James R. Mork

James Mork, 17070130, enlisted in the Army in October of 1942. He reported to Camp Dodge, in Des Moines, Iowa. Minimal basic training took place in Victoria, Texas, followed by three months of schooling on B-25s and B-26s in Wichita Falls, Texas, and then a month of schooling on B-24s and B-32s in San Diego, California. After schooling, James was assigned to the 16th Airway Detachment. They boarded a ship and sailed, unescorted (one of the first since the beginning of WWII), across the Atlantic Ocean, to join World War II. He served in the Pacific Theater, primarily in China. James returned to the States on New Year's Day of 1946 and received his honorable discharge on January 6 of the same year.

James Mork's Memories of the War
Most of my group was rural farm boys. We all had done some type of mechanic work. When we arrived in our base in China (about 200 miles from Vietnam and about 200 miles from the islands of Japan) we were issued a weapon, we had to memorize the serial number, make, and model.
We were supposed to store them at the quarter master. If we need them we had to go over the quarter master and tell them the number, make, and model.
Our group decided that if we were ever under attack it would be foolish for all of us to walk over and wait in line to get our weapons - so we kept our weapons in our tents. We moved our tents to an area away from the main base - located by a cemetery, a school and a bluegrass pasture with a river running through it. The Japanese used this as a landmark for their flying fighters, so we knew that they would not destroy this area.
One day we were working on the planes (P-40s Flying Tigers) and trucks - we noticed a Japanese plane land on the road we all ran over to see what was happening. When we got to the plane the pilot was a kamikaze pilot. He was chained to his seat with 3/8 inch log chain - we had to get a torch and bolt cutters to get him out.

Before entering the military I worked as a mechanic and along the training I received I was able to work with parts from different vehicles to keep everything. Our group realized that the rain-gear we received was made of a material that we used to repair the diaphragms in the fuel pumps for the planes and other vehicles we worked on. Our group of mechanics realized that the when the fuel arrived at our base in 55 gallon drums water would condense in the drums. When the planes would be refueled and took off - they would spit and sputter - we knew that you had to let the fuel separate for 30 minutes you could drain off the water. We also had to be careful when we had to buy parts from the Chinese - sometimes we ended up buying our parts back. There were some guys who would strip parts from our vehicles and sell them to the Chinese for what ever they needed.

In Memory of James R. Mork

James Rosenkilde Mork died at the age of 90 in Berlin, Wisconsin, on March 21, 2013. James passed away peacefully with his family at his bedside at the Patriot Place of Berlin, where he had lived since 2009. James, son of Nels and Dagmar (Rosenkilde) Mork was born on July 6, 1922, in Audubon County, Iowa. He graduated from Valley High School, Valley Junction (West Des Moines), in 1940.

James served in the Army Air Corp from October 1942 until January 1946, where he received special training in airplane engine mechanics. On New Year's Day in 1944, James set sail on the first unescorted ship (since the beginning of World War II) to cross the Atlantic Ocean. They landed in Casablanca and then went on to Bombay, India. James served in the China-Burma-India Theater, primarily in China. He returned home and completed his service as staff sergeant, with an honorable discharge.

James married Ruth Evelyn Davis on September 5, 1948, at the Methodist Church in Menlo, Iowa. They farmed in Menlo and Elk Horn until 1956. James worked for Squealer Feed as a salesman for three years. Shortly after moving to Manning in 1958, he worked for L & M Bowl, and then for L.R. Nelson Corporation for 18 years until his retirement in 1982. In his retirement, James enjoyed working part-time for the Manning Community School District as a bus driver.

James and Ruth had two children: Denise and Lynn. James was a long time member of the Manning First United Methodist Church. He sang in Manning's Liederkranz for five years. James' hobbies included woodworking as well as creating and caring for his flower gardens.

James was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth; his parents; and his sister Bertha Mork Breuklander. Survivors include his daughter Denise and her husband Gordon Smith of Indianola, Iowa; his son Lynn and his wife Pam, of Berlin, Wisconsin; four grandchildren: Kristine Smith of Cedar Falls, Iowa; Brad Smith of Indianola/Northfield, Minnesota; Erik Mork and his wife Dana of St. Paul, Minnesota; and Laura Mork Sheline and her husband Zach of Albuquerque, New Mexico; and one great-grandchild: Landon Mork. James is also survived by his Brazilian son Abram Kirszenwurcel and his wife Eva; and their sons Andre and Alan and their families; along with cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.

A Memorial/Celebration of Life service for James Mork will be held in Manning in the late spring.

Memorials will be given to Agnesian Hospice (Green Lake County, Wisconsin) and for a scholarship at Manning High School.