T-R PHOTO BY MIKE DONAHEY - Student, historian and writer Jiri Kluc of Prague, Czech Republic poses with World War II veteran Ralph Alshouse Sunday at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown. Alshouse, a resident of IVH, is holding a copy of his book.

Russell Wright and Ralph Alshouse — two World War II veterans and members of the “Greatest Generation” — shared their service stories and important life lessons Sunday morning in separate interviews at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown.

The interviewer came from halfway around the globe.

He was Jiri Kluc, an affable 27-year graduate student from the Czech Republic.

Kluc has been in Iowa several days interviewing WWII veterans.

He began in Cedar Rapids – where he interviewed five veterans of Czech heritage last week — and then traveling to see Wright and Alshouse in Marshalltown followed by other interviews with veterans in Ames, also on Sunday.

Kluc is interviewing a number of American veterans for his dissertation required to earn his PhD. at a Czech university.

His questions to Wright and Alshouse were thoughtful — he interspersed questions related to the veterans’ personal lives with military service.

For example, he asked both men what animals and crops were on their family farms.

Importantly, he asked if they remembered the Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor which catapulted America’s entry into the war.

Kluc was able to elicit detailed answers from both men on those and many other subjects.

“We do not have WWII veterans in the Czech Republic,” Kluc said when asked of his reason for coming to America. “I came to the United States to learn about the men and women who kept us free and to thank them for their service.”

T-R PHOTO BY MIKE DONAHEY – Student, historian and writer Jiri Kluc of Prague, Czech Republic poses with World War II veteran Russell Wright Sunday at the Iowa Veterans Home. Kluc was interviewing Wright about his WWII US Navy duty in the Pacific Theater.

Russell Wright

Wright, 97, worked many years as a businessman in Spencer.

Wright was a seaman first class, serving in the Pacific Theater and witnessing from afar in Tokyo Bay the historic Japanese surrender to U.S. Army General Douglas McArthur Sept. 2, 1945, aboard the USS Missouri. The surrender ended WW II. It, along with the bombing of Pearl Harbor and use of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were three seminal events from the 20th century.

Wright — born in 1926 — grew up on a farm with several brothers and sisters.

He emphasized that farming in the 1930s was extremely labor intensive.

“Those were tough times,” he said, in reference to the Great Depression — a solemn time in U.S. history from 1932-40 which witnessed thousands of farms and homes being foreclosed, double-digit unemployment, soup kitchens and homeless encampments.

Wright enlisted in 1944.

As a seaman, he performed numerous jobs on the USS Tucson – a communications ship. They included using binoculars to keep an eye on the horizon for submarines or other enemy activity.

“One time I fell asleep at my post,” he said. “An officer tapped me on the shoulder and woke me up … I was grateful I did not get thrown in jail for that offense,” he said.

Wright’s ship was not in combat, but he related a close call where the Tucson came perilously close to a mine. Sailors with rifles were able to discharge the mine from a safe distance although shrapnel fell on the ship.

At all times the ship was on high alert. There were several occasions the Tucson acted as decoy to divert and confuse Japanese forces about U.S. fleet missions.

Wright said another highlight of his military service was helping raise the American flag at ceremonies at the USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor.

After his honorable discharge, Wright entered and graduated from a business college.

He owned many business throughout his career before retirement.

Wright recently was awarded medals (which had been lost) for his service at ceremonies at IVH earlier this month.

Wright, an articulate man, is confined to a wheelchair but is looking forward to resuming use of his walker once his leg heals.

Wright recently became an author.

He recently published his memoirs which were featured in a Times-Republican story by managing editor Robert Maharry earlier this month.

His life lesson: Stay positive and keep one’s brain and body active.

“I like it here,” Wright said of IVH.

Joining Wright was his daughter from Des Moines.

Ralph Alshouse

Alshouse 100, grew up in Stanley, a small farming community near Oelwein.

He too was born into a large farm family.

Alshouse enlisted in the Navy at age 18.

He wanted to enlist earlier but his father said no.

“My father served as an infantryman in World War I,” Alshouse said. “He experienced trench warfare and said war was a terrible experience … piling up the dead bodies of fellow soldiers to act as shields from enemy bullets.”

Allshouse proudly wore his Naval aviator baseball cap during the interview.

Training was rigorous and challenging.

“There were 27 who started out in the class, and I was one of two who graduated” he said.

He spent the war in the all-important role as a “ferry pilot.”

His job was to fly a variety of aircraft manufactured in the U.S and Canada to airfields on the east and west coast needed for the war effort, according to his book.

Over a two-years, Ensign Alshouse delivered 146 aircraft and had a military record of 13-forced landings; from landing a Corsair on fire over Pittsburgh Penn., to being struck by lightning in Douglas, Ariz.

Two engines failed in flight resulting in two “dead stick” landings.

He described many of the planes in detail, as if he just flown them earlier in the day.

“When Navy admiral William “Bull” Halsey wanted aircraft,” we delivered it safely and on time,” he said proudly.

Alshouse was in the Naval Reserve after WWII and resumed active duty as a ferry pilot during the Korean War from 1950-53.

He also spoke admirably of his brother – a U.S. Marine who saw extensive combat as a tank crew member in that war against Communist Chinese and North Korean forces.

Korea’s mountainous terrain and bitterly cold winters were challenging for U.S. and United Nations forces as expertly reported by the late author David Halberstam in his acclaimed book, “The Coldest Winter.”

Alshouse vividly wrote of his military experiences: “80 Percent Luck, 20 Percent Skill: My Life as a WWII Navy Ferry Pilot.”

In it, he described being 11-years old and seeing a Piper Cub airplane for the first time and later successfully chasing the dreams of being a pilot.

He was one of a handful of high school graduates accepted as an aviation cadent and eventually earned the prestigious U.S. Navy Wings of Gold.

Looking on during the interview were members of Alshouse’s family – including son John Alshouse, a Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War.

After the Alshouse interview Kluc purchased a copy of the aviator’s book and planned to visit Wright and in his room to purchase his book.

Wright and Alshouse are two of only four WWII veterans living at IVH currently, according to IVH staff.

Staff from IVH helped Kluc set up in the Kooper Kettle at IVH and ensured Alshouse and Wright were comfortable during the interviews which lasted approximately 45 minutes each.