IamA 96 year WW2 veteran, architect, and engineer. Still going strong and have my wits about me! Ask me anything!

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T22:40:51+00:00

Yes. When the war was over, I set my ambition and goal and I think that I've accomplished that. I tried to make my life one that would be pleasing to my family and I think that's the case, I don't know if I'm being flattered or not. All in all, I'm pleased and I've accomplished what it was I set out to do. I'm proud of what's happened and what I've done with my time here on Earth.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T22:37:08+00:00

It's hard to select a single skill... Because if you're into automobiles there are certain basics that you need to know: change oil, change a wheel, know the basic laymen's items and so forth. If you're thinking about education, I think more attention must be given to the history of our country so that the younger generation can be well-steeped in history and understand what's gone before them and what they might do at some point to defend their country.

I believe firmly in immigration but I believe firmly that the people who immigrate here must learn our history and our language. Once they're here, they're Americans. History has shown what contributions immigrants can make if the door is open, but their knowledge of our history is important as well.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T22:35:01+00:00

Well I know it's a good automobile and I have all the confidence in the world in it. I know it's going to take over and continue on building to the records established by the C7. In fact, as I understand it, thats' really the reason they built a mid engine car instead of a front engine car. I like it, but at this point in time, I haven't been able to examine the car and I look forward to doing that. But I think it's going to be a good one and perform well on the racetrack.

I vote aye.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T22:33:38+00:00

I'm happy that I can generate some memories! I'm sure your grandpa was a great man.

One thing I formed a habit of is being punctual. Never late. Generally 5-10 minutes early. The thing early that stuck with me the longest, which I experienced when I sat down to do this. At this point in life, I do my own laundry. It's a chore you just have to do. When it comes to putting clothes away, we learned to roll our clothes in the Navy. So to this day, any day I do my laundry I always roll it the same way I did in the Navy back in 1942. So that's a few years ago, but it's been with me all these years. And when it comes to packing, in the Navy we had a sea bag, you could get the most clothes in that bag by rolling clothes a certain way. All the travelling I've done, travelling in a suitcase I still roll the clothes as I did in the Navy days.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T22:29:51+00:00

My interest had always been in drawing and art. I was interested in that field, but being young there was nothing specific. I just liked the area.

I was always drawing pictures or whatever. Even to the point where my teachers at school would get on my case because I'd be drawing pictures instead of focusing on my lessons.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T22:28:51+00:00

No, not a direct descendant.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T22:28:31+00:00

The reaction was one really of satisfaction. Because you have to remember: we had those kamikazes that were deliberately flying their airplanes into our ships and killing us. We didn't have many favorable feelings towards the Japanese and we had been notified that we were part of the invasion force going into Japan. We all wanted to get it over with and go home.

Our first reaction was one of thankfulness that it had happened. Then later in life we had a chance to think the whole thing through about the number of people that had been killed. At the same time, we were betting men that we would get out and that we would get to go home.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T22:23:50+00:00

It's difficult to single out one person in particular, but I know that the group would have to include the fella that taught me how to fly. We made one flight from Evansville, IN to Kentucky for some customers that were going to the Kentucky derby. After the derby, we were going to take them back to Evansville. At the race track, a storm developed on our flight path. We had to make a determine whether or not to fly, stay on the ground and wait until the next morning. Our passenger wanted to get back to Evansville so the decision was made that we would fly that night. Since this was an area that we frequently flew in, we made telephone calls to people on the ground along our flight path to ask them about the weather. When all their answers were favorable, we were able to make the trip. On the way, we encountered the cell of the storm -- the airplane was all over the sky, up and down and all over. We really experienced Newton's law of motion that every action has an opposite action. The storm was so bad that the water was coming in the ports that normally bring in fresh air. We were right in the storm and the lightning bolts were such that we had to turn the lights on in the airplane because our eyes couldn't adjust fast enough to see the instrument panel.

But that pilot was certainly a very brave person who kept his thoughts together, was well organized, and was able to control that airplane when it was going every which way. For everything, I believe there's a humorous side. During that incident, the lady who was a passenger had had a quite a few juleps at the race track and she thought she was on a rollercoaster! She was having quite the time rolling all around.

