John Daniels

Our Dad “Honey” was born on April 28, 1918 in Hazelton, PA and passed away, at home, in Seffner, FL on June 5, 2008 at the age of 90. He had a good and full life. My brother, Hank John H. Daniels, put it most succinctly, when he said, “Honey lived 90 years with only one bad year.” It’s true, he loved Life, his Wife, his Family and Friends, the United States Air Force and this Country! He was truly proud to be an American – one of the “Greatest Generation!”

John Daniels Honey was the son of Joseph Daniel and Susan Daniel Maiden Name – Strank. The “S” on Honey’s last name was added to his birth certificate in error. Some of his siblings also had the “S” added. Back then, people just didn’t rock-the-boat – it wasn’t that important! Dad’s Father, Joseph Daniel, was a Polish immigrant, born in Austria in 1890 and died in 1960. His Mother, Susan Daniel Strank was also Polish, born in Poland 1889 and died in 1966. Joseph Daniel Pop and Susan Strank Mom came to the United States, by ship, crossing the Atlantic Ocean and were among the many immigrants who landed at Ellis Island, New York, City, NY. They were young people who believed they would find opportunity here – opportunity for work, a better life and FREEDOM! Joseph settled in Hazelton, PA, a coal mining town and so did Susan. Joseph became a coal miner, met my grandmother, married and raised a family. My Dad, was the fourth of eight children – Joseph, Stella, Walter, John Honey, Josephine, Edward, Mary and Henry.

Honey grew up in Hazelton, PA . . . not like the growing up that we know! He lived during the time of the Great Depression. Instead of being able to enjoy a carefree childhood, he and his family worried about their next meal, finding work, keeping the roof over their heads and many other hardships, we’ve never experienced. My Dad had to help his family . . . he picked coal, that fell off the rail road cars, and carried it in bags on his shoulders, and sold it. His sisters, Josephine and Mary picked huckleberries and sold them. One time his parents owed the grocer a large sum of money, so to pay the debt, Honey and this brothers dug the basement and built the foundation for the grocers’ new store. One day, a letter arrived for Honey’s brother, Walter, regarding work. Walter had left home for Philadelphia, PA to find work, so Honey posed as his brother and went to work building the Pennsylvania Turnpike – he was just a teenager at the time. There are many more stories like these, full of courage and determination – they were not afraid of hard work!

Honey’s family, like most people at that time, grew vegetables, and canned them, baked bread, made sauerkraut, and sewed their own clothes. They raised chickens and on Sunday, Honey had to kill two chickens for dinner, nearly every week – he never really liked chicken very much! One of their neighbors was a bootlegger, and made beer and whiskey and sold it. One time during the prohibition years, the neighbor, heard the authorities had a search warrant to search his house and property. The neighbor asked my Grandpop if he could hide the beer and whiskey cases in their back yard, just on the other side of the fence. The neighbor’s property was searched and after the authorities left they took the cases back. Needless to say, my Grandpop never had to buy beer again!

Even though times were tough, they made the best of it. Honey often told us stories of earning enough money to go to a movie or out dancing to the sound of the Big Bands. He would always say, “now that was music!” Honey’s Mom would prepare food for the gang to eat, when the came home after the dance. They sat in the parlor and listened to the radio shows and ball games and fights. He and his friends would go swimming sometimes, at the quarry, which was at least ten miles one way! They would run all the way to the quarry, swim all day, and walk back picking apples to eat on the way home! Honey’s Mom always use to tell him, “If you drowned, don’t you come home!” He and his friends built their own ball field, made their own ball and used sticks for bats, to play baseball! They were very resourceful! He was the first in family to own a car. Honey saved enough money to buy a used car for $50.00 and then had to save to buy the tires. He couldn’t afford to buy the driver’s license – it cost $5.00, so he drove without a license. And. . . he got caught driving without a license and served 3 days in jail. His parents wanted to bail him out, but Honey wouldn’t hear of it – it cost too much, so he stayed in jail. The police released him early – it was cheaper than feeding him! He would often drive his father and friends to work and back and earn money, of course.

Honey joined the US Army Air Corps on September 16, 1940 in Phildelphia, PA. After his basic training, was shipped to Hickam Field, Oahu, Hawaii. He arrived in Hawaii on August 8, 1941. “Wow, it didn’t get much better than this”, he thought! In November 1941 the military took a picture of Honey’s squadron – 11th Bombardment Group-50th Recon. Squadron. He managed to mail the photo home at the end of November 1941. We still have the original and have had it restored. We also donated a copy to the Airmen Memorial Museum in Suitland, MD. Yes, he was there on that horrific day December 7, 1941 when the Japanese attacked and bombed Pearl Harbor. Honey was among the lucky ones who survived. He told us stories of seeing friends and other soldiers being blown up! Some even dying in their arms. Honey and friends, and other soldiers, helped to pick up the remains of soldiers. They also helped to clean up in the aftermath. They were all very young to experience and witness such atrocities. Honey said, “the only good thing was, for a while they couldn’t drink the water, so they had to drink beer!”

