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.