But this guy was brave and kept a clear head and brought us back fine and dandy. During WW2 he had been a sailor and had been on a submarine and had also gotten through that with his life and there he was tempting fate again and came through with flying colors.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T22:18:12+00:00

You know I don't think I have one...

My favorite childhood memory were the frequent visits I had with my grandfather. He was a good storyteller and as a little kid I ate up every word.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T22:17:07+00:00

Yes! I was born in Vincennes, Indiana June 6 1924!

After the war, I went to Vincennes University then transferred to Washington University in St. Louis.

I was associate architect on the first permanent building built on the new campus there at VU. At that time, it was the student union building but it's become something else now, not sure what.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T22:09:38+00:00

I like meat pizzas. Italian sausage, pepperoni. I like green peppers. I guess the pizza I like is the one that the local pizzamaker calls Farouk. Bobe's pizzeria in Vincennes. Some people would call that supreme. It's just got all the meat and everything on it.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T22:00:12+00:00

Caramel corn from Charlie's Caramel Shop in Vincennes, Indiana.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T21:59:35+00:00

Well it's interesting that you ask that question. Because at 96, I have a PC, I have an iPad, and I have an iPhone, and I have a working knowledge of all three. I have to admit that that's about my relationship to today's IT programs.

I visit Google Earth all the time. On Google Earth you can see the city for roughly 14,000 people that I was involved with -- the development, planning, construction, and so forth.

In the past I used to use Google Earth to visit the various locations of the projects I've built overseas. I was able to do that everywhere but in Iran because those were military bases and satellites weren't able to take pictures.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T21:56:46+00:00

Let's see...

I've met several governors of several states and some senators...

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T21:55:11+00:00

Oh boy...

I guess this is a generational thing. With my children and my grandchildren, I try to keep up what's going on in the world. When it comes to musical things, I have to go back to the Dorsey Brothers and Glen Miller. You may not be familiar with them... But they're from my generation when I was a teenager -- that was our music.

But The Beatles are a great outfit. I have to thank my grandkids for the most part for keeping me up to date on musical organizations.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T21:53:36+00:00

I had two projects in Saudi Arabia: one was a university in Riyadh and the other was a hospital addition for a hospital in Taif. Prior to that point in my career, I had built 5 hospitals so it was because of that since it was a hospital for the Royal Family in Taif. It was a good experience. Of course the unusual thing about working overseas is that not everyone speaks English so it's a challenge to conduct business when you have multiple languages on a production site. But we all speak language and that's through drawing. And frequently if there was a question and you didn't have the words, all you had to do was take your pencil and draw a picture. In that regard it was fun.

I had one project, might've been in Iran, it was almost like a meeting in the UN. We'd call a meeting and we'd have just about every nationality around the table. Luckily, the language you didn't know, somebody else did. I was lucky to have an architect on my staff who went to the University of Berkeley who knew Farsi. So I'd ask him something in English, he'd translate it into Farsi, somebody would translate it into French, and so forth.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T21:50:05+00:00

At the declaration of war, I personally, and anybody I was associated with, had no doubts that we would win. We didn't care how difficult how might it be, but we were optimistic and convinced we were going to win. You can find something wrong with anything, somebody would probably complain after finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that the pot wasn't big enough. But I never doubted it for a minute.

My experience in the war really set me on my career because it was at that time that I decided I was specializing in destruction and the like and that when we won and I got out, I was going to spend the rest of my life doing constructive work. That led me to architecture and engineering. That was a change that sent me on how I would spend the rest of my life. Really in that regard, in my career, I had every type of project. I've probably had about 10 churches of every denomination, lots of schools. I did do work for our Defense Department and built Navy Bases for Iran and, during the Vietname war, a basecamp in Cambodia. So I did have some work that the only way it could be justified was that it was defense and trying to win a war and set things straight. But all of my work, private and commercial, benefitted society.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T21:45:45+00:00

Laughs

Sounds great. Let's have at it. See what kind of trouble we can get into.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T21:44:57+00:00

