The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.

Saturday, January 15, 2022

Chicagoland Pearl Harbor Survivor Everett 'Jim' Schlegel Dies at Age 102-- Part 1: Tending Mules Near the Base

From the January 14, 2022, 7ABC Chicago News  "Chicago area survivor of Pearl Harbor attack laid to rest in Norridge" by Stacey Baca.

World War II veteran Everett "Jim" Schlegel, of Norridge, Illinois,  was one of the last-known Pearl Harbor survivors from Chicago.  He was remembered today for his service and fun-loving personality.

He died December 31, 2021 and after a memorial service at  Cumberland Chapels in Norridge, he was laid to rest at  Irving Park Cemetery. He is survived by his son, Bill Schlegel and daughter Beverly  Capiga and  six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

"He really tried to make people smile.  He never was negative, he was always a positive person," his son Bill said.

When he got drafted, he had three choices as to assignment.  He picked Hawaii, not knowing that a war would find him first.  The day of the attack, he was  in the U.S. Army tending mules and making sure his fellow soldiers had supplies.  They were based in the hills near the base at Pearl Harbor.

He recalled that nobody knew what was going on.

--GreGen


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