In Recognition of Veterans Day - Coffee with Vets [Image 22 of 25]

BOISE, ID, UNITED STATES

09.05.2019

Photo by Thomas Alvarez 

Idaho Army National Guard

J.R. Wright, 86, U.S. Navy 1950 - 58.

The Korean War was approximately four months along when 75,000 United Nations troops and 261 naval ships made a landing at Inchon in 1950. Two U.S. Navy boats cautiously swept the waters of Inchon Harbor for mines, one behind the other while taking fire from North Korean shore batteries. The lead boat suddenly exploded and sent sailors flying from its deck into the frigid waters. Onboard the trailing second boat was 17-year-old Navy Seaman J.R. Wright.

A few months earlier, to escape who he described as a “pretty mean dad”, Wright said he lied about his age and joined the Navy at 16. He chose the Navy because he liked what the recruiter had to say, and his mother vouched for his age.

“I didn’t even need to show my birth certificate,” he said.

During his Navy career he was a boatswain’s mate and signalman, serving on several ships including the battleship Missouri. He spent many years in the Far East; Japan, Hong Kong and eventually three tours of duty in Korea during the Korean War.

At Inchon, while under fire, Wright and another seaman immediately jumped into the water to rescue fellow sailors. Wright had brought one man aboard his boat and went back in the water for another. He was lifting the second sailor into his own boat when it also exploded sending shrapnel into Wright’s legs. He spent a few months in a Navy Hospital in San Diego healing. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star and returned to duty in Korea.

He left the Navy, married, and began raising a family. He worked labor jobs and for a time he made a living in the agriculture industry in Chowchilla, California. He said he struggled with alcohol and wasn’t treating his family very well. He feared he was going down the same path as his father and he needed to get off of it.

“One day God showed me the road headed north,” he said. He found his way to Boise and went to work for Ford Motors.

He said life improved once he gave up drinking. After his wife passed away, he said he was having a tough time getting around and getting done the things he needed to do. He eventually found his way to the Veterans Home in Boise. His son helped move him in.

” The home has been great, it’s been really good for me,” he said.

• Date Taken: 09.05.2019
• Date Posted: 11.08.2019 10:29
• Photo ID: 5897845
• VIRIN: 191101-Z-XK920-0022
• Resolution: 2700x1800
• Size: 2.04 MB
• Location: BOISE, ID, US