John M. Duncan

John M. Duncan

I was born on January 1, 1926 in Mt. Carmel, Illinois. I enlisted in the United States Naval Reserves at Indianapolis, Indiana on August 17,1943. (While in Indianapolis, I saw Great Lakes football Team defeat Notre Dame, then rated # 1.

I attended Boot Camp at Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Basic & Advanced Welding Schools at Destroyer Base, San Diego, California where I was promoted to Metalsmith 3C.

I traveled from Long Beach, California to Pearl Harbor in an LCI in the Spring of 1944. I was transferred aboard the U.S.S. Nassau, carrying my sea bag, hammock and mattress. I was assigned to the "W" Division, with Ensign Aldrich as Division Officer. My daily duties were in the Blacksmith Shop, located near the forward elevator, between the Hangar Deck and the Flight Deck. Ray Hunt, MIC, an Asiatic sailor with 10 years in the Navy was in charge of shop. He let me move my bunk to the shop. We cut holes in the air conditioning ducts that ran through our bunk room, and stayed cool while near the equator. I became a Shellback on the way to Manus Island. My GQ assignment was in Damage Control below decks.

My great Patriotic Honor was to wake up one morning and see the ocean filled with ships everywhere I looked. It was the beginning of the Battle of the Philippines. We weren't told what was happening until we saw it, but we were very proud to be part of a winning team!

My most memorable event was when we were in Okinawa Bay and lost an anchor, when a loose ship crashed into us. That night I was having a party in the Blacksmith Shop with several buddies. We were eating chicken legs brought from the Galley by some cooks, and drinking vodka and orange juice. I had been given a bottle of vodka by the Chief Engineer of a merchant ship for welding some broken turbine blades from an engine on his ship. Our party ended quickly when the bow of the loose ship penetrated the port side of the Nassau, and we had to report for GQ. I was discharged from the Navy in Great Lakes in April, 1946. I married Edith Ruth Pauley from Princeton, Indiana on July 2, 1946, and started college in September. I received a Bachelors Degree in Chemistry in 1950; a Masters Degree in Chemistry in 1952; and a Law Degree in 1968. I retired after 36-1/2 years with Shell Oil Company in 1988 as Manager of Licensing. I now have a general law practice, Duncan & Ellis, PC, in French Lick, Indiana.

My first marriage produced five children, who have produced six boys, and two great-granddaughters. I married Joanne Wood in Houston, Texas on May 31, 1980. Joanne has four children and eight grandchildren.