World War II Enlistment in the Army: Apr 25, 1944 @ Ft Sill, Oklahoma, USA

Departed for the European Theater. Military Occupational specialty: Light Machine Gunner 604. Dec 12, 1944

Wonded in Action: Germany. Apr 11, 1945

WWII Battles and Campaigns: Ardennes - Rhineland - Central Europe.

Seperation: Certificate of Disability for discharge. Letterman General Hospital, Company "D" 774th Tank Battalion.Oct 12, 1947

Army / World War II – Germany. Shell backfired while he was in a tank. Shell hit a fire extinguisher inside the tank and blew up which blinded JT for 52 days. Lost section of elbow, only had skin keeping upper and lower arm attached. His arm was stuck to where he couldn’t get out of the tank. He asked another solider to just cut the skin, which would have lost him his arm, in order to get him out. The situation was pretty bad around him. But the soldier finally got him out without having to do this. He was put onto a jeep to be taken towards the back lines. During the ride, JT got shot in the back of the neck with the exit wound being in his shoulder. As he arrived back at the hospital, another German shot JT in the leg. JT was given a gun and was told to just shot straight ahead, although he couldn’t see, he was told he had killed the German. Was in the hospital in San Franciso, California for over a year.

He was the VFW Chaplan in Weatherford, Texas.

James Magill