Listen to the enhanced story
that includes audio clips from our interview!
[5 min 54sec]
Recently we had the pleasure of getting to interview Dave Jenett, a man who in his lifetime had done many amazing and wonderful things. Our initial reaction upon meeting Dave was, simply and collectively, “wow.” We all felt in the instant in which we locked eyes with this man, the enthusiasm he holds for life. It radiated from his eyes and out of every movement and word he spoke. We quickly concluded and confirmed that this man would touch our hearts.
Having grown up in New Jersey, Dave, at the age of seventeen, was looking for a change. An introverted individual, he surprisingly decided to joined the armed forces. Being seventeen, he needed parental consent to join, which after some persuasion he was able to get from his mother. Dave recalls how he felt in relation to fear, or the absence of the feeling, about joining the Navy at such a young age. When he joined, World War II had already begun, and because of this, Dave would have been most likely drafted the following year anyways.
Dave was kind enough to open up to us about his experiences in WWII and the Korean War. While serving in WWI, he fought on the front lines. One of the battles he describes at the longest, deadliest, and most costly battle of the whole war. Despite all of the horrific events that Dave had experienced during the war, he always kept a positive attitude. He describes certain events where he and his comrades simply laughed because that’s all they could bring themselves to do in such hard times. It was truly moving and eye opening to hear how he was able to remain positive despite all of the adversity that he faced. Even in recounting all the monumental experiences he had, however devastating they may be, he never lost that spark in his eyes of of hope and appreciation for life. That was a great inspiration to not only our group, but it seems our whole Multimedia Journalism class as well. Dave briefly touched on his philosophy of living in our interview. He believes that life should always be preserved and embraced.
Returning home from WWII in 1946, Dave initially found it hard to readjust to civilian life. He recalls how he was not able to wear civilian clothes for several months. Eventually he was able to get back into the swing of things. Taking advantage of his knack for things of a mechanical nature, he enrolled in a vocational school to learn machining and eventually took a job making metal dyes for a jewelry company.
While no longer in active duty, Dave remained in the Naval Reserves and was called back for twenty-two months of service during the Korean war just six months after he got married. Fortunately he did not have to fight on the front line and was put to work on naval ships in the Atlantic. He worked as support, hopping around to the various ships fixing machines and working on mechanical equipment.
Reflecting on his time spent serving in both wars, it was touching to see the pride that Dave felt about being able to serve his country, as well as how fortunate he felt that he made it out relatively unharmed. We all took away something from our interview, and we all feel that we have grown and bettered from learning of Dave’s experiences and his passion for life.
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