1400 Dove Drive
Metamora, IL 61548

Dick was drafted and stationed in the Pacific during WWII. He worked with weather equipment sending important information to the Allies that would determine attacks against the Japanese. It was lonely on that island except for one little friend: a friendly monkey who became his pet. I'm sure this hero would like drawings of Christmas monkeys this year.

5210 Likini Street Apt 904
Honolulu, HI 96818

Young author / artist Dillyn Hammons went to Hawaii with her mother and was able to meet and interview Eugenia. She learned about a woman who was a pioneer for women's rights. Prior to WWII, women had not been allowed in the service. Now this important story is preserved and will be used in classrooms across the nation.

1200 East Grant #31
Macomb, IL 61455

Grace served her time in the military in Washington, DC working as a typist for the Intelligence Division of the Navy. She dealt with captured foreign documents and was told that “Loose lips sink ships.” This meant she should keep her mouth shut and her eyes closed about what she heard and saw!

989 Dayton Court
Galesburg, IL 61401

Seventy years after the war, the Japanese invited POWs back to Japan. All expenses were paid and Leland felt like they wanted to make up for all the horrific things they had done during the war. He decided to let go of his awful thoughts and the grudge he had toward them. He told the students who wrote and illustrated his storybook he was able to forgive.

3728 Thunder Ridge Road
Bettendorf, Iowa 52722

Ray Fairbank was told by a teacher that he was the "dumbest kid" she ever met. He set out to prove her wrong. In the service, Ray was on the ground crew for Colonel Chuck Yeager when he broke the sound barrier. Then he went to college and became an engineer for John Deere & Company. Today he says to kids "don't give up on your dreams."

c/o Edgington Presbyterian Church
3228 140 Street W
Taylor Ridge, IL 61284

Henry was drafted into the army at age 19. After basic training, he was sent to Europe via ship convoy. During battle in Germany, Henry and his unit hid in foxholes to avoid gunfire. Unfortunately, Henry was shot in the arm by a German sniper.

Lodge at Taylor
22950 Northline Rd.
Taylor, MI 48180

Clara, now 101 years old, encountered racist remarks at the Briggs factory but her mother raised her to believe she was as good as everyone else. Clara ignored ugly remarks and did her job. Clara said she remembers World War II as a time of unity. Neighbors of all backgrounds came together to listen to the radio or memorialize young soldiers killed in the war.

421 Bancroft Street
Apt. 109
Imlay City, MI 48444

The story of a teenage girl from Kentucky who married and moved to Michigan. During WWII, Beulah Evans McAlister worked at the Hudson Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan after her husband joined the army. Car manufacturers had to ramp up a very different production line to meet the new wartime needs. Beulah worked on the Hellcat aircraft, an open cockpit biplane used mostly in the Pacific Theater. Years later, these women who worked in manufacturing were given the name, “Rosie the Riveter,” and they became an American icon. Their famous poster shows a woman making a muscle, with the words “WE CAN DO IT!”

203 W Green Street
Apt. 2B
Brooklyn, IA 52211

Margaret Chicoski Clayton is a volunteer who says she danced her way through WWII. She worked to benefit our military, and she participated in parties and dances to bring joy to our soldiers. Rachel Johnson wrote and illustrated this story about Margaret, to show children and those of all ages the importance of caring for others and giving of your time by volunteering.

PO Box 3
Leland, IL 60531

Bob Shumway and brothers, Kenny and Dick, all served during WWII. These brothers would go on to make their hometown of Leland, Illinois proud. At first, with Kenny serving in Europe and Dick serving in the Pacific, it remained for Bob to stay behind to help his father maintain the family farm. But, when his chance to serve came, Bob answered the call without hesitation. Bob was stationed in Yokohama, Japan to work at General Headquarters. On Veteran’s Day, Bob speaks in schools to keep alive the memory of veterans who weren’t as lucky as he was.

c/o Mary O’Brien
45863 Grant Court
Macomb, MI 48044

She worked at the Willow Run Plant making B-24 Liberator bombers on the assembly line. It took her an hour by bus to get to Ypsilanti, then another half hour to get the plant. She worked there "for the duration" of the war. Fran said if there was anything she could do to help the people of Ukraine now, she would do it, just as she helped her fellow Americans during the war.

1295 Center Street NE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402

Mike and his unit were on a mission to bomb the railroad yards in Munich, Germany. After dropping their bombs, they came under enemy attack and two engines were lost, and the remaining two were surging. The third engine died near neutral Switzerland and the pilot gave the order to jump. Only one of the 11 crew members had parachuted out of a plane before. Mike's parachute opened before he could jump. He carefully leapt into the air keeping it from being caught by the plane. The men landed on a farm in rural France and within an hour, they were rescued by the French Underground which kept them from being prisoners of war. Now Mike is a member of the Caterpillar Club, an informal association of people who have successfully used a parachute to bail out of a disabled aircraft.