Eddie Janek's Century of Service

I sit down with Eddie Janek, one of the few living WWII veterans. At just 17 years old and barely 5 feet tall, Eddie stormed the beaches of Peleliu as a beachmaster, later he witnessed atomic bomb tests from just miles away, after that he served again in the Korean War. But his story doesn’t stop with the military, he came home to coach baseball for decades, serve as a county commissioner, and raise a family rooted in service and community. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ladies and gentlemen, this episode is one for the
history books.
Today we sit down with a livingwitness to defining moments of
the 20th century.
He is a very special guest andI am honored to have had him
here in the studio.
During World War II, at just 15years old, he lied about his
age to enlist in the UnitedStates Navy.

(00:21):
He got caught, went home, gotsome documents, forged a date,
went back and joined again bythe age of 17,.
He was storming the beaches ofPeleliu, barely 5 feet tall and
just over 100 pounds.
During this offensive, over1,700 Americans were killed and
over 8,000 wounded, while over10,000 Japanese were killed on

(00:45):
this island.
He was there on the front linesserving as a beachmaster.
He fought again in Leyte, thefirst major offensive to
liberate the Philippines fromJapanese occupation.
After World War II.
He stood on deck as the UStested atomic weapons at Bikini
Atoll.
Then, when war erupted again inKorea, he went back.
After two wars he came home toGalveston, texas, built a life,

(01:09):
raised a family and gave back tohis community.
For decades he coachedgenerations of kids on the
baseball field.
His story is one of grit,sacrifice and unwavering service
to his community, his familyand his country.
His name is Eddie Janik Sr and,at 98 years old, he's one of
the few surviving World War IIveterans left in the United

(01:32):
States.
To me, this is more than aninterview.
This is a first-hand account ofAmerican history, from the
Great Depression to the beachesof the Pacific, to the legacy of
service right here at home.
Again, I am extremely honored tohave Eddie Janik here in the
studio to discuss his 98 yearsof life and in this two hour sit

(01:53):
down, I believe we barelyscratched the surface.
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It really helps us out.
Now, without further ado,please welcome Mr Eddie Janik to

(02:15):
Galveston Unscripted.
Well, I have to say I mean, itis an absolute honor to have you
in today.
It really is, thank you, whatwe're going to talk about well,
I have a a few things that Iwant to discuss with you.
Okay, you know, when kimreached out to me, she sent me a
little list of all kinds ofstuff that you've done

(02:37):
throughout your life a lot ofthose things not here on the
island a lot of those things inthe Pacific Theater Korea.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
In the Philippines, pacific Korea, japan, china,
right, I've been to all of them.

Speaker 1 (02:54):
Man, you're 98 years old.

Speaker 2 (02:58):
Yes, I joined the service at 15, and they caught
me.
Well, they were going tocourt-martial me, but then I
talked to my little vet.
I was scared to death.
Then I found my Catholic birthcertificate, uh, confirmation

(03:20):
papers.
I changed it seven to a six.
I joined again.
Wow, I went over these.
I had just turned 17.
I was 5 foot 4, and I weighed114 pounds.

(03:40):
And that's when I made my firstinvasion.
My goodness yeah the guys whowere in my group said you don't
have to worry, Eddie, the Japscan't even see you.
I was that smart.

Speaker 1 (04:03):
Before we get to the Pacific Sure, you were born in
1927.
Yes, 1927.
And that is so.
You grew up in the Depression.
Yes, what was that like?

Speaker 2 (04:18):
Well, I was born and raised on a farm outside of a
town called West and back inthose days everybody was very
poor.
I didn't have a father and mymother didn't have a car, so we

(04:40):
really ate what we planned.
And I had an aunt I found outlater on.
She used to bring theirleftovers to eat, but everybody
was poor.
I mean, there wasn't any cars,wagons and mules.

Speaker 1 (05:10):
Was West a big town back then.

Speaker 2 (05:13):
No, I think at that time it was like 2,500.
Okay, and it's about the samenow.
Mm-hmm, and it's about the same.
Now it's a Czechoslovakiancommunity.
Everybody there speaks.

Speaker 1 (05:33):
Czech.
What was school like?

Speaker 2 (05:36):
Well, I went to a school called Alligator
Alligator.
Alligator School is a two-roomschool.
Alligator Alligator school is atwo-room school.
That had been named Snake Creek.
It was a creek that ran by theschool and then somebody found

(06:04):
an alligator and so they namedit Elligot School, with two
rooms, had four classes in eachroom and probably at the most
seven kids in each grade, and wehad recess, we played.
I walked to school every day.

(06:25):
It was three and a quartermiles.
We had recess, we played.
I walked to school every day.
It was three and a quartermiles.
Along the way I picked up agirl by the name of Teresa
Raycheck and then we walkedanother quarter of a mile and we
picked up two of the Zappalackbrothers.

(06:47):
There was about six of us whowound up at school walking rain
or snow.

Speaker 1 (07:00):
Did you have any brothers or sisters?

Speaker 2 (07:02):
I had a half-sister yeah, my mother.
Her first husband died when mysister was two years old and my
mother had an affair with amarried man.
He got her pregnant, and sothey got his brother to marry my

(07:31):
mother to give me a name.

Speaker 1 (07:32):
Oh, okay.

Speaker 2 (07:33):
My name was actually Berenger, but my sister wouldn't
go to school with me because Ihad a different name.
So my mother sent me to schoolunder the name of Yannick.
Now we pronounce it Janick here, and so when I came to

(07:55):
Galveston at the age of 15, myuncle told my mother she oughta
change my name.
I told my mother she ought tochange my name to either Hickle,

(08:16):
which was the family name, orDeonic, and so my mother changed
it to Deonic.
And I'm no kin to Deonics, Ijust have their name, that's all
.

Speaker 1 (08:22):
Interesting, so that pronunciation of Yonicick to
Jannick.

Speaker 2 (08:28):
Yeah.
What was that I kept sayingYannick when they came to
Calvison and everybody wouldspell it Y.
I said no, it's J Well it's.
Jannick.
I said okay, so I stayed withJanik.

Speaker 1 (08:50):
Yeah, is that a Czech name?

Speaker 2 (08:52):
Yes, Right yeah, my mother was born to 16 children.
She had 15 brothers and sisters, and two of them died young,
but 14 grew up and lived for along time.

Speaker 1 (09:14):
Wow, what year was she born?

Speaker 2 (09:17):
She was born in 1897.
Wow, yeah, yeah, my grandfather.
He came from Czechoslovakia andhe was married.

(09:38):
He had two children.
Then his wife died, he marriedagain and I had 14 more children
.
Man.
They were good.
Really, they were either goodCatholics or over-sexed One of
the two.

Speaker 1 (09:58):
There's a lot of crossover there, right.

Speaker 2 (10:03):
I never knew my grandfather.
He died the year I was born.
But I knew my grandmother andshe couldn't talk English.
In fact, I had two aunts whocouldn't talk English Only.

Speaker 1 (10:24):
Czech, only Czech Did talk.

Speaker 2 (10:25):
English Only.
Czech Only.

Speaker 1 (10:26):
Czech.
Did you learn to speak Czech oh?

Speaker 2 (10:29):
I was fluent in Czech .
Then they gave me Galveston.
I won the service.
I quit talking.
Well, I could read, checkeverything.
In fact.
I went to school at the age ofseven and they sent me back home

(10:53):
with a note that said Eddie hasto learn to speak English.
So she told her brothers andsisters when you're around son,
they come and so I'd speakEnglish, and that's how I

(11:22):
learned to talk English.

Speaker 1 (11:27):
English and that's why I learned to talk English
Growing up in West during theDepression.
You're speaking Czech, yes, andyou know you're going to school
in a two-room schoolhouse withseven other students, for the
most part, yeah.
What was the, the factor thatled your family, or your mother
and your family, down here toGalveston?

