A few days before the Fourth of July, the Philadelphia Inquirer published article about Jack and the Normandy Liberty Bell. The reporter asked if Jack was going to be one of the bell ringers that year, to which Jack replied. “No.” Shortly after the story was published, numerous readers contacted the Inquirer, suggesting that Jack should be a bell ringer. That did it! Jack rang the bell with great pride. He told me, “It was one of the greatest thrills of my life, and it all happened by fate.”
In 1942, Jack was a junior in high school and wanted to enlist in the service in order to protect his country. At that time, enlistment required parental consent. His parents weren’t willing to sign the mandatory papers, so a rebellious Jack left high school immediately and went to work as a ship fitter apprentice on the USS Wisconsin.
At the shipyard, boxing was the main source of entertainment for the men during lunchtime. Each fight lasted three rounds or less. At the time, Jack weighed 145 pounds. He won his very first fight. In his second fight, he fought a heavy weight. That lunchtime fight, my friends, was his last. But do not get the impression that Jack wasn’t tough. He was (and is) plenty tough...
To be continued
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