What Happened to Uncle Jack ?
I had sent an email letter to Mary Margaret in March of 2015 in regard to uncle Jack. None of us on this side of the family knew what had happened to him. He was married to a lady by the name of Ann, I believe, and he had lived in a place near Sun City, Arizona. I had spoken with him on the phone about two years before and I knew from this conversation that he had been ill for some time.
Jack was about 95 years old at the time I spoke with him. He had some trouble figuring out who I was regardless of my explanations. I felt very sorry about that but there was nothing that I could do.
Finally I spoke with his wife, Ann, and then I began to understand the situation. None of us on this side of the family had had much contact with Jack or his son or his daughter for a number of years. I believe that my sister, Kathy, had seen Jack a number of times back in the 1990s.
Neither she nor Mary Margaret nor Ginny had had much contact since that time. As of this date I must presume that uncle Jack has passed away. I find it strange that none of us was notified.
I believe that uncle Jack was the youngest in the family of seven. There was my father, Ivan, then Richard (uncle Dick), Marge, June, Estelle, Audrey, and Jack, all to the best of my recollection.
Little Diana was the child of one of the sisters, Audrey, I believe. Diana was always regarded as the eighth child in the family. I had always felt sorry for her. She was the one who stayed with and helped Grandma Thomas right up to the end sometime in the later 1980s to the best of my knowledge.
Anyway uncle Jack had always been my favourite. He had been interested in aircraft and flying, model aircraft also. I recall seeing pictures of Jack at a little airport standing by his plane, a single engined Cessna I thought. He was also a good shot and had some interest in firearms of various sorts. I gave him a set of miniature pistols once when he had just gotten out of the hospital after some surgery. He and his wife, Millie, had just purchased a home somewhere down the peninsula from San Francisco. That must have been in the very late 1940s or early 1950s.
Uncle Jack had taken a good deal of time with me while he was still in the army in late 1945 and 1946. I am not certain when he was discharged from the army but it must have been in later 1946. Meanwhile he stayed at grandpa and grandma Thomas’s flat in San Francisco when he was in town on leave. He had his own room there. His uniform was well decked out with medals and a “sharpshooter” badge, a badge with a light-blue background complete with rifle and all of the proper decor. I believe that he had sergeant stripes and some kind of yellow cordon on his uniform. He did appear to be a well experienced soldier for certain. I know that Jack had been in the battles at Saipan and several other islands the names of which I do not recall. At one time he had been part of a 57 mm (maybe 37 mm) anti-tank crew, discharging Japanese tanker crews to their ancestors.
I remember going to the colosseum with Jack a couple of times when he was in town. We watched logging competitions and a few rodeos. I recall seeing the rodeo clown, Slim Pickens, running around the arena trying to save some of the brahma bull riders from certain misery when they were tossed onto the ground by angry bulls. Slim was wearing a costume with a sixgun and a large wooden whiskey barrel for protection. Uncle Jack took me movies sometimes as well.
I do not think that anyone else in the family knows much abut those days in the 1940s and early 1950s. I used to go up to San Francisco from time to time and stay with grandpa and grandma Thomas at their flat on Jackson Street- — well, I think it was Jackson Street. One time I recall being very naughty. I found a cigar box containing some money in uncle Jack’s room. I believe that I took some of the money and walked down the street to a theatre where I saw a movie, King Kong, as I recall. After the movie I walked up the street and stopped at an open-air cafe. There I feasted on cherry pie, washing it down with something like “green river,” a coke drink in those days. I remember returning to the flat feeling a bit guilty, hoping that I would not have to answer for my thievery right away.
The flat was gaudy, dark curtains, heavy maroon sofa and chairs. I went to uncle Jack’s room, upstairs I believe. That is where I used to sleep. I could look out of the window and see the harbour with the many ships down below. It seems to be rather dank and dark in the room and it was a bit foggy outside, a very wet mist covered part of the window. I spent some time thinking about how to excuse my actions but did not find good excuses before uncle Jack returned later that evening. I was a bit worried about Jack’s response but it turned out to be unnecessary since Jack already knew what I had done and where I had gone that afternoon. It did not take him long to figure things out once he looked in the cigar box. I apologised for taking the money and confessed all of my sins of the day. I quit shaking when Jack told me that he understood and that all was OK. I was very surprised when Jack pulled a family heirloom out from under his bed. It was an old double barrel shotgun with open hammers and a blackened stock with an American flag painted on it. It was to be given to me when I got a bit older, he said.
Anyway, some years later uncle Jack gave me a souvenir from the battle on Saipan. It was a 6.5 mm carbine which had been taken from a member of the Japanese Imperial Marines at the termination of the fighting.
So, uncle Jack has always had a special place in my memories and my heart, my favourite uncle. I am very sorry that I lost contact with him and his family.