Speaker 2 (11:46):
Well, my sister got married in 41, and I had two
uncles who lived here and theygot my brother-in-law a job and
so he moved down here.
My mother came here to takecare of the baby and when school

(12:09):
was out in 42, I came here.
So I have an eighth gradeeducation.

Speaker 1 (12:19):
So when you arrived at Galveston, you were 15.

Speaker 2 (12:21):
Yes, the same year that you tried to join the Navy
or you did join the Navy yes, Igot a job as all my young life I
lied about everything.
I came to Galveston and I wentto the Broadway drugstore.
My sister had said why don'tyou go there and try to get a

(12:48):
job as a delivery boy?
So I said okay.
So I went there and I told theman who owned it by the name of
Williamson, and I told him I'dlike to be a delivery boy and he
said sure, do you know?

(13:22):
Do you know your way aroundtown?
I always remembered that andI'm lost.
I'm going east, should havebeen going west.
There was a guy on a bicycle.
I stopped and I said I'm lost.
He said but you got nothing.

(13:43):
I told him you're going thewrong way.
You got to go to 23rd Street.
So he said I'll show you.
So he went with me and then hesaid you want me to stay with
you?
all day I said yeah, his namewas Joe Polkenhorn and when he

(14:10):
passed away I was a Paul Berger.
That's how long he and I stayedfriends.
Wow up by gals.
And then I needed I think itmade like eight cents an hour
and I decided to go.

(14:32):
Somebody had said go to BobDaley's.
He was on, he was betweenbetween 21st and 22nd on
mechanic and they said he owns abowling alley.
So I went there and I said I'dlike to be a pin setter.

(14:57):
He said have you set pins?
I said yes, sir.
So I go in the back.
He sent me in the back.
There was a guy there by nameRufus Farino who became a
detective later in life.
I'm looking around.

(15:19):
He said have you ever sat pens?
I said no.
I'm looking around.
He said have you ever been in abowling alley?
I said no.
He said you can't.
I said no.
He said you want me to teachyou to sat pens?

(15:41):
I said I sure would.
Then I worked for the phonecompany.
Years later he was a detectiveand when they had some people
that had unlisted numbers whowere criminals, he called me

(16:04):
because I worked for the phonecompany and he said Joe Blow,
that lives on XXX Street.
But we don't have a phone numberfor him or maybe an address,
I'd get that for him.

Speaker 1 (16:32):
So it was like I say, I lied, then lied to get in the
Navy and I don't lie now Idon't have to, right.
So you're 15 years old.
You come to Galveston in 1942.
Yes, right.
What prompted you to lie tojoin the navy?
What was pushing you into intogetting in the navy?

Speaker 2 (16:52):
well, I didn't want to go back and pick up, so I saw
all the sailors in galveston.
It was world, world War II, andI liked the uniform, so I
joined the Navy and then I gotreally patriotic and I stayed in

(17:20):
the Pacific, in the Philippines, and in 46, I was on the atomic
bomb test.

Speaker 1 (17:30):
You were on the atomic bomb test.

Speaker 2 (17:32):
Yes, and it was held at the island of Bikini.
I saw the bomb go off July thefirst, and then the second one
went off July the 25th.
It's almost right around thecorner.

(17:53):
Wow.
And then I got out.
I got a job at the phonecompany.
Then, in 1950, I got calledback to Korea and I was in
another 20 months.
So all told, in my young days Iwas in the service.

(18:18):
Most of that time was spentoverseas.

Speaker 1 (18:23):
Wow, most of that time is spent overseas.
Wow, I would like to look intoyour service in the Pacific and
then jump into the atomic bombtest and then Korea, kind of
looking at each of those.
So in the Pacific, you were infor four years, so you joined in
1942.

Speaker 2 (18:41):
Joined in 1942.
I was in Corpus.
I kept putting in for sea dutyand June the 6th I hitchhiked
home, june the 5th, and I wentto Beaumont first A friend of

(19:02):
mine in the Navy and Ihitchhiked to Beaumont, then I
hitchhiked to Galveston, and itwas June the 5th.
I'm standing at about whereCrystal Beach is now and the
mosquitoes were just horrendousand a car comes up.

(19:29):
Man says sailor, the mosquitoesare gonna really hurt you
tonight.
Why don't you come, stay at ourhouse?
So I said yes, sir, and he saidwhere you going.
I said yes, sir, and he saidwhere you going.
I said Galveston, he said well,he said I'm going to work in
Galveston that tie-dryer.

(19:50):
I said I'll take you home.
So I went.
I was just tickled pink.
They had a room downstairs andI stayed in it that night.
They were going to Galvestonand on the radio it said that

(20:15):
United States created D-DayNormandy.
Right.
And when I got back to Corpus,the chief said John, you got

(20:36):
your seat, dude.
I said what carrier am I goingon?
He said you're not and I saidI'm not.
He said no and I said where amI going?
No, he said you're not and Isaid I'm not.
He said no and I said where amI going?
He said Ann Phibbs and I saidwhat's Ann Phibbs?
He started laughing.
He said you'll learn.

(20:56):
And I went to San Bruno,california.
We stayed in.
There was a racetrack therecalled Tanforant and it closed
and they had Italian prisonersin it and they grabbed them

(21:18):
bitch by the being kind ofcrappy living.
Right.
So they made it into a Navy campthat were trained by the
Marines.
So I wore the Marines greensfor a year and a half Really.

(21:48):
Yeah, I was a beach master.
Beach masters were the firstones on the beach and they
secured the beaches where thepeople who were going to come
and invade they had on Palaupillow.
They had white one, white two,orange one, orange two and

(22:13):
orange three and I was on orangeone.
We went back.
Two of my sons took me back in2005 and they had hired a guy
and we went there and I tell himI was on Orange One.

(22:37):
We went to Orange One and hesaid what do you remember about
it?
I said we were pinned down by amachine gun towards our left.
He looked at me and he said themachine gun is still there.
They preserved it and nobodycould have a party on the

(23:06):
beaches of Palo Alto.
They were sacred.
We lay in this.
It was 118 degrees and we eachhad two canteens strapped to us,
our car being a 45-pistol and Iweighed 114 pounds.

(23:36):
At noon we ran out of water, sothey signaled back to the ships
.
We were out of water.
Everybody was just reallyhurting and they brought them.

(24:00):
I was one of the first onesbecause we were the beach
masters.
I go in a film canteen up andtake a drink and threw up.
They had failed to clean theoil out of the drums.
Everybody got sick of doing it.

(24:22):
Everybody got sick of doing it.
They signaled back and theyfinally brought some drinking
water finally.

Speaker 1 (24:33):
So they were reusing gasoline cans or oil drums as
water containers, Oil drums yeah, oil drums as water containers,
yeah.

Speaker 2 (24:42):
And I stayed on Peleliu until about right make
the invasion of Leyte.
That's in the Philippines andthat's where MacArthur came

(25:15):
across.
So we were, and that wasOctober 20th.
Then in December we went toanother small island and then we

(25:36):
went to so I think Lengine Gulfand made an invasion there, and
then I got put in the hospitalfor R&R.
I guess they thought we weregoing goofy and there was a guy

(26:07):
in the hospital who I knew fromCalifornia and he said what are
you gonna do?
I said, well, I, I'm going togo back to being the beach
master.
He said, Eddie, you don't wantto do that.

(26:31):
They're going to invade Japannext.
They had just invaded Okinawa.
Right.

