John N. Carothers
by Ray Carothers
by Ray Carothers
Introduction: For my interview, I decided to question my dad about my grandfather, John N. Carothers who served in World War Two. My grandfather passed away in 1995. He was in the air force and rescue team in the Pacific Theater. He was assigned to help rescue fallen troops who crashed near Hawaii.
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His different assignments: After briefly being stationed to
rescue in Hawaii he was reassigned to Iwo Jima where he continued to
look from the air for fallen Americans at sea. The only time he ever
got to serve on land was when he and the rest of his crew set up their
base camp in Iwo Jima. The reason why he needed a gun when on foot was
because the tents that they camped out in were very small and could not
fit bathrooms inside of each one. The only bathroom they had was
outside of the camp area, and that was where the Japanese snipers were
located. Every time one of the troops had to use the bathroom they were
always told to look out for snipers. He was a devoted member of the air
force for just one year and was a navigator. He enjoyed his work
because he felt he contributed to the outcome of the war and was an
extraordinarily patriotic individual. After his time spent in the air
force, he still kept all of his medals and badges that still exist
today. He didn’t take his military life lightly and he was very proud of the work he did. |
The stories he told of his experiences: Though he only served in World War II for one year, he used to talk about all of the great experiences he had. Since I was not able to speak with my grandfather about the war personally, I was able to get a lots of information from my own father based on the stories my grandfather told. He told us stories about the friends he had made and the respect he was given by his peers and the respect he gained for himself.
| The Memories: My grandfather mentioned in one of his stories the different behaviors and styles amongst each class or ranking in the army. My father remembers that he recalled how “back in those days the fighter pilots and Submarine captains would always be dressed up in fancy army suits that were in very good condition but, the rescue and navigation team didn’t dress as classy." |  My grandfather would have seen planes like this in the Pacific
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His sense of humor: He always cracked jokes about the laziness of the rescue crew along with their poor attire and the types of food they ate. My grandftaher spoke about the main meals which consisted of “hot dogs and fried beans”. After the war, my father says that “he was so into his time spent that he would practically reenact his experiences. He would talk about what it was like to fly one of the most important weapons of our war era, which was the fighter plane. You could see the look in his eyes that he was pouring adrenaline when he thought and discussed the thrill and horror of dog fighting. He told us stories about what it was like to have the feeling of being attacked and attacking constantly.”
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During the war: Before he joined the air force, my grandfather was in the US and in order to be protected by possible bombs and gun fire from planes at night, “everyone in the city would have to turn their lights off so no targets would be visible from planes overhead.” If anyone had their lights on, the police would bang on the door and complain until they turned them off. When people would drive in cars at night, they couldn’t use headlights for that same reason. He also talked about the most difficult part of the entire air force, the training. He remembered the training camps and the courses that were almost as brutal as the bar exam. He was determined to pass because it would show an example of his patriotism. |
His personality: He was a very exciting person when talking about his accomplishments serving in the air force. He loved showing off his medals, which my family still keeps today and still takes great pride in them. We consider them trophies to us because it shows the work ethic and honor that my grandfather brings to the family. I felt a sense of disappointment upon myself when he died in 1995 because I didn’t get a chance to really give him recognition for the respect he has gotten and yet to be given for his bravery and for his passion to serve our country. His medals will forever remind us about the war he served in. Even though he served it for a short while he was said to have made quite an impression. I would consider my grandfather a decent part of history because, along with the many others who served, he helped fight and win this war to make our nation as strong as it is. In my eyes and in many others I would consider my grandpa Carothers to not only be a war veteran but to be a hero.
Bibliography:
Interview with John N. Carothers, January 2006
Iwo Jima. www.freerepublic.com
Virginia fights war world II, 3/15/06
http://www.vahistory.org/WWII/image_archive/image.php?image_id=857&page=exhibitions