Quinesso, John

John Quinesso was born January 24, 1926 in Vineland, N.J.  He grew up in that small town, and he was quite the athlete, even getting a tryout with the Brooklyn Dodgers. John was just starting high school when the attack on Pearl Harbour took place, and he did not have a sense of how it might affect his generation at that time.  When he turned 18 he did not want to be drafted, so he headed over to Philadelphia and joined the navy.  Initial training took place in Fort Sampson, New York, and then John went on to Pennsylvania for training as a radio operator.  Once that was complete he reported to the amphibious fleet in South Carolina, where he was assigned to a Landing Ship Medium (LSM-302). They went through the Panama Canal en route to the Pacific and endured a 2-week journey to Pearl Harbour, which was their home base.  John spent his time in the radio shack, receiving messages and weather reports and communicating with the other ships in the convoy.  From Pearl Harbour they would pick up supplies and troops and carry them to locations all across the Pacific, and along the way they endured the weather and all the dangers associated with being in a theatre of war.  As John recalls they visited many of the spots where the fighting had taken place, going in as part of the second wave and therefore avoiding direct combat, though they saw the evidence on the beaches and did witness kamikaze attacks.  They learned of the end of the war while at sea, returning to Pearl Harbour and then San Diego before taking a train to Lido Beach, N.Y. – and discharge and civilian life.  John returned to his family and took advantage of the GI Bill to further his education.  He also met Rose and the two of them married and started their family.  John Quinesso was interviewed by Scott Masters at the Millville Army Air Field Museum  in March 2026.