(26:56):
He said you're a pretty toughguy, we have a boxing team, why
don't you request to stay here?
So I said it's a good idea.
So I stayed and in November Ishipped over for two years so I

(27:19):
could go home early, and four ofus that shipped up.
Our ship took us to PortlandOregon, up to Columbia River,
and then on December 26th and onDecember 26th Pete Graham and I

(27:48):
started hitchhiking fromPortland Oregon to go to
Galveston, new Year's Eve inKansas City.
And then we started hitchhikingagain january the 2nd and we

(28:09):
stopped in oklahoma and fordworth, had a few drinks and we
got home around the 10th ofjanuary I'm sure, being a
service member, people werepretty welcoming and eager to
give you a ride.
Oh gotcha, when I was in Corpus,a guy was there ahead of me

(28:37):
from Galveston.
I didn't know him in Galveston,his name was Eggleston Pinhead
Eggleston, and December the 25th1943, he came to my barracks.

(28:59):
Well no, he came Christmas Evenight and he said why don't you
and I go to Gallows?
I said I don't have any money.
He said I don't either.
We'll hitchhike.
So I said okay.

(29:21):
I never had a hitchhike before.
So we hitchhiked.
We got out of Corpus about 35,40 miles.
Guy dropped us off and we'restanding on the highway and it's
around noon.
Then there was a house about amile off the highway and a car

(29:49):
leaves that house, comes towardsus and the guy said Sailors, my
wife and I have two sons in theArmy and they're overseas.
We have a big Christmas dinner.
Why don't you all come and joinus?

(30:13):
Absolutely.
So I had a country Christmasdinner, all the trimmings.
When we got through he took usback to the road and we caught a
ride with a couple and theywere going to Houston.

(30:36):
And the man said where arey'all going?
They said we're going toGallows.
I said we're going to Galveston.
I said okay.
So when he got to Houston hedrove to the bus station, he
went and he came back here.
You ought to have tickets to goto Galveston.
Wow, that's how gracious thepeople were for people in

(31:02):
uniform it was.
It was you'd hitchhike andyou'd stand out there maybe half
hour and somebody would pickyou up and then talk about where
you're from and all that stuffit was.

(31:23):
It was a good history lessonabout how people acted back in
those days Everybody.
If there was a blue star in apeople's window, it meant that

(31:47):
they had a son in the service.
If there was a gold star itmeant that they had a son killed
in the war.
And yeah, you look at that and Inever thought what it would do

(32:12):
to my mother.
But here my mother has one sonand he's stupid enough to join
the Navy and worry her to death.
I never thought about thatuntil four or five years later

(32:36):
when I kind of got more grown upabout all the misery I created
for her.
Sometimes when we were incombat we couldn't write a

(32:58):
letter for a week or two andsometimes if I wrote a letter
she got it maybe a month later.
So that was a month with nomail and she had no idea years

(33:26):
how much misery I created forher.

Speaker 1 (33:34):
I can't imagine, yeah .
So what kind of vessel were youon?

Speaker 2 (33:42):
Well, I wasn't on a vessel in World War II.
Okay, I was a beast masterright.
And after world war ii I signedover for two years.

(34:06):
I got on the ship and we wentto the atomic bomb test.
I was on a troop transport thatAPA, it was attack troop
transport and we carried allthose Higgins boats and they
would transport the Marines orthe soldiers to the island.

(34:28):
And I stayed on that for quitea while and then I got on a
cruiser and then a destroyer andthen I decided to get out and
after I got back in I was on anAPA attack transport and we

(34:55):
transported troops to Korea orJapan, korea, japan, japan,
korea.
And I was on that right about20 months 20 months.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (35:12):
I'm curious about the atomic bomb testing.
Was it testing?
Yes, they were doing the BikiniAtoll.

Speaker 2 (35:18):
Yes, I had no idea.
But what happened?
I had no idea.
But what happened?
They wanted to test the bomb Ifthere were a bunch of ships,

(35:40):
what it would do, say, in afleet of ships.
And so the first bomb, theydropped from the sky.
The second bomb, they detonatedit underwater and they told us
don't look at the blast.
Well, of course you're 18 yearsold, you don't care.

(36:04):
As you're 18 years old, youdon't care.
So all of us saw the bomb gooff, with the fire shooting out
of the clouds and it looked likea big wave was heading towards

(36:30):
us.
And then when they dropped theone, then when they set the one
under the sea, well then they,they had sailors who brought the
ships out there, just askeleton crew, and all those

(36:52):
ships would come on, ships likeours who could handle troops.
And so seeing all those shipsbeing blown up, you could see at
times a ship in the air is howpotent that bomb was.

Speaker 1 (37:20):
How far away were you in the guise?

Speaker 2 (37:23):
Probably eight miles, eight miles, but you could see
it.
Oh yeah.
And they told us don't look atit, it could blind you and you,

(37:46):
being on your time test, youcould become sterile.
Well, I had three kids so Iwasn't sterile, but it was quite
a sight.
We went there.

(38:08):
We went to Bikini I think itwas latter part of April and we
got there and we started takingtroops on board who brought the

(38:29):
ships there to be bombed.
So we had a lot of people onboard the ship who were actually
troops and there was a lot ofgambling going on all that type
of stuff.
We had a boxing team and thesupply officer who was in charge

(38:57):
of the boxing team.
He came to me and said I seewhere you were boxing, boxing,
huh.
I said yes.
So he said if we're gonna startup a team, would you be in

(39:18):
charge of it?
I said so I was kind of incharge of the boxing team.
Oh no.
I'm sorry when he asked me ifI'd box on the team, I'm 18.

(39:46):
And I said sure, and so we hadsome real good guys on the team.
I fought as a featherweight Iweighed about 119 pounds at that
time, and all the guys who wereon the boxing team our captain

(40:16):
was gung-ho about a boxing team,and after each fight, if it was
on our ship, it had to cookgrilled steaks for the opposing
team and us, and if you won, yougot a fountain pen.

(40:37):
Back then, the Parker fountainpens were just the thing to get.
So I had a couple, threefountain pens and during the

(41:02):
Korean War I was in charge ofall the ship supply stuff the
exchange where you boughttobacco and stuff, laundry,

(41:23):
barbershop, cobbler's shop, andit was that.
And I was there and we had beenat sea for probably a couple

(41:43):
months and the word came that wewere going to Hong Kong.
For probably a couple months.
And the word came that we weregoing to Hong Kong.
So we went and pulled into HongKong and all these people who
sold suits or tailor-made suitsfor $10.

(42:05):
They all came on board and Igot this one guy started talking
to him.
He said you want names of agood hotel.
I said yeah.
So he gave me the card of thishotel in Hong Kong.

(42:28):
I still have the card.
And so a guy by the name ofParker and I and we passed the
word to other guys.
So we went there and it cost us$35.
And Parker and I were in roomsalongside of each other and

(42:50):
we're going back and forth toeach room hitting the juice and
all of a sudden there's policewith whistles and sirens going
off and I told Parker.
I said they're raiding us.
So I said, come on.
We went down to the engine roomand I saw the engine room as I

(43:15):
was going up to my room.
That's why I knew where it wasand we hid in the engine room
going up to my room.
So I knew where it was and wehid in the engine room.
Everybody was moved out.
The hotel was empty.
So I told Parker.
I said come on, so we go to thedesk and we tell the guy we

(43:46):
want our money back.
And of course, all of a suddenhe can't speak English.
So I grabbed him and I pulledhim in and I had a church key,
those things you open cans with.
I put it to his throat and Isaid I want my money.
I called boss, called boss.

(44:06):
Well, they had two doors, bigdoors, and they had, I guess,
one of the windows.
I guess the woman wonders aboutthat wire on each door, what

(44:28):
you can see outside.
And Parker was by the door andhe said Janik.
I said what's wrong?
He said the cops are here.
The guy had called the policeand there were 12 Jeeps that
pulled in, guys with machineguns sitting in the back.
He said what you gonna do?

(44:49):
He said I swear to heaven.
Troy dropped that bar and thatbolted the doors.
So this English detective, tall,slim, built a mustache.

(45:10):
He knocks on the window.
Hey, mike.
He left me in, what's going on?
And I'm talking to him Throughthe door, screaming, and he said
let me in.
So I said drop your gun.

