8th Finglish trip June 2009 #22
The family of Albert Jokela's mother moved from Alahärmä to Ishpeming, Michigan in 1903. His father's family came in 1910 to the neighbouring community of Negaunee from Kuortane in Finland. Albert went to serve in the military soon after high school, because pilots were promised high wages. This was just before the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Albert's aircraft carrier was first sent to exercises off New Guinea and then into action near Okinawa. The scariest part was to land at night on the carrier, which could not be lit because of submarines. ”Then we came home. And that's it.”
After the war, Albert worked as an engineer in three aircraft plants. He has carried out safety testing on aircraft from small Pipers to Jumbo Jets. He is now retired and working on a book on the game of pesäpallo (Finnish baseball), which captivated him as a little boy in the Ponnistus sports club in Negaunee.
Next Esko & Rodney Hieta Van Nuys California USA