From World War II to now, Sycamore veteran, 105, reflects on century of change

SYCAMORE – At 105 years old, World War II veteran John “Jack” Connerton is proud to still be able to drive himself around DeKalb County.

When Connerton, of Sycamore, was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 1919, American troops that had served in World War I were just returning home, and U.S. Congress was poised to pass the Volstead Act, which instituted prohibition.

He said he can remember going outside to use the bathroom as a child. But despite bearing witness to world-changing inventions and discoveries – from the advent of television and the internet to the arrival of the nuclear and digital ages – Connerton has maintained a vigor for life that usurps any expectations of a centennial.

Connerton said he’s remained active and exercised throughout his life. Despite surviving a five-bypass heart attack in 1997, he said he’s been blessed with good health.

“I thank God every day because when a lot of people get to my age, a lot of them can’t see anymore, they don’t have clear thinking anymore, they can’t get around much anymore,” Connerton said.

He retired his real estate license in April. Two months later, he passed his yearly driver’s test to retain his driver’s license.

His youngest daughter, Kathy Hammes, 62, also a DeKalb County real estate agent, said he called her to say “God is good” after he passed the test.

“I said, ‘I know God is good, but why is God so good today, Dad?’ and he goes, ‘Because I passed my driver’s license test,’” Hammes said.

War experience

Connerton was drafted into the Army in 1942, but because his father, a lumberjack, died at about the same time, he said he was given a furlough and didn’t begin his training until 1943.

After returning from furlough, he was sent to Biloxi, Mississippi, for basic training with the U.S. Army Air Force at Keesler Air Force Base. Then, he was sent to Fort Collins, Colorado, where he received more education than a typical draftee.

“They sent us to school for three months at Colorado State College,” Connerton said. “What we went there for was to study E and O, engineering and operations.”

He then took a train to New Jersey and a boat to Scotland before eventually being stationed in Bedford, England, where he worked on aircraft operating in the European theater during the war.

I thank God every day because when a lot of people get to my age, a lot of them can’t see anymore, they don’t have clear thinking anymore, they can’t get around much anymore.”

—  John “Jack” Connerton

He said he never met a bad person while he was in the Army.

“While I’ve been in service, all the people and other servicemen I’ve been with, I’ve never run into a bad one,” Connerton said of his wartime experience. “Unfortunately, I was with a lot of good people all of the time.”

He did not experience ground combat but would have seen the hustle and bustle of the multicultural environment that were the Allied bases in England during World War II.

“We were a major place. And we had 10 bomber bases underneath our wing, which we had to keep in the air,” Connerton said. “A lot of times the aircraft would come back shot up. A lot of the parts were damaged.”

The people who had been flying the tattered aircraft he repaired weren’t always strangers. Connerton said a childhood friend, Burgess Murdock, from his neighborhood in Green Bay, was among those who took to the skies in aircraft he worked on.

“The pilot was shot out from underneath, from one of those, when they were making a bomb run,” Connerton said. “My friend took over and became the captain of the ship. He got it home safe.”

Connerton returned safely to Green Bay once the war ended. He said his “sweetheart,” Marie “Mickey” Margaret Queoff, had arranged for their wedding to be ready as soon as possible after his return. They married in August 1945.

They were married for 59 years and built a family that now includes six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Finally facing retirement, Connerton said he’s excited to spend his next chapter in life with the youngest members of his family.

Hammes said her parents were awesome on the dance floor and enjoyed spending time with their friends. She said she looks at their successful marriage as a “huge accomplishment.”

“Kisses were abundant, hugs were abundant, and ‘I love yous’ were said daily,” Hammes said.