(45:31):
So I dropped the gun and I saidnow, drop the gun that's on
your leg.
So he dropped it.
I let him in.
He said what are you doing,mike?
And I said I explained to him.

(45:51):
I said no, it's your faultbecause y'all have a deal going
right the hotel, you get sailorsand you bring them here and
then write it.
And he was, he and I were.
We wasn't screaming each otheror even back and forth.

(46:19):
He said let me go back outside.
I said you ain't going outsidewhat I said you and.
I and.
Parker are going to stay herefor three days if we have to.
I want my $35.
And Parker wants his $35.
He said Moise, you've got to becrazy.

(46:44):
I said well, I just don't likegetting screwed around.
You get our $35 and you can gofree.
So he goes to the desk and hebrings each of us our $35 and he

(47:05):
said well, get in the Jeep withme.
I said no, I'm not going to jail.
He said mate, you got a lot ofguts.
I said I don't have any choice.
So he said you won't go to jail.

(47:29):
I said we shake hands on it.
So we shook hands.
He said you ride with me.
I said okay, so we're going andwe're changing a few words.
He said Mark and I do have alot of rubble.

(47:52):
He said you know, I like you.
Like I told you before, youhave a lot of guts".
And I said well, I appreciatethat.
So we get.

(48:26):
Hong Kong was half had themodern stuff.
So he stopped there and I'mwith Bretta's Bar.
He shook my hand and he said Ican tell you, I like you.
He said just do me one favor.

(48:47):
I said sure.
He said don't create any moreproblems.
I said oh, so I'm probably theonly sailor ever in the Navy
that held up a hotel in China.

Speaker 1 (49:10):
Oh, my goodness, and.

Speaker 2 (49:12):
Parker and I stayed friends until he passed away
about two and a half years agoand we went to all the reunions
and stayed real close friends.
It was a trying time.

(49:36):
We had a lot of fun, it waskind of shaky at times, but
overall I loved that night.
You had the time to get up andyou had the time that you could
go to sleep.
They gave you three meals.
They checked your teeth andyour heart, everything.

(50:00):
It was good living.
Right.
After being on the farm, Ithink, and got pretty good
living.

Speaker 1 (50:15):
What a contrast.

Speaker 2 (50:16):
Yeah, what a big contrast.
Yeah, yeah, big contrast, yeah.
So I stayed in the reserves iswhy I got called back to Korea
and after Korea I decided tostay and retire.

(50:41):
They had a good retirement.
Their hospitalizationretirement really takes care of
you.
I mean, I don't pay for anydrugs.
I don't pay for any drugs.

(51:03):
So I stayed for a reason andthe reason I was so gung-ho
about staying and gettingretirements.
I saw my uncles.
They got 65 nickel work tofarms they didn't have the money

(51:27):
to and there was no assist 11stuff back then.
And I saw them how they had todepend on their kids and I said
that's what they had to dependon their kids.
And I said that's what's gonnahappen to me.
Right.
So I'm 98, I still live in myhouse, I still drive.

(51:53):
I just drove to San Antonioback about a month ago, oh wow.
So I know that this year morethan half, it's probably gonna

(52:19):
be my last driver's license, Ithink my luck is running out.

Speaker 1 (52:21):
You sound like a pretty lucky man.
No, I bet luck Fortunate whenyou were a beach master.
Yeah, you know you're in the.
You're going on to Peleliu andLeyte.
Yeah, what do you rememberabout?
You know you mentioned you werepinned down by a machine gunner

(52:45):
, but what are?
What are some of those morethings you remember about
storming the beaches?

Speaker 2 (52:51):
yeah, I never heard of a lady and they told us that
we're going to late day, thatwere going to Leyte.

(53:19):
It'd be airstrip on Leyte andLeyte was about eight hundred
miles from the Philippines.
Admiral Holtz, he didn't wantto screw with Ley, so we just

(53:40):
starved them out.
Well, what happened is therewere 10,300 Japanese on the
island, two and a half miles byfive miles, and they were in

(54:01):
caves.
It was the first time theUnited States attacked an island
where they lived underground.
They had built barracksunderground, chow Hall
underground, underground ChowHall underground, a small

(54:36):
hospital underground.
So when we went in they hadpeople go on the beaches, give
us a lot of problems.
And then we got stuck on OrangeOne.
The Marines that landed onWhite One came through, okay,

(55:07):
and they circled around and kindof saved us and, like I said,
we hit the machine gun.
But what happened?
Macarthur wanted the island andI'm trying to remember exactly

(55:33):
the exact count, but there werelike 1,200 Marines and sailors
who were killed and there wereover 10,000 Japanese killed.
You could walk along and youcould see.

(55:54):
Every place you looked therewas dead people.
And it was so hot they swelledup and the blowflies were about
twice that size, and so it was ascrew-up on the United States

(56:16):
that got all those Marines andsailors killed and it was a
hush-hush invasion.
And six, seven months laterguys had asked me me where you

(56:39):
been.
I said I was on the late day.
Oh, the late yeah, peleliu,peleliu.
And they said where is that?
The United States hushed it up.
Nobody knew about Peleliu for along time and then people

(57:09):
started talking about it.
And how many people were dead.
Can you imagine?
Two and a half by five miles,14,000 people in there.
I can't.
It was a mess.

Speaker 1 (57:34):
Were you there for the entire campaign.

Speaker 2 (57:36):
No, I got pulled out right around the first of
October.

Speaker 1 (57:41):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (57:45):
And by then they were mopping up on the other side of
the aisle.
The Marines were on white one,white two, orange one, two and
three, and on the other side ofthe island the Army invaded that

(58:14):
part and they had purple oneand purple two.
So there were actually sevenbeaches that were invaded.
And of course, there was a guyby the name of Pulver.

(58:42):
He wrote a book about it.
He was a Marine, he went tocollege and he became a writer
and he wrote a book about it.

Speaker 1 (58:59):
What is it like for, because you were 17 at the time
of Peleliu.
Yeah.
What was it like from thebriefing to the moment you land
on the beach?

Speaker 2 (59:12):
Yeah, he told us before we went in that it was
going to be a mop-up.
There wasn't hardly any Japs onthe island and the way we got
in the Higgins boats, all thebeach were masters.

(59:35):
Some were white one, white twoor anyway you couldn't see the
island.
It was so much smoke from thefiring.
All the ships were shooting andthen they airplanes dropping

(59:59):
bombs.
So going in you couldn't seethe island until you got about
under the machine gun fire andthe small rocket fires.
A few of the Higgins Bo-Bo'sjust got blown up and there were

(01:00:46):
approximately 30 people in eachboat At the beach, masters.
When we went in we were allscared but we were more

(01:01:11):
concerned about staying aliveand we had Marines who were in
charge of us, all the sailorsand they.
You know, keep your head down,don't stick your head up.
We were behind a big sandbar.

(01:01:32):
And.
I remember one of the guys tookhis head up and said see what's
going on.
You got shot Right there.
And then there were two guyswho wound up in Galveston, plus

(01:01:57):
me Three of us who were onpallet Wow yeah, plus me three
of us who were on power Wow yeah, one one.
He worked at UTM, he worked atthe Maritime Academy.
He was in charge of things likeoysters and all that, and

(01:02:24):
during the war he was a corpsmanand he helped quite a few guys
survive.

Speaker 1 (01:02:39):
What was his name?

Speaker 2 (01:02:41):
Sammy.

Speaker 1 (01:02:41):
Ray, sammy Ray.
His name, sammy Ray, sammy Ray.

Speaker 2 (01:02:43):
Dr Sammy.

Speaker 1 (01:02:43):
Ray yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:02:45):
You might have heard of him.

Speaker 1 (01:02:47):
I sure did.

Speaker 2 (01:02:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:02:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:02:49):
Yeah, he was, he and I would get together and shoot
the bulls.
He didn't invite me to hishouse and he said I, I turned
open oysters and he and I wouldeat oysters.

