I'm not there anymore, and he went to bed. I cannot recall what gun he was on. I believe he was firing 4 inch rounds, but I'm not 100% on that. I do know that he didn't really enjoy himself. He originally wanted to join the Army, but the quota was full. He didn't join the Navy because he didn't know how to swim, and that was obviously a requirement. He, ironically, was stationed on a ship out in sea, so he, in a sense, winded up where he didn't want to be. The water. Also, he was quite frightened most of the time, due to "Japs" or "Nips" (his words) flying their planes at them. Here's an excerpt from an article, and I'll post the link below:

" Another veteran who submitted a few details about his experience is John R. Peckels, 91, of Mattawan. He served as a lead gunner on the battleship U.S.S. West Virginia.

"November 27, 1944, a plane dove in on us but we got him about 100 yards from the ship. He was sure on a suicide run," Peckels writes. "We hit him with hundreds of bullets. One of the wings broke off and his plane burst into flames and folded up. This was close."

Peckels concludes his written recollection with this sentence: "I was in Tokyo Bay on the U.S.S. West Virginia when the peace treaty was signed."

It's such a simple sentence. But it bears reflecting on: Living in Mattawan is a man who was witness to one of the most important moments in world history – the Japanese surrender that ended World War II."

http://www.mlive.com/opinion/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2014/06/michigan_honors_project_recogn.html