Next Honey was sent to Northern Solomons-Central Pacific to New Hebrides on the Island of Espiritu Santo. He told us that he and another soldier were left on the island to guard the air strip. Honey said that they ate lots of fish and coconuts, and drank coconut milk. Honey returned to the United States in May 1943 and was stationed at Bolling AFB, Washington, DC. According to his Military Record-Decorations and Citations he earned the following: Distinguished Unit Badge, Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Service Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/2 Bronze Service Stars.

While Honey was stationed at Bolling AFB, Washington, DC, he met my Mom, Kathryn Bodnar in 1944. Kathryn was a secretary and worked at the Pentagon, Arlington, VA. They were married in Rockville, Maryland on May 13, 1945. Both had been married before and each had one child – my brother Jan and my sister Bonnie. The next year on June 27, 1946 Mom gave birth to my brother John Henry Hank in Pittsburg, PA. And . . . two and a half years later, on December 27, 1948, Mom gave birth to twin girls – Susan and Evelyn me in Washington, DC. I think Honey was in shock when we were born, because all he could say was “No Shit!” Some time in this same period, Honey was discharged from the US Army Air Corps and joined the newly formed US Air Force in 1947 and was the Eleventh enlisted man to join the US Air Force. In 1949 while stationed at Bolling AFB, Washington, DC, Honey was a maintenence crew member and flew on Vice President Alben W. Barkley’s airplane.

The next 18 years were an adventure! Honey, Mom and kids in tow, we traveled and saw this Country! When ever Honey would get stationed to a new base, he would get the Atlas of the United States and we would plan our trip together. He would make sure to plan a route we hadn’t traveled before. At last count there are only eight states I haven’t been to! Over the next 18 years we would move ten times as follows: Start – Bolling AFB, Washington, DC, Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, CO, Offutt AFB, Omaha, NE, Stead AFB, Reno, NV, McGuire AFB, NJ, Turner AFB, Albany, GA, back to – McGuire AFB, NJ, Travis AFB, near Vacaville. CA we lived in Napa, CA and Honey was at Kadena AFB, Okinawa, Carswell AFB, Ft. Worth, TX, Ellsworth AFB, Rapid City, SD, and back to McGuire AFB, NJ.

During his 26 years of military service, Honey often traveled without us to attend traning and school. He was selected to attend the MATS NCO Academy, Orlando, FL. Looking through his military records, I found he received many diplomas and certificates of training and awards. In 1958 at Turner AFB he was Sergeant of the Year.

As I said earlier, we saw this country – Honey made sure of it! Here are a few of the places and sights we experienced as we moved from base to base crisscrossing the United States: Empire State Building, Twin Towers, Ellis Island, United Nations, Many New York Museums, Central Park, Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross House, Franklin Institute, Many Philadelphia Museums, Fairmount Park, every Tunnel on the Pennsylvania Turn Pike, Hudson River, Delaware River, Atlantic City, Atlantic Ocean, NJ Shore, Allegheny Mts., Pocono Mts., Appalachian Mts., Appalachian Trail, Washington, DC Museums and Monuments, Blue Ridge Mts., Great Smoky Mts., Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes, Twin Cities, Mississippi River, Route 66, Missouri River, Pikes Peak, Hoover Dam, Colorado River, Continental Divide, Donners Pass, Sierra Nevada Mts., Grand Canyon, Painted Desert, Death Valley, Mojave Desert, Black Hills, SD, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, SD, Pacific Ocean, Pacific Coast Hwy., Pebble Beach, Golden Gate Bridge, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Oregon Trail, Big Sky Country, Great Salt Lakes, Mexico and drove on every major highway, freeway, turnpike and road. There are so many more wonderful towns, cities, places, sights and stories I didn’t mention – even if I did, something would still be missed! Our life was truly a great adventure!

When Honey retired on August 31, 1965, at Ellsworth AFB, SD, he had finished his last assignment with the Minuteman Missile Maintenance Squadron-SAC. He truly loved the men he served with over the years and even kept in touch with many of them, some as far back a WWII. We moved back to the east coast, to New Jersey and Honey started working for Civil Service at McGuire AFB – no surprise there! He retired from his Civil Service job in December 1976 after close to ten years.

During their early retirement years, Honey and Mom traveled a lot, visiting family and friends, and . . . had a great time! One of their favorite activities was dancing. And they knew how to do all the dances – Polka, Waltz, Tango, Samba, Rumba, Cha Cha, Fox Trot, to name a few. It was said that Honey and Mama danced like Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Their “Song” was “I’ll Be Loving You Always.” They moved to Florida and lived on the east coast for a while, then moved to the west coast to Seffner, FL in the early 90’s. Honey’s next challenge was still to come . . . Mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease at the age of 66. Honey was truly a Hero – he took care of Mama at home, all these years, and never complained. I came to help him with Mama 13 years ago. In recent years it was more difficult to travel with Mama, so Honey stayed at home and listened to music, did crossword puzzles, read books and magazines and watched movies. And . . . as Honey’s health deteriorated, I was happy to be here even more. It has been my pleasure to care for both of them!

I Love You Dad & Miss You – Lots!

Evelyn