Speaker 1 (01:03:07):
That's great.

Speaker 2 (01:03:10):
Yeah, it was quite a deal, Wow.
And then we went to Leyte.
We had a pretty good encounterlanding, but the Japs had moved
back into the jungles and wantedus to have to come in the

(01:03:36):
jungles and back in those daysall the houses were bamboo
houses.
There was no wooden structures.
It was kind of old-timey, Right.

(01:04:00):
We thought sure, going intolate there'd be houses we could
hide behind or whatever.
It didn't happen.

Speaker 1 (01:04:12):
It was all bamboo huts Concealment but no real
cover.
Huh, no, that's right.
How long was that offensive?

Speaker 2 (01:04:29):
I was related from October the 20th till around
January the 4th, january 4th,and they pulled us out to go to

(01:04:52):
that small island we went to andI forget the name of it, and
then we got through there and wethey shipped a lot of us out.
They shipped about four of usto a place called Samar in the

(01:05:16):
Philippines, to a hospitalcalled Fleet Hospital 114.
It was a 3,000 bed hospital thatthey had built, one on Samar

(01:05:37):
and they built one onon-one forthe people who were going to get
hurt, going in to make theinvasion of Japan.
But then Truman, he pulled thetrigger on the two atomic bombs

(01:06:00):
and that ended the war in Japan.

Speaker 1 (01:06:05):
How did you hear about the first two nuclear
bombs, Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

Speaker 2 (01:06:14):
And of course they got through teletype and stuff,
all the news and that spread thenews out and we heard that they

(01:06:36):
had dropped the one bomb and Iforget the next day or so they
dropped the other one andeverybody was cheering and
hollering and carrying on that.
We really felt like the war wasgonna be over, that we really

(01:07:05):
felt like the war was going tobe over.
And then I think it was inAugust that they claimed Feijie,
the factory in Japan.
And that's when everythingquieted down.
And people, guys who could gohome, if you had no points For

(01:07:30):
each day that you were overseas,you got points.
For each day you was in combat,you got points.
So guys who were there from1942 to 1945 were the ones who

(01:07:51):
got to go home first.
Right.
And so Pete and I, Gray, wedecided to ship over.
Then we know we're going to getgoing.
Right.

Speaker 1 (01:08:09):
I think Lisa has a question actually.
So you mentioned you landed onLeyte October 20th.
Yes, and General MacArthur alsolanded on October 20th and gave
his famous speech from thebeach.

Speaker 2 (01:08:23):
Did you?

Speaker 1 (01:08:23):
see that.

Speaker 2 (01:08:25):
I didn't see him make the speech, but some guys who
did told us about it.
Yeah, we were saying he walkson in, like I say most of the

(01:08:46):
Japanese had moved inly wherethey could be more effective,
but we did have some fire.
But we did have some fire, butit wasn't anything like a

(01:09:13):
pal-a-loo.
Yeah, light it was.
I thought sure we were going tosee a big city.
They talked about it.
It was all bamboo out there andthere was a movie that came out
years later with Robert Taylorand it showed Leyte and all the

(01:09:43):
bamboo buildings and stuffyou've spent years in the
Pacific and then you spent yearsin the Pacific in the.

Speaker 1 (01:09:54):
Navy.
And then you go to Korea, youhold up a hotel during the.
Korean War in Hong Kong.
What year did you and youwitnessed I can't miss you
witnessed atomic testing in.
Bikini.

Speaker 2 (01:10:12):
Atoll.

Speaker 1 (01:10:12):
Yes, what is the most memorable thing about the
atomic testing that you remember, besides being told not to look
at it?
And, of course, as a kid, yougotta peek through, you know.

Speaker 2 (01:10:25):
Yeah, I guess the thing that stood out the most,
how devastating it was.
My God, just Clouds were three,four miles up in the air with
still fire shooting out of theclouds, water in the clouds.

(01:10:50):
It was just amazing and scary.
It was scary.
It was scary.
When you saw those waterchurning towards us, we really
thought that they may get caughtin that, but by the time it got

(01:11:12):
to us it was pretty well calmeddown.

Speaker 1 (01:11:20):
Were you given any protective equipment, goggles or
anything?
No.
Just your hands.

Speaker 2 (01:11:29):
They said don't open your eyes.
The guys that went on the shipswho were blown up and they had
animals on the ship.
They had animals on them yeah,goats and sheeps and mice rats

(01:11:54):
and those guys that went on,they all had suits, but they
still some contacted cancer.

Speaker 1 (01:12:05):
From the radiation.

Speaker 2 (01:12:06):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:12:10):
What about you mentioned you were about eight
miles away.

Speaker 2 (01:12:13):
I'd say six to eight, six to eight.

Speaker 1 (01:12:16):
Okay, yeah, any concerns?
I mean I know they mentionedyou might become sterile.

Speaker 2 (01:12:28):
Yeah, okay, any concerns?
I mean I know they mentioned,you might become sterile, but
any concerns about radiation,more than just being sterile
with the guys you were with.
You know, us guys who were theworking class on the ships
really didn't know much aboutradiation.
We found out about it later onwhen they talked about going on

(01:12:53):
board those ships and checkingradiation, how long it stayed
after the test and everything.

Speaker 1 (01:13:06):
What about the sound?

Speaker 2 (01:13:09):
We really didn't hear much of the sound.
Really it was we heard boom,Right boom, but then the thing
that you got so engrossed inlooking at the aftermath of the
bomb just amazing.

Speaker 1 (01:13:34):
Any shockwaves.

Speaker 2 (01:13:36):
It was some.
I got pictures.
They gave each of us a book whowas on the test and my book got
washed away in the night.
But I do have pictures thatguys got from other guys.

(01:14:04):
Back then very few sailors hada camera Right, we just didn't
have them.
But in Korea I took a lot ofpictures and they all got wiped
out.
In Ike I got a Navy roomdownstairs and I got all the

(01:14:33):
planes that I saw during the wargot made off the ceiling and I
got all my medals.
My medals got wiped out.
And then Tammy Laubach.

Speaker 1 (01:14:54):
Wonderful woman.

Speaker 2 (01:14:55):
Yeah, who graduated?

Speaker 1 (01:14:56):
from A&M.

Speaker 2 (01:14:58):
And I got to know her real well.
They found an Adam in a shadowbox and they found him on the
beach on Pelican Island and theywere showing them to Tammy and

(01:15:22):
she said those are EddieCannon's medals.
And so it was on national TVthat a war hero's medals were
found five miles away on theisland, and so did.

(01:15:47):
And it was the Chronicle whocame and took pictures and I'm
trying to think who was thepresident of the Maritime
Academy at that time.

Speaker 1 (01:16:03):
In 08.

Speaker 2 (01:16:04):
Well, that's the Maritime Academy.

Speaker 1 (01:16:05):
Right, was it Bowen Lofton?

Speaker 2 (01:16:08):
I think so.
And Tammy, she was in on thepictures.
I still see her quite a bit.
She comes to the propeller clubof functions.
I like Tammy, she's a goodGerman.

Speaker 1 (01:16:30):
She's great, she's great.
So your medals got washed awayduring Hurricane Ike.

Speaker 2 (01:16:35):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:16:37):
September 13th 2008,.
Right yeah, how long after theywere lost, how long did it take
for them to be found?

Speaker 2 (01:16:49):
About four days.

Speaker 1 (01:16:51):
Oh, that's pretty quick actually.

Speaker 2 (01:16:55):
Phones were all bad back then, back then and and as
soon as she saw what they calledthe Chronicle, and then channel
13, I think, came down and theypresented them to me.

(01:17:19):
The bottom part of the metalshad got water on it so, and I
had those done by a place inSouth Carolina so I sent it back

(01:17:40):
to them and I told them whathappened and they redid
everything and didn't charge me.
People still had fond memoriesof of a serviceman of a
serviceman.

