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WWII Vet Reflects

By Staff | May 21, 2015

Joe Parish, shown with his wife Helen, talks about his time in World War II, serving in the Air Force from 1943-46. Photos by Lauren Matthews

BY LAUREN MATTHEWS

Staff Writer

When it comes to American history and the wars our country’s bravest have fought, we tend to remember certain faces, places, and objects rather clearly.

For instance, in the case of World War II we tend to remember such things like Adolf Hitler, Pearl Harbor and Flying Fortress. However, unfortunately, the soldiers, those who matter the most, are not as visible. These heroes are those that have stood up and fought for our country; They are who we can credit for living in the land of the free. They are the brave, our veterans.

Joe Parish, of New Martinsville, is one of those people.

Shown are patches from the 351st Bomb Group and 510th Bomb Squadron.

Parish, a United States Air Force veteran, served his country from 1943-1946. He is humble about his service but thankfully welcomed the Chronicle into his home to, as he called, “shoot the bull.”

The World War II veteran was drafted into the military when he was 18 years old. Prior to this, he had graduated from high school and worked at Willow Run bomber plant in Michigan where he helped to build B-24 bombers. Parish was born in Hundred and came from a family of three sisters and one brother.

After being drafted, Parish was inducted into the military at Fort Hayes in Columbus, Ohio and was chosen for the United States Army Air Corps, what is now known as the United States Air Force.

During the days of the draft, Parish said individuals were unable to choose what branch of the military they wanted to be in but could make a request. “You took a battery of tests,” he explained of how a person was chosen. However, he made a request and was “lucky enough to get in.”

Parish states that he told the powers that be that he could “do a lot more damage with a fighter plane and eight .50 caliber machine guns than a single shot rifle.”

Parish was then sent to Amarillo, Texas for basic training, where he was selected for the Air Force cadets. Parish explains that he was supposed to go to college for six months but then new regulations came out stating there were enough pilots in training. Parish then chose mechanics school. Here, he learned about B-17 bombers but was then notified that there were plenty of mechanics, so he was then directed to gunnery school.

Parish said since his Military Occupation Specialty was mechanic and gunnery, he became a flight engineer and top turret gunner. He said when he was flown over to England, he was given orders to move on to another base. Parish explains that himself and those with him were not allowed to open the envelope, telling them of their orders, until they were in the air.

Parish and his fellow members were assigned to the 351st Bombardment Group, stationed in Polebrook, England.

Coincidentally, this was also where Parish’s brother Bill, a ground mechanic, was stationed.

“That was pretty neat,” Parish comments of the stationing of him and his brother.

Parish stated that when he arrived at the base, his brother was on a 48 hour pass. “I found his barracks. It was a quonset hut. They told me he’d probably be back that evening, so I went in the movie theater, also a quonset hut.”

Parish added that he and his brother were both corporals at the time. “My brother walked into the movie theater and said ‘Is Corporal Parish there?” Parish laughs, mentioning that everyone thought his brother was “going bananas.”

“There were all kinds of goofballs like that,” he mentioned of his comrades.

Parish noted that his group then had to fly several missions for training.

Then one morning he was woken up at 2:30 a.m. “A guy was pounding on the bunks saying ‘You’re flying today buddy! Get up!'”

Parish notes that he ended up flying 10 combat missions over Germany until the war ended.

When asked if he was nervous that early morning when told he was flying, he stated he wasn’t too nervous until “we flew over enemy territory and were shot at.”

“I got a little bit nervous . . . more than a little bit nervous,” he adds.

When asked what his most interesting experience during the his military career was, Parish states that at one time his crew lost two engines while on a mission. “I don’t know if you’d call that interesting, but it was exciting,” he explains adding the experience was “nerve-wracking.”

Parish states that the most interesting place he traveled to in America, during his military career, would be Las Vegas, Nevada while overseas he enjoyed England. “London was quite the deal,” he states. “During the war all the monuments were boarded up to protect them . . . There were hardly any lights at night. It was interesting to watch the changing of the guard and see where Churchill lived.”

Parish adds that the “underground” was also a new experience, clarifying that underground was what the subway was referred to as that time. He adds that London was fairly easy to get around. “We didn’t know beans about the place, but on the wall of each car was a map of the subway exits.”

Parish also tells a story of his pilot.

“When the war broke out with Japan, he went down to the shipyards and helped build ships. He was drafted and went in to the Air Force, went to the cadet program and became a pilot for a multi-engine air craft. “He turned out to be a good one,” Parish notes, adding that the pilot, Jesse Owre was Norwegian. “He lived in Oregon and was a farmer,” Parish states. “We nicknamed him the Scandihoolian, and he called me Ski Foot.” Parish adds that the nickname was due to the fact he wore 13 Triple A shoes.

Parish met his wife Helen after the war, in 1948 at a Christmas program her senior year of high school. The Parishes have three children – Linda, Doug, and Brian, five grandchilden and four great-grandchildren. When asked, Parish explains that he doesn’t really discuss his military experiences anymore with his wife, adding that they mostly talk about their grandchildren now.

When spoken to regarding the importance of his service, Parish simply states “We were in there for a reason.”

While their upstairs living room is decked out with photos of their current pride and joy – children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Parish still keeps memorabilia of his military service in a downstairs family room. The model of a B-17 Bomber and patches representing his old group and squadron might now just be memories of a necessary duty from long ago to this humble veteran; however, the gratitude and pride that America has in her veterans should endure for decades more.