8/3/2019 Well Known Veterans of World War II

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Joseph Heller1923-1999

Joined theArmy at age 19 in1942, served withArmy Air Corps in

Italy as a B-25 bombardier,ying 60 missions before he wasdischarged in 1945. StudiedEnglish for several years under

the GI Bill, obtaining a master’sdegree from ColumbiaUniversity in 1949.

His signature novel,“Catch-22,” was published in1961, eight years after he wrotethe rst words. He took a dark,satirical approach in describingthe futile eorts of Capt. JohnYossarian to avoid ying morecombat missions, and how theAir Corps bureaucracy always

thwarts him. The book becamean anti-war classic. He went onto write six more novels, twoautobiographies and severalplays and screenplays andlectured extensively on creativewriting before his death at age76.

 Jeanne Holm1921-2010

JoinedWomen’s ArmyAuxiliary Corps in1942, starting as a

truck driver and then attendingocer candidate school toreach the rank of captain beforemustering out. After attendingcollege on the GI Bill, shereturned to military service inthe newly organized Air Force in1948.

She served as a war plansocer during the Berlin Airliftand the Korean War, and by1965 was a full colonel andhead of the Women in the AirForce. She moved on to othersta and administrative

positions where she constantlypressed for equal treatment andmore career opportunities forwomen, becoming the AirForce’s rst female general in1971 and the rst major generalin any service two years later.Soon after her retirement in1975, the Air Force moved tointegrate women into most jobsand units.

 John Chafee1922-1999

Left YaleUniversity toenlist in Marinesin 1942, served as

rieman on Guadalcanal, laterpromoted to second lieutenantand led a front-line intelligence

unit on Okinawa. Aftercompleting college and HarvardLaw School he joined a RhodeIsland law rm, but was recalledto Marine service in Korea in1951, leading a r ie company.

Chafee, part of a politicallyactive clan in his own state,went on to serve as governorand Navy secretary and diednear the end of his fourth termas a U.S. senator. A Republican

moderate who often ruedmore conservative members of his party with his stances andwillingness to compromise withDemocrats on issues related tohealth and environment. Heoften noted nothing heencountered in political life wasas tough as combat with theMarines.

 Julia Child1912-2004

She had driftedthrough various

 jobs in advertisingsince graduatingfrom Smith

College in 1934, moved toWashington in 1942 hoping to

 join the women’s branch of theNavy, but was deemed too tallat 6 feet 2 inches.

She nally found work withthe Oce of Strategic Services,precursor to the CIA, becomingan oce supervisor. Admittedlyin search of adventure, she latervolunteered for service at

stations in Ceylon and China,which collected intelligencefrom eld agents around Asia.During this time, she met PaulChild, who also worked for theOSS, and they married in 1946.

When Paul joined theForeign Service and wasassigned to Paris, Julia wentwith him and was introduced tone cuisine. She graduated fromone of France’s nest cooking

schools, launching a careerteaching cooking in classroomsand to millions on televisionand through books thatcontinued for more than 50years. 

Hosea Williams1926-2000

Enlisted in

Army in 1942,served in asegregated

weapons carrier unit attachedto Patton’s Third Army. He roseto the rank of sta sergeant andwas severely wounded by aGerman shell that wiped out therest of his platoon. He spent ayear in a military hospital andwas left with a permanent limpfrom his wounds. On his wayhome, he was beaten bloody bya group of whites in theAmericus, Ga., bus station fortrying to take a drink from a“whites only” fountain.

Williams went on tocomplete high school and withGI benets complete a

bachelor’s and master’s degreein chemistry. But he also took the organizational skills learnedin the army into mobilizingmarches and protests for civilrights with Dr. Martin LutherKing Jr. and he held severalposts with the SouthernChristian Leadership Confer-ence. He sustained a fracturedskull during the “bloody Sunday’

attack on marchers at Selma,Ala., in 1965 that marked aturning point in securing equalvoting rights. He held electedoces from 1974 to 1994.

 Sumner Redstone

1923-

A student atHarvard and a

member of theArmy Reserves, hewas among a

group of accomplishedlanguage students recruited toa nine-month crash courselearning Japanese. By 1943, hewas part of a top-secret Armycode-breaking unit workingoutside Washington. Messagesgleaned from the team and aNavy counterpart in Hawaii

gave the U.S. a huge advantagein many campaigns. He oftensays he learned tenacity fromthe experience.

After the war and law school,Redstone went into the familytheater and entertainmentbusiness, National Amusements,and continues to serve aschairman. He led the expansionfrom theaters to majorityholdings in CBS, Viacom and anumber of other lm, cable andbroadcast enterprises.

Compiled by Lee Bowman, ScrippsHoward News Service

A sampling of veterans of World War II and the eects the war had on their careers and, in turn, society.

WORLD WAR II: BETTER-KNOWN VETERANS

Sources: Ocial Biography of Sen. John Chafee, U.S. Senate; “A Covert Aair: Julia Child and Paul Child in the OSS” by Jennet Conant; International Spy Museum, Washington; TheGeorgia Encyclopedia, Georgia Humanities Council; U.S. Air Force archives; Veterans History Project, Library of Congress; Museum of Broadcast Communication; Columbia Universityarchives; University of South Carolina Cooper Library; “The Greatest Generation” by Tom Brokaw