Speaker 1 (01:17:59):
Yeah, I would say so.

Speaker 2 (01:18:02):
We went through a thing like NAM.
Those guys got spit on andeverything you know what you're
saying.
Right.
But when we came in intoPortland up to Columbia River

(01:18:27):
they had bands, palermo, godBless America all the patriotic
stuff.
And then Korea we came back andwe were kind of forgotten.
And then Nam was terrible forthe returning servicemen and now

(01:18:57):
it's back to being good forservicemen, and it should be.
Those are the people who.
So yeah, and you know, I cameback and got a job from company,

(01:19:20):
fell in love, got boardGalveston Historical District.
I did a lot of things inGalveston.

Speaker 1 (01:19:58):
Were you hit by, run over by a barge in Galveston too
, how would you deal with?

Speaker 2 (01:20:03):
that I was working in in Bay City with phone
companies and the companies.
We got a problem.
The submarine cable going toPelican from Galveston sprung a
leak.
I need you.

(01:20:24):
It was just two of us who knewhow to work on submarine cape.
So I came back.
I'm on one barge and slim is onthe other barge, but guys

(01:20:44):
helping us and we had to cutthat section.
I took my hacksaw and I wasslicing and hanging on when I
cut the cable I fell overboardand I'm under the barge.

(01:21:04):
There's a tide.
I got my big lineman boots on.
It's cold and I'm saying my God, don't let me die and I keep
scratching and there were a lotof barnacles and they helped me

(01:21:32):
and finally I knew I was gonnadrown and my hands they're on
the edge of the barge.
I put my hands up and a friendof mine, roy Lee Dixon was there
looking over he saw my hand andhe grabbed me and they pulled

(01:21:57):
me on the barge.
I said shoot.
So I said I can't believeserving two warriors and to come
on the round.
Oh my goodness.

Speaker 1 (01:22:29):
Yeah, I've been putting a book together and I'm
trying to find somebody who canput it all together for me.
You need a book.
Yeah, you deserve a book.
Your life does for sure.

Speaker 2 (01:22:36):
Everybody says you know, when I tell them about the
baseball career, I had all thethings I done, like the Alyssa.
I was on the board of theAlyssa and I was also a crew

(01:23:00):
member, board of the LISSA and Iwas also a crew member.
So I got to sail.
The first five times that theysailed I was a crew member
climbing the riggins and Ireally didn't bother them

(01:23:22):
because I climbed poles for 21years.
So being up 35 foot was noproblem for me.
You get used to it Right.

Speaker 1 (01:23:38):
So, a mast on an 1877 ship is no problem, right, yeah
, especially on a historicvessel like that.
Oh, there's nothing like it.

Speaker 2 (01:23:51):
No, just really enjoyed being part of the crew.

Speaker 1 (01:23:59):
It's the people that make it right.
Yeah, it's the people make itright.
Yeah, that's right.
How did you meet your wife?

Speaker 2 (01:24:08):
In 1948, I got a service in 47.
In 48, a girl asked me to takeher to the 1948 prom Ball High
School.
So I said, okay, well, we wentand the prom dance was held

(01:24:33):
there at the Menard ParkRecreation Center and we went
there.
I saw there was about six guyscluttered and I asked her my
date.
I said what's going on there?
She said oh, they're in there.

(01:24:58):
In the middle of that crowd isDoris Denke, everyone's tan
sweater.
And I saw her true story.
I got a crush on her.
I said my God, that is gorgeous.

(01:25:18):
And I didn't see her againuntil a friend of mine who was
my helper at the phone company.
He was in hospital and I gothere to see him and Doris and
her boyfriend were there.

(01:25:42):
And so I left to meet her, talkto her and then in 1950 I get
called to service I hadn't seenDoris but twice and I get out of

(01:26:03):
the service.
Oh, I come home, one leave and,if you want, and Pat bars land
are at the bowling alley on 24thStreet we're drinking a beer

(01:26:25):
and Doris comes and I said Patty, is that that dinky girl?
She said yeah.
I said man, I'd sure like todate her.
He said she ain't going to dateyou.
I said why?
He said you're always in afight, some bitch.

(01:26:45):
She ain't going to screw withsome rowdy guy like you.
I said okay, so I get out ofthe Navy and I get my own

(01:27:08):
department.
A friend of mine's girlfriend.
He's in the service and sheasked me to take her to a
birthday party.
I said okay.
So I took her to the birthdayparty at the Seabreeze.
It was a big party and Doriswas there.

(01:27:29):
So in the course of the night Iasked her to dance.
She said sure, we'll dance.
And I asked her again a littlelater and I said would you go
out with me?
She said sure.

(01:27:52):
So I took her out on March the17th 1952.
And on May the 17th 1953,.

(01:28:15):
I married her, oh my goodness,and I was in love.
I'm saying in love, this heavy,heavy crush on the girl that
I'd seen twice in my lifetime.
And then I see her dance, askher to dance, and that was it.

(01:28:36):
All those guys, all the guyswho were in high school, were
all the football players.
I said I'm the shit, can't youfall in love with some little
guy like you?
I said the good Lord smiled atme.
So we wound up with three kids.

(01:29:01):
So we wound up with three kidsand then 91's.
He started having I have a sonwho's a doctor.
And he said dad.
He said have you noticed mom iskind of forgetting stuff?

(01:29:21):
I said yeah, so anyway, he setup a meeting for us at the
Baylor School of MedicineAlzheimer's Center and she was
just furious.
I'd take her once, maybe twicea week and I'd take her and I'd

(01:29:48):
run tests and give her questions.
She had to answer all kinds ofstuff and after about a month we
went there and they said wewant to talk to you on the
office.

(01:30:09):
I said oh indeed.
They said you have Alzheimer's.
We're going home.
That afternoon.
She said honey, I want toapologize.
I said for what she said,raising hell Each time we came

(01:30:34):
up here.
She said well, you did itbecause you love me.
I said yeah, and then she fellin 2007, and that's when I hired
a lady to help take care of herand then, well, she didn't fall

(01:31:04):
then and she went to live withmy son, kyle, who's a doctor, in
Austin, and my house gotdownstairs it just got wiped out
, so I just let her stay inAustin.

(01:31:31):
And then she was there for threemonths.
I finally got the house whereit was livable, I brought her
back and she fell.
I finally got to the housewhere it was livable, I brought
her back and she fell and shewound up in the hospital and she
broke her hip.

(01:31:53):
And then I had to put her in anursing home there at the end of
the seawall and she stayedthere for two months, a little
over two months, and then Idecided to take her home and
that's when she really faded andshe got to the point she didn't

(01:32:19):
know who we were.
And she got to the point hedidn't know who we were.
And then she laid in that bedfor seven years and eight months
, never settled work.
And I had a hospital bedbrought in and I got I had the

(01:32:48):
one lady I hired and then I knewit was too much for one.
So I went to one of these placesthat does healthcare so I got
them to assign somebody doorsthree days a week and the lady I

(01:33:17):
had was four days a week, andthen in 2015, january 23rd, she
passed away, but we were married63 years 63 years Wow.

(01:33:44):
Yeah and all because I saw alady, a girl, in 1948.
I saw her three times andthat's the first date.

Speaker 1 (01:34:06):
Incredible.

Speaker 2 (01:34:07):
And wound up being married 63 years.

Speaker 1 (01:34:10):
Incredible, yeah, wow .

Speaker 2 (01:34:13):
We had a good wedding .

Speaker 1 (01:34:15):
Mm-hmm and three kids too.

