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On January 27, 2008 I interviewed my dad about his dad, my grandpa. His name is George F. Rush. I have always wanted to know about my grandpa’s experience in the war and my dad has talked about it some already so this was the perfect chance to sit down on the couch and talk. My grandpa was born on March 1, 1918 and died on June 14, 1999. He grew up with a sister who was eight years older and a brother who was 14 months older. Him and his brother were very close growing up together and did boy scouts together. He grew up here in St. Louis Missouri, attended Webster Groves High school and played in the annual Turkey Day game between Webster and Kirkwood. He then went to the University of Missouri. As an adult he became a civil engineer for his father in laws pluming company and co owned it. From 1941 - 1961, he as a naval aviator, a pilot for the U.S. navy, on reserves, which means that being in the navy was not his full time job except for the war when he was on active duty. On the morning of Sunday December 7, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was attacked, my grandpa was in Corpus Christi, a navy base in Texas flying SNJs as an instructor pilot. When the United States entered the war, my grandpa was assigned to the USS Columbia cruiser. He always wanted to be a fighter pilot but was 23 and said to be too old so for eight months he flew seaplanes off of the ship to patrol for enemy aircraft and submarines. Then he transferred to an island in the South Pacific to continue scouting. Finally the U.S.A. needed more fighter pilots so he was sent to Jacksonville, Florida to train as a fighter pilot. On his way he stopped in St. Louis and married my grandmother, it was December 6, 1944, D-day, the day the Allied forces invaded Europe. On that same day, my grandpa's brother, my great uncle, landed on Utah beach in Normandy, France. He was in the U.S. army and fought through France, Belgium, and Germany. After my grandpas training, he was sent to Hawaii, and then to Guam which is an island in the Pacific. Soon thereafter the war ended but grandpa stay in the reserves and became a squadron commander flying F4U corsairs and F8F Bearcats at Naval Air Station (NAS)in St. Louis. From this interview, I have learned that no matter what someone’s job is, it does make a difference, no matter how small of one. My grandpa, and all of the other people that fought in World War II ware brave and wanted to make a difference. Everyone has a story and everyone’s story is interesting. World War II happened almost a lifetime ago and soon there will be no first hand sorces left. It was great for me to be able to ask my dad about my grandpa’s experiences in the war, but I wish I could know more.