Yes, there is such a thing as a great school assignment: Oral History!!

These fifth graders were assigned to interview a veteran. Look at the cool stories they found! You too can collect interesting stories. Find someone who can tell you about his or her life. Ask questions. Listen. See what you can find out!

ALDEN P. RIGBY
by Luke Larsen

Alden P. Rigby was an Ace Pilot in World War II, shooting down six enemy planes. He earned the Silver Star by shooting down four German fighter planes in a 30-minute span on January 1, 1945 at the Battle of the Bulge.

His worst day in the war was when he flew down to shoot at a train and the cars opened up and guns came out and shot his windshield out. He had flown into a trap. They shot a hole through his wing and a hole right behind his head. He was able to limp his plane back to England and land without harm. He said that was a “bad hair day.”

He named his P-51 Mustang fighter plane “Eileen and Jerry,” after his wife and baby daughter.

He flew many planes during his years of service. His first plane was a bi-wing PF-17, and the last plane he flew was an F-100 fighter jet. He told us that there have been 1,450 Ace pilots between WWI and Vietnam, but there are only 305 Ace pilots still living.

I felt like it was an honor to interview a hero from World War II.

Alden Rigby's P-51 Mustang

 

 

DENNIS H. HANSEN
By Jason Hansen

My grandpa, Dennis Holter Hansen, was drafted right after high school to be in World War II. He was in the Field Artillery Battalion and shot big 105 Howitzer cannons. He fought from Naples to the Po River, which is in Northern Italy. The food was prepared by a “mess truck,” or they sometimes had to eat “K Rations” or “C Rations,” which contained meats, cheese, crackers, or beans.

He got letters from his father and friends. The military told him not to write on both sides because their letters would be censored and some of the words could be cut out if they gave away important information about the war. He got paid 50 dollars a month, but he sent most of it home.

When Dennis came home, he came on a boat that landed in Virginia. There was no one to greet him because his family was in Utah.

My grandpa is a World War II hero!

 

RALPH DONLEY
by Jordan Whipple

 

Ralph Donley joined the army because he knew he had the responsibility of protecting his country. He served as a tank driver. He had a close encounter with death when he was posted on midnight watch. He was sitting on the tank’s turret and it was pitch black, so they could barely see each other. He was prompted to move down by a soft voice, but he just thought he was getting tired so he just kept sitting. He was prompted again a little louder, but he just kept on sitting. Then he heard it again, this time louder than before. He told his comrade they had to move down. Right when they got down the turret was blown up by an enemy shell.

At the Battle of Normandy, right when he landed, many people in his battalion were killed. At the end of the battle he was the only one in his battalion who survived.

I feel lucky to interview a man of his stature. He would never want to talk about anyone he killed, because he knew they were just doing what their country told them to.

 

 

 

DALLIS J. CHRISTENSEN
by Sarah Abel

Dallis Joseph Christensen is a valiant veteran, and he is my great-grandpa.

When Dallis was only 17, his father died. To help his widowed mother and seven siblings, he dropped out of school. At age 18 he received a letter from the Navy to report to Ogden for enrollment. On November 15, 1933, he finished working in the beet field for that day. Then he packed up what little things he had. He said goodbye to his mother. He walked down to the bus and rode to Ogden.

In Ogden, Dallis went to the Navy recruiting department. They asked him questions, did a physical exam, gave him a ticket for supper and breakfast and his own room in Hotel Ben Lomond. For the first time in his life, he got to sleep between two white cotton sheets, and in the same room with him was a bathroom!

Dallis enlisted for four years and would receive $21 per month. He would begin rank as an Apprentice Seaman. Although he did not know it, that was the beginning of 25 years in the Navy.

Dallis had many adventures. He became a Radioman specializing in sending Morse Code. Once he was on a Destroyer and he watched the pilots landing and taking off from the deck of a Carrier nearby. He knew that was what he wanted to do!

In 1941 he finished flight training. One Sunday afternoon in early December, he was preparing to go to church when the loudspeakers announced “NOW HEAR THIS, WAR HAS BEEN DECLARED. ALL NAVY REPORT TO YOUR SQUADRONS; LIBERTY HAS BEEN CANCELLED.”  World War II had begun….

Some sad things happened when Dallis was in the military. People he loved died...

One of my favorite stories was when Dallis was flying up near Newfoundland and only had Spam to eat. He said, “Spam is not bad to eat, as long as you only have to eat it once. But we were having to eat it for breakfast, dinner, and supper!” They were so sick of it, they dreamed of eating anything else. When they landed on the island, the water was crystal clear and fun to swim in. While everyone else was swimming, Dallis was trying to fish. He caught something BIG and it was so BIG that it broke his line and his pole. It was a shark! So the next time they landed, he brought a very strong metal pole and metal line. He started fishing, and sure enough, he caught a BIG fish! From the PBY airplane he was fishing from, he reeled in a 7-foot-long shark! The sailors shot it in the head with their guns, but it would not die, so they cut its throat (That part is sort of sad and yucky.) The good news is that they had the best shark steaks in the whole world that night for supper!

When asked if he would do it all again, Grandpa says firmly, “Absolutely! You only have one life to live, so live it. Just make sure that you have yourself under control, not someone else controlling you…. You can control a lot of things in life, but you can’t sit back waiting for them to happen, you have to make them happen.”  He gives the example of having courage to request to go to flight training. Even when he did not get the chance after asking the first time, he kept asking. I am very proud of my great-grandfather. I am thankful for his faithful service.

 

JOHN NEIL BRADLEY
by Bradley McGuire

John Neil Bradley is my great-grandfather. He was deferred from serving in World War II because his brother was killed in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. during the war six of his brothers and one sister-in-law served in the military. Soon he decided to volunteer also.

He was assigned to the YMS-74, a small minesweeper. It was a wooden ship that could only hold 37 people. They shipped out on November 10, 1945, for Pearl Harbor. From there they went on to Japan by way of Guam and Saipan. Sometimes he would give haircuts to the crew and work in the kitchen.

The crew spent a few weeks sweeping mines and widening the channel at the Inland Sea. He said the most horrid thing he saw was Nagasaki, Japan, after the atomic bomb was dropped. Neil said the one thing he would never forget was the destruction he saw.

I think it is great to be named after John Neil Bradley. He was a great man.

 

 

 

 

World War II tanks being prepared for storage at the Tooele Ordnance Depot in 1946.

 

These stories are excerpted from essays written by 5th grade students at Muir Elementary, Bountiful, Utah. The contributions of veterans is a big part of U.S. history, which is studied in 5th grade. We honor the Utah veterans who have served our country and helped to preserve our freedoms. — Muir Elementary 5th grade treachers: Megan Nelson, Jenna Gardner, and Heidi Busk

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