Speaker 2 (01:34:19):
Three kids and three kids too.
Three kids, yeah, it's, I'vehad an interesting life.
Yeah.
It's hard to believe a dummycomes to Galveston.
I came to Galveston, my sisterwas living at 21st Avenue L and

(01:34:45):
she drew me a map and sent it tome.
So when I got off the train Iwalked to 21st Street, I turned
right and I got to about a postoffice and there were a couple

(01:35:10):
of guys there and I asked themif I was going right and they
said yeah.
They became good friends ofmine years mind years later.
One of them said Eddie, you wasthe goofiest looking guy we

(01:35:33):
ever saw Straw hat beat upcowboy boots and a guitar across
your back.
I said I guess I was prettycountry looking.
Yeah, you were a joke.

(01:35:54):
They said we laughed about youwhen you left us.

Speaker 1 (01:36:03):
Yeah, coming from West Texas to the big city of
Galveston back then right.

Speaker 2 (01:36:09):
You know all the lights and everything.
Gee many questions.
I said, hell, I ain't goingback.
And I didn't.
I go home every year.
I used to go twice a yearFamily reunion.
At one time I had 52 cousins.

(01:36:34):
Now I got five cousins stillleft.
I'm the oldest and the nextones are upper 90s.
Wow, yeah, and the next oneswere upper 90s.

Speaker 1 (01:36:51):
Wow yeah, our family had a long livelihood and that's
good, or I wouldn't have beenhere right and to be able to
tell these stories, which isvery important.
Do you have any veteran friends?
And to be able to tell thesestories, which is very important
?
Do you have any veteran friendswho you still get together with

(01:37:13):
guys you served with?

Speaker 2 (01:37:21):
No, there's only two World War II guys in town.
One of them is a guy by thename of Bunty Gavassos.
He and I play dominoes ataround 2.30 every Friday at the
country store.
The country store is on 14th,14th of 14th mechanic.

(01:37:49):
He's 102.
He'll be 103 August the 25thand he and I we play dominoes
every Friday.

Speaker 1 (01:38:08):
I know where I'm going to be on Friday at 2.30.

Speaker 2 (01:38:13):
Then you're welcome to come.
We laugh and play dominoes.
I'll drink a cup of beers or acup of drinks, of drinks, but

(01:38:35):
it's.
It's fun to see two guys whoequal 200 years.
Wow, yeah, he's 102.
I'm not in here.
You saw this.
That's 200 years on this earththat's that's interesting to
think about.

Speaker 1 (01:38:47):
Yeah, two centuries of knowledge and experience and
history.

Speaker 2 (01:38:52):
He was in World War II, he was in Burma and then he
left Burma and went to thePhilippines things.
So yeah, he's still prettysharp.

Speaker 1 (01:39:14):
Maybe I should get him in here or bring a
microphone down to the countrystore.
There, you go, that's evenbetter.

Speaker 2 (01:39:20):
That's a good idea.
Yeah, we laugh and cut up andjust have a good time.
I guess we enjoy being aliveRight.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:39:37):
You have a baseball field or fields named after you,
don't you?
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:39:41):
I got a building named after me in Santa Fe.

Speaker 1 (01:39:48):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (01:39:49):
And I have a field that's named after me, the whole
complex on 53rd Street.
There's three baseball fields,a couple of softball fields,
playground equipment, soccerfield.
It's a big, big park.

(01:40:11):
Right.
And I just got that name.

Speaker 1 (01:40:17):
That's where my son plays tee ball.

Speaker 2 (01:40:19):
Is it really?

Speaker 1 (01:40:20):
Yeah, at your field.

Speaker 2 (01:40:22):
Yeah, when I coached a little league, there were
three leagues and there werefour teams in each league and it
was so good that we werecutting players to get to 15.
My grandson played LittleLeague about 10 years ago.

(01:40:51):
There were three teams in thecity of Galveston.
Two of the teams had nineballplayers and one team had 12.
And if somebody was a messin'they would borrow one of the

(01:41:19):
team's 12 players and play thisthing.
That's called something and youpay to have your son play that.

Speaker 1 (01:41:33):
Really ruined Leslie Right select ball.
Is it select or yeah, that's it.
A select league.

Speaker 2 (01:41:41):
And I don't know it kind of ruined the kids having
playing against each other andall the camaraderie and
everything.
Right.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:42:03):
How long did you coach for?

Speaker 2 (01:42:05):
I coached Little League four years.
You coach for.
I coached Little League fouryears.
I coached Pony League fouryears.
I coached Colt League two years.
Then I coached American Legion24 years 24 years wow.

(01:42:25):
I won five state championships.
I went to the World Series oneyear.

Speaker 1 (01:42:33):
What year was that?

Speaker 2 (01:42:34):
1970.

Speaker 1 (01:42:36):
Oh my gosh, we wound up third in the United States.
Man, that's something to bragabout right there.

Speaker 2 (01:42:45):
That was so great.
You know, we went to Danville,virginia, and played.
We were there for five days andwe ran out of pitchers and that

(01:43:06):
really hurt.
You know, I look back and Iprobably coached well over a
thousand young men, uh-huh.
And I still have a lot of themwho keep in touch.
You know, richard DeVries, heplayed ball for me.

(01:43:28):
Richard DeVries, he played ballfor me.
Darryl Romani Yarborough, justman, I had two guys who went pro
, albert Schult and AdrianDevine.
Those are the two that went pro.

Speaker 1 (01:43:49):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (01:43:53):
Yeah, it was.
It was fun.
I started to coach when Ididn't have any boys and then I
wound up with three.
Have any boys, and then I woundup with three.

(01:44:17):
I coached.
My two oldest boys playedlittle league and pony and then
they went to tennis.
My youngest son, craig uh, hestayed with baseball, east David
baseball through high school 98years old, you've seen so much
throughout your life.

Speaker 1 (01:44:36):
Oh yeah, a world war, one forgotten war, as they call
the Korean War.
Right yeah, we've discussedquite a bit of your life.
I know, one thing I didn'treally dive, we haven't gotten
into yet, is your kind of careeras a commissioner.
Oh yeah, you got any.

(01:45:01):
What is a commissioner and whatwas your kind of your role
there?

Speaker 2 (01:45:10):
your kind of, your role there, a county
commissioner, probably one ofthe most important jobs in the
state a commissioner color.
He controls all the any judge,district attorney, everybody in

(01:45:34):
the county answers to the countycommissioners.
We control the purse in 1989, in1989, later part, joe Max

(01:45:56):
Taylor, who was the sheriff, himand Phil Loyk, and Phil was the
county auditor.
And they came to me and said wewant you to run for county
commissioner.
And I said I don't.

(01:46:16):
I don't want to run for countycommissioner.
And they said we need you.
Jan Coggeshell is gonna run andyou're the only guy in town who
can beat her".
So I called my friend FrankieWilliamson and I said you want

(01:46:39):
to run for county commissioner?
I'll help you.
No, I called Rudy Dykeman,asked him why doesn't he run?
He said no, so they come backand talk to.

(01:47:01):
Came by, I needed some soil andI talked to him and we're
sitting out there on a concretebench drinking a beer, concrete

(01:47:32):
bench, drinking a beer, and Isaid what do you think about me
running for County Commissioner?
He said sounds good.
Reached in his pocket, he gaveme three $100 belts.
He said that's your firstdonation.

(01:47:55):
My wife said now what are yougoing to do?
I said I got to run, you got to.
So I ran for Walter Hall, whowas the big vote-getter in the
county, who owned the DickinsonBank, and so Chuck Wilson, who

(01:48:26):
was the tax collector at thetime, he took me to see Walter
Hart.
Walter Hart said you know,eddie, I can't help you.
I'm helping in San Cogges Hill.
He said the best thing that youcan do is just drop out.

(01:48:51):
You can't win.
Whoever I backed, they win.
I said, mr Hall, I done signedup to run.
I got to run.
Well, I'm just letting you knowI think you're a nice guy, but

(01:49:18):
you can't win if I'm not backingyou.
And there were nine of us whowound up in the race and Janet
and I wound up in the runoff andI beat her two to one.

Speaker 1 (01:49:41):
Oh, my goodness.

