MIFFLIN TOWNSHIP — World War II veteran John “Jack” Cowell celebrated his 101st birthday on Tuesday by saluting his comrades in arms.
Literally.
“I just did my job,” the U.S. Navy destroyer escort sailor said during a celebration at the Arbors at Mifflin nursing home. “I was part of a team. I am proud of all of them.”
As Cowell raised his hand in salute, he included several military veterans who came to the celebration in honor of the former seaman, who served as a sightsetter for a 20mm gun on the USS Damon M. Cummings (DE-643) in the Pacific Ocean.
“I salute each and every one of you,” he said.
It was a busy time aboard the destroyer escort in the lovingly-named “Tin Can Navy” for Cowell, who left Lucas High School to enlist just a few weeks before graduation in 1942.
Several years ago, the school awarded him the diploma he had earned.
“Tin can” referred to the lighter construction on destroyers and their escorts, with no armor plating, compared to larger battleships and cruisers. Much of the work of destroyer escorts were anti-submarine sweeps.
“I knew I was going to be drafted. I decided to join (the military). Then you get to do what you want … you get more benefits,” he said with a laugh.
The 306-foot destroyer escort quickly sailed into harm’s way and served in multiple locations during the war against Japan, including radar screening work during the invasion of Okinawa.
It was hot and dangerous work aboard ship during the 82-day battle over the Island, just as it was for the troops on land. According to published reports, Japan launched about 1,500 kamikaze attacks on Allied ships during the battle.
Of 149 ships hit or sunk by kamikazes during the attack, 88 were destroyers and another 30 were destroyer escorts. A reported 3,048 sailors were killed and another 6,035 were wounded.
“We were a good team (on the gun),” he said. “I would get the sights set and say, ‘Fire! Fire! Fire!’ We would shoot and get them that way. It was bad, but that’s the way it was back then,” Cowell said.
“I hated to do it, but you had do it,” he said. “You have got to survive.”
(Photos taken Tuesday morning during the 101st birthday for World War II veteran John “Jack” Cowell at the Arbors at Mifflin on Crider Road. The story continues below the photos.)
In addition to the combat action, Cowell recalled the ship rolling badly during a Pacific typhoon, a frightening situation at sea, especially on the smallish destroyer escort.
“There was only so far you could go one way or the other,” he said with a laugh.
After the war ended in 1945, Cowell made his way back home, arriving in Mansfield by train and then walking up Main Street to his family’s home.
He returned to work as a farmer and also at Mansfield Tire and Rubber. He and his wife had two daughters, Debbi Pacellie Vicki Foss, as well as three children and five great-grandchildren.
Like many of those from the “Greatest Generation,” Cowell didn’t dwell on the war and his experiences. He went to work and built his life.
“For many years, he never talked anything about the war. Then all of a sudden, when his grandkids came and they would ask questions … he would get pretty teary because of the things (veterans) see. It wasn’t a good time,” a relative said Tuesday morning.
