Class of 1946 shares WWII experiences

By Nammi Bhagvandoss The Weatherford Democrat Tue Oct 03, 2006, 07:45 AM CDT

Joplin, MO — The Class of 1946 learned history by living it.

“Our senior year was after World War II,” recalls retired cardiologist Jack S. Sanders, a 1946 graduate of Joplin High School. “We could see the world changing.”

Sanders thought he and his classmates were unique in terms of what they experienced, and decided to document their experiences during and after World War II. The result is a 265-page book titled “High School on the Home Front: 60 Years Later.”

The book was written with the help of about 90 of Sanders' classmates, who shared their experiences during those years. “I’m thrilled with it,” said Mary Ellen Butler Baker, 78. “It’s a very nice report of life in the ’40s when we were in high school. Jack has done a wonderful job of capturing what it was like in the ’40s."

Twenty-six people in Sanders' class enlisted in the military before graduating.

Bob Bolen, 78, of Waxahachie, Texas, said he enlisted in the Navy in the spring of 1946. The “shooting war was over in 1945,” but the government was still drafting, he said.

“We all joined the Navy in spring 1946, and six weeks later, they canceled the draft,” Bolen said. “I got called back in the Korean War in 1950.”

Sanders presented the book to his classmates at their recent 60th reunion, attended by 65 classmates and their guests. Some came from as far as Florida, Texas, Virginia, California and Maryland to attend.

Joetta Jeffcott Krusekopf, 78, of Jasper, was on the reunion committee and received an early copy of the book.

“It’s a page-turner,” she said.

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