Speaker 2 (01:49:43):
And so I became a commissioner.
And so I became a commissionerand I won election in April of
the runoff.
And so Judge Holbrook, whobacked Jan, came to me and said

(01:50:15):
why don't you come to themeetings?
I'll include you on everything,because you're going to be
going there January the 1st.
And I said thanks.
So I started going to themeetings to catch up on things.

(01:50:36):
There was a guy by the name ofBelly Jack Piggies who was
commissioner of Precinct 3.

(01:50:58):
Eddie Barr was no, billy Jackwas 4, precinct 4iam johnson was
a precinct and those in judgeoldbrook.
So I learned a lot just bygoing to the meetings right but

(01:51:23):
the county commissioner countycommissioner they were.
They control everything in thecounty.
Nobody knows that, but somepeople who know the county know
that it's an important when youcontrol the money, you're it.

(01:51:50):
Right.
And Holbrook was.
He stayed five years and thenhe retired and I helped Jim the
Yoruba to get elected and hestayed on for quite a while.

(01:52:24):
After I was in the Commissaryfor about five years, wayne
passed away.
He was the only blackcommissioner we had at that time
.
When Wayne died, yarboroughnominated Holmes Steve Holmes as

(01:52:59):
a commissioner and he's stillthere.
But I don't think he can winagain.
They changed the voting groundand there's a lot of politics.

Speaker 1 (01:53:17):
Of course there's politics right.

Speaker 2 (01:53:20):
Unreal.

Speaker 1 (01:53:22):
How long were you a commissioner?
16 years, 16 years.

Speaker 2 (01:53:26):
And the reason I decided not to run again.
My wife was real ill and I feltI needed to spend more time
with her alone, so I retired.
And then, eight years later,they named the building in Santa

(01:53:58):
Fe Eddie Janik CountyCommissioner Building.
I have to tell you this in 1946, when I came back from the
atomic bomb test, war was overand went to Sam's Hesco to help

(01:54:22):
our ship putting a dry dock totake care of, and so the Navy
came and said you can, y'all can, wear civilian clothes, but you
can't bring them on the ship.
And back then they had lockersmaybe 20 lockers in a small

(01:54:54):
building and you rented lockers.
So I decided to have a picturetaken and sent to my mother in
civilian clothes.
So I go and I have that picturetaken and a couple of guys

(01:55:21):
after four or five days saidhave you seen your picture?
And I said no, they said it'sin that studio on Market Street
and I said that's where I havemy picture taken.
Anyway, I made a point to go bythere.

(01:55:42):
I'm in the middle, and they gotsix girls' pictures these are
all eight, but tens surroundingme and I said oh my god.
And I hung out at this clubcalled bimbos and I had a story

(01:56:07):
about it in the Look magazine.
It's where there was a girl ina pool in the basement.
Through mirrors they broughther into a fish tank on the bar

(01:56:28):
and you could talk to her.
Anyway, it was a real niceplace.
So I'm there a couple times andthere was a guy sitting by me.
He said you know, I've beenlooking at you.

(01:56:48):
You're the guy in the studioright and I have my uniform.
I said yes.
He said I was admiring thatYou're a good looking guy.
I said Byron, you're a goodlooking guy.
I said thank you.

(01:57:10):
Anyway, a couple nights laterI'm in there with one of the
guys off the boxing team and hesaid okay if I talk to you for a
few minutes.
I said sure.
He gave me a card and said MGMStudios.

(01:57:36):
He was the head scout fortalent at MGM.
He said I'd like to give you ascreen test.
I said no, I stuttered, but hesaid we'll take care of that.

(01:58:00):
He said I want to tell youyou're the best looking damn
thing I've ever seen.
He said you're the best lookingthing damn thing I've ever seen
.
He said you're good-looking,you gonna be a hit and all the.
Then the guys on the ship findout about it and they're
harassing me, of course themovie show, oh my god.

(01:58:23):
So he brought his wife in andshe talking to me and our ship
was about to pull out and I toldhim I couldn't do it and I got

(01:58:45):
into a depression about threeand a half years ago and part of
the problem was I'm seeing allthese movies made in 48, 50, 55.
And I'm saying shit, I couldhave been in these movies and it

(01:59:11):
kind of depressed me and like Italked to a good friend of mine
and I said you know, Ishouldn't be depressed.
I married the prettiest girl intown, I got three good kids,

(01:59:33):
I've had a great life inGalveston, I know practically
everybody and I said I have abeautiful wife, three kids and
I'm happy, right, beautiful wifethree kids and.
I'm happy, Right so, but itreally bugged me.
But not so these shows weremade, would have been in my era.

(01:59:59):
Uh-huh.
So anyway.

Speaker 1 (02:00:07):
Well, that leads perfectly into my last question
for you After living for 98years, what is after all these
stories you've just told me fora couple hours here?
What is your proudestaccomplishment?

Speaker 2 (02:00:28):
I think raising three sons to be good citizens and
not getting on drugs or alcoholor anything I think that's the

(02:00:48):
main thing.
And then I'm happy abouthelping people.
I worked phone company and whenI retired I got $30,000.
I called a friend of mine whoworked for Jones Stocks and

(02:01:16):
Bonds and I told him I had$30,000 and I never had invested
in anything Because he helpedme.
He said sure, so it turned intoa good deal.

(02:01:37):
I built a house on Channel ViewDrive and I sold it for $123,000
profit.
I put that in stocks every yearand then I put money in.
As the first one was born Imade a 529.

(02:02:04):
I put 55,000 and then everyyear on that birthday he got
$5,000.
Sometimes during the year Ithrow an extra $ 529, and I've
got one who just went into hissenior year in college and I

(02:02:43):
have a granddaughter who's goinginto her sophomore year in high
school.
So all those to me.
I was so broke as a kid that weused to fight over pennies Five

(02:03:11):
cents to buy you a doubled upice cream cone and so I felt
that here I help and I give awayprobably right at 10,000 to
11,000 a year to St JudeShriners for cancer, doggy stuff

(02:03:44):
, svca, the veteran stuff,tunnels to towers, all that
stuff I donate to them twice ayear.
Except six of them I donateevery month.
It comes out of my credit cardand that's I'm saying say it's a

(02:04:09):
bunch of, and that's about nineof them who I do that to.
So if people say people who are, why do you do that?
I said what am I gonna do withthem?
I'm happy, I got everything Iwant, so why not spread it

(02:04:34):
around?
And that's one of the thingsI'm.
I'm proud that I haven't beenstingy and trying to stingy and
trying to hoard money to whereI'm a multi-millionaire.

(02:04:56):
It's rewarding to give and it'sand I'm happy that my kids, my
grandkids, all have gone throughcollege through a 529 program,

(02:05:19):
so, and I don't have any greatgrandchildren.

Speaker 1 (02:05:24):
Not yet.
Huh Well, mr Janik, thank youso much for coming in today.
I really, really appreciate youcoming in the studio sitting
down.
Tell me about your night, alittle bit, about your 98 years.
I'm sure we just scratched thesurface yeah but it's an
absolute honor to officiallymeet you Well thank you.

(02:05:48):
And have you come in today.

Speaker 2 (02:05:50):
It was a pleasure meeting y'all.
I've never seen a podcast in mylife and I don't do Facebook.
I should learn I'm kind of oldfashioned, I guess you could say

(02:06:15):
.
I had my cell phone and a fewyears ago I texted my son, carl
Austin.
He called me back and said Dad,what's wrong?
I said why are you saying that?

(02:06:44):
He said you don't know ifsomebody showed me.
So I guess you can teach an olddog new tricks of tax.

Speaker 1 (02:07:02):
That's right, I love it.

Speaker 2 (02:07:04):
I enjoyed it I want to thank you all for being so
kind as to do this well thepleasure the pleasure is all
ours.
Trust me I never thought it'dbe a podcast.
I sure do appreciate y' aretaking the time.