Goodrich- Village resident and Air Force veteran Jim Pless says his family mantra, proclaiming obedience to ‘God, country and family,? was the key to an outpouring of patriotism during a time of war.
Between 1915 and 1939, Jim’s parents, Tyra and David Pless, residents of central Alabama, raised 11 children including two sets of twins. Six of those kids would serve in the armed forces. Although never in the same military outfit, at one point in the 1940s four of the Pless siblings, Maeceille, Cliff, George and Jim were scattered across the South Pacific and Europe during and after WWII. In the 1950s Dan Pless enlisted in the Navy and William Pless served as a Marine.
‘Mom was worried all the time,? said Pless. ‘Our home was the headquarters for all the letters coming home. She was very proud of her kids and thankful that none were ever wounded or injured in action. I can remember Mom reading six months of letters that arrived all at once and reading The Birmingham News for the names of anyone that may have been hurt in the war.?
Due to his age, Pless was home for much of World War II, yet was still eager to join the war effort and made several attempts to enlist.
‘All the boys wanted to join, they could not wait until they were 18 to join,? said Pless. ‘It was a popular war. We all wanted to get in there.?
Pless was rejected by both the Army and Navy for a variety of reasons, including flat feet, but finally enlisted in the Air Force on Sept. 14, 1946.
‘Mom knew I was going to go, and she would tell me, ‘I don’t want to lose any of my kids, but I’m not going to persuade you not to go.??
In early 1947, the Air Force sent Pless to Guam as part of a survey team.
‘It was about a year after the war and some of the Japanese soldiers were still hiding in some of the remote areas of the islands,? Pless recalled. ‘We were the only ones around, and traveled to Iwo Jima a few times. There were tanks and guns everywhere.There was even a graveyard of old airplanes that had crashed or been shot up. The Air Force figured it was more costly to salvage the used war materials than build new ones’so they just left it there.?
‘We were ordered never to remove anything we may have found, like guns or souvenirs’that would have been a Court Marshall for doing so.?
Pless would return to the United States and continue with the Air Force until August 1949.
‘My last assignment was to work on the development of radar for the Air Force,? said Pless. ‘It was rather crude by today’s standards, but the beginning of a whole new era of warfare.?
Pless returned to his home in Alabama in 1949 and, due to the poor economic conditions of the rural area, later that year moved to Flint, Mich. where his sister Marilyn lived. He was hired by Chevrolet, where he worked until 1981. Today he and his wife Diane own Jim’s Jewelers, M-15 Goodrich.
‘We are still a very close family and communicate often.?