Chapter 14: Pretending to be soldiers
In Chapter 14, John Koski is drafted, but then rejected by the military for being under-weight.
1. The conversation between John and the doctor is fictionalized, but basically represents the families understanding of those events.
2. We do not have a detailed account of Johnny's first encounter with the Army. Apparently he was drafted, then rejected for being underweight (some 112 pounds according to his 1941-42 hunting license). The family remembers that he tried to eat extra food and exercised in order to gain weight.
3. We do not know if Johnny or Bobby saw that article about the 10th, but it did appear in the Marquette Mining Journal. Many men from the UP joined the 10th Mountain Infantry Division and a group of 10th Mountain veterans still meet each year in the National Ski Hall of Fame in Ishpeming on Mount Belvedere Day.
4. The letter from Eleanor is quoted from one of her letters.
5. The detals of John's graduation are from the article on that graduation as published in The Miing Journal.
6. Johnny did wear a white-painted policeman's cap as shown in the photo. Both Edna Mae Koski John's friend Bobby Emmanuelson remember him singing the Marine's hymn while wearing it.
7. Letter from Oscar Koski to Reuben Koski about the death of John "Buster" Solka.
8. Wikpedia page on the Marine's Hymn.
Media and Web links:
1. Figure 14-1 Video: John Koski desperatly wanted to get into the Army like his older brothers.
2. Figure 14-2 Video: Edna Mae remembers John Koski and his white policeman's cap.
Copyright 2007 by Dan Oja