Virgil Foster is one of the last of his generation.
Foster, 99, a resident of St. Anne, is a World War II veteran. He enlisted in the Navy Nov. 16, 1944.
Trained in Rhode Island, he was shipped by railroad across the country to California. The shooting was over by the time the Navy sent him to Guam, a Pacific island.
Once there he served with the SeaBees, a branch of the Navy that worked as a Construction Battalion. The SeaBee motto was “We build. We fight.” His job involved dispatching parts from a warehouse. Many of those parts, he says, were used by aircraft.
Foster was proud to have served his country. He also notes that at the time everybody served.
Today, the nation’s living memory of World War II veterans is fading. Of the estimated 16.4 million American men and women who put on the uniform during those years, only 45,000 are still alive, according to Genealogy Bank. That’s less than one percent.
Foster is expected to attend the annual ceremonies at the Ray Olley Memorial Statue in front of A.N. Webber south of Kankakee, Saturday, May 23, at 10 a.m.
Several years ago, Foster participated in Honor Flight, the charity that sends veterans, free of charge, to Washington to see the World War II Memorial.
He remembers that the Navy put him through swimming training. On the way across the Pacific, his ship had “lights out” and also zig-zagged. Both tactics were standard practice to avoid enemy submarines.
Once in Guam, he could see the damage wrought by flamethrowers during combat there. Guam was captured by the Japanese after Pearl Harbor, but liberated by American troops in 1944.
When Foster arrived, the island was still held some captured Japanese prisoners, who did some work.
Originally discovered by Ferdinand Magellan, Guam became an American possession as part of the settlement of the Spanish-American War. Today Guam is the westernmost part of the United States.
Foster has lived a life of hard work and independence. He still lives in his own apartment in St. Anne. He is, amazingly, a cancer survivor.
He was born in Jasper County, Ill., as the oldest in a farming family. After the war, Foster worked at and owned a gas station. He owned the station in St. Anne, which was located near the scene of the current Casey’s.
Handy and hardy, Foster built his own home after the war in 1946.. He also built other homes in St. Anne, some of which he still owns and rents. He used money from the GI Bill to get training as a plumber. For many years, he worked for Home Appliance in Kankakee, doing plumbing and installing furnaces.
He worked, too, as a pipefitter and welder. In Chicago, he had a stint disassembling railroad cars for scrap.
“I’ve been everything,” he says.
His hobby was woodworking. As a young man, he made shelves. He learned to shape wood, making tables and grandfather clocks. Today, he still has some of his creations at home.
He met his wife, Doris, when they were ice skating. They would remain married for an astonishing 70 years until her death. They had four children, Larry, Judy, Carol and Kevin, all of whom are alive today. For years, Doris was the “Avon Lady” for St. Anne.
The Fosters had eight grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren. Attending their sporting events was a pleasure for Virgil and Doris.
Daughter Carol heads a volunteer group that puts up the flags on the streets of St. Anne for Memorial Day, an activity set for May 22 this year.
One grandson, Taylor, is a helicopter pilot for the Army. Virgil participated in his graduation.