Honor Flight McHenry Hero: John Yarnall

Written by Erin Yarnall

When his father signed him up for the Navy in 1944, it was an escape for John Yarnall, 86, of Lake Villa, IL.

Almost seventy years after the 17-year-old joined the Navy, he is still appreciating the benefits of his chosen career path. His father, Al Yarnall, had to sign him up due to him being underage, but Yarnall did not object as the military was a way to avoid what would almost certainly be his career path if  he stayed in Bucks Patch, Pennsylvania, coal mining. 

"I wanted to be a dentist, but I didn't have the education," said Yarnall. "I was trying to get out of the place where I lived, and that's why I had him sign me up for the Navy."

During World War II, the military was "just looking for bodies," according to Yarnall, as he was sent on a ship to the Philippines. While he was stationed in the Philippines, his job entailed being the old man's talker, which according to Yarnall was relaying what the Captain of the ship would say to other sailors aboard his ship. He would dictate orders, and also took care of military records for all hands on board.

A few years after the war, in 1949, Yarnall's ship made a trip North of his native  Pennsylvania to Montreal, Canada. At a dance that was held for the sailors, Yarnall met Joan May and they were married in September of that year, and remained married for 53 years until she passed away in September of 2002. 

While still in the military, John and Joan moved throughout the East Coast and had four children, Terry, Stephen, David, and Debbie. The family eventually settled in the Northern suburbs of Chicago, in Wildwood, Illinois, while John was stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