.
• Training at boot camp.
• How they spent “downtime” and any “holiday celebrations” or celebrity visits.
• How long it took them to come home and how they were greeted when they arrived.