John enlisted in the Army Air Corp in 1942. He wanted to fly airplanes but it was found that his eyesight wasn’t good enough.
He trained for 6 weeks in radio school and 7 weeks of air traffic control school. John trained in California and was then sent for further training in Hawaii. One his most memorable experiences was the first time that he saw Pearl Harbor. There was the wreckage of the attack as well as some of the mighty ships that had been raised to fight again. The battleship Arizona of course was there and John saw the historic ship sadly lying in the mud that was Pearl Harbor.
John served in the Gilbert Islands as an Air Traffic Controller. Specifically he was on the island of Tarawa, the scene of ferocious fighting earlier as the Marines took the island from the Japanese.
He received the Good Conduct ribbon with one star, and the Pacific Theater ribbon.
He was discharged on November 11, 1945.
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