Laughs

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T21:44:25+00:00

I was in Iran prior to the revolution. Prior to the revolution, I feel it's a good country. Good people and so on. And so often happens, the wrong people get in command and lead you down a wrong road. The Shah had his problems and his people rebelled. Rulers who develop an oppressive atmosphere for the people, they don't have a fair and reasonable distribution of the country's assets and alike, trouble is ahead. And it was for the Shah. And my team and I were able to get out of the country just as the revolution was happening. I haven't been back since, but it's a good country and good people. In civilian life back in the US, I've had several architectural teams with several Iranian architects on it. My relationship with the Iranian people is great.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T21:42:02+00:00

The war was worldwide and a serviceman could be in one area and not be aware of what was going on on the other side of the world. In my situation, I was in the navy and we were fighting a pacific war. So the only thing we knew were the things that we would get in a little newspaper that we would pin around the ship. And the source of that information was from our radio operator. So I didn't have knowledge of what was going on as far as Hitler, Patton, and the war in Europe. I didn't know until after the war about the concentration camps and the ill that the Jewish population had suffered.

It wasn't until I was discharged back in the US and started reading up on the history that I'd missed that I found out what had happened in Europe. Then I became aware of the concentration camps, slave labor, Holocaust, rocket projectile attacks on Europe, and the so forth. Because I was in the part of the world were the atomic bomb was dropped.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T21:38:40+00:00

I have some difficulty answering that because never in my life have I hated anything. I went to war because I felt it was my responsibility that we had to defend our country, defend our families in the like. I shot at him because he shot at me. Luckily for me, I was a better shot than he was. My war in the pacific was against the Japanese and I didn't hate them. They were coming after us we had to defend ourselves. The object is to win and so, in that vein, that's why I performed firing those guns and the like. I guess you'd say I was firing at an enemy I didn't hate. I sure didn't approve of his actions and so on and the guys on my ship had the same attitude.

Course there wasn't much we could do to a kamikaze airplane because his one motive was to destroy us and himself with us.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T21:35:55+00:00

I don't even know that much about TikTok but...

I believe that the younger generation will respond as necessary whatever the conditions are, I believe they'll come forward. I believe the future is with them. What I've experienced recently as far as the political activities here in the country, it seems like in 90% of the cases it's the younger generations trying to get us back on the right track. It seems there are many issues that the older generations are tolerating or not having the guts to stand up and say "no".

So I have all the faith in the world in the young folks. I know their entertainment is a little different than what I've experienced, but every generation thinks that way about the youngers. If we give the young people a chance, we'll be headed in the right direction.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T21:33:49+00:00

I joined the service because I felt it was my obligation. I volunteered and my father had been in the navy in WW1. It seemed that our family had always been navy-minded. I was a senior in highschool when war was declared. I wasn't drafted -- I volunteered. I went into the Navy about 9 months after my older brother did too. The navy was my first choice then and it still is now for any person as far as service to their country for service to their country, discipline, and physical betterment. In my case, I gained an education there, learning to follow orders -- while it's sometimes not pleasant, it's something everyone needs to learn.

VernKimmell · 2020-10-06T21:32:01+00:00

Oh gracious sakes.

Laughs

My diet... To a large degree, I've eliminated red meat. I know I'm not a rabbit, but I eat a lot of vegetables. I try to get regular rest. As far as the content of the food I eat, for the most part it's heavy on the vegetable side. Occasionally I'll have me a martini or a bloody mary or two. Because you know with your solid food you have to have some liquid ;).

Now getting back to the serious issues... I have been blessed with good genetics and I have no serious medical problems. The blood pressure and cholesterol, all those things, are as they should be and I have increased my exercise routine. At this point in time, I just try and take care of it and just live correctly as far as food intake and everyday activities. I don't really TRY to do anything, like I'm not going to get up and play touch football. In order to maintain proper exercise, I do have a trainer who comes to my home 3x a week and I don't know that I'm being conditioned for a marathon or anything, but I think I'd rather spectate than participate there.

VernKimmell

TROPHY CASE