The Second World War is full of many memories that only a few can share. The experience is more than just a story that is told. It is something that only the people who were there had the chance to live through and remember. Even thought Mr. Owen Jones can share his stories, memories and experiences, we will never know how he really must have felt before, during and after World War II.
On Wednesday, March ninth 2001, Mr. Owen Jones born April fourth 1925 was interviewed about his life during World War II. Before he went in to the work force, Mr. Jones lived in Elmira with his parents, sister and brother. He was in high school as a teenager at age sixteen. One day while at home he was listening to the radio when Mr. Jones heard the terrifying news about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. “I wasn’t that scared because it wasn’t near my hometown,” he said. It was then that he decided that he wanted to help win this war.
Just like every other person that participated in the war effort, Owen Jones played an important role. As a metal worker, Jones drove a howitzer along with three other men. He believes that he had a major role because “these guns would cause major destruction.” He recalls a moment when he was driving the truck in the dark of night when he accidentally turned into a cemetery. “I tried to get out of there as fast as I could,” he said laughing. That was one of the few times when Jones got a laugh. During this harsh war, O Jones, as his friends would call him, and the three other men were faced with difficult and challenging tasks. The most difficult that he recalled was when the men had to get across almost fine countries with the truck, within only a day and a half. Besides working hard hour after hour, and day after day, the men had to give up many of the luxuries of everyday life. Cleanliness was one of the most imiportant. “WE would have to wear the same clothes day after day, and if you ever got a chance to take a shower you would definitely do it,” Mr. Jones had said. Food was also considered a luxury. A small knife that could cut cans was what Jones depended on to get food. “If you didn’t have one of those you didn’t ear,” he said. But Mr. Owen Jones believes that all of this just made him a stronger person.
On May 9th 1945, when Mr. Owen Jones heard the war was over he was not as excited as he imagined he would be because he had already known that the war would be over. The Germans had been surrendering and they had been stationed at the same place for more than usual. During the war he did not see much of his family so he was excited to be able to see them after so long. When Mr. Owen Jones heard the great news he was on the battlefield he did not see anywhere he was station at. This might have been a time tcelebrate but there is also a downside to the war being over. Families remember that some loved ones will not be making it home, but they will still be remembered. The era after the war was all about getting back what they lost and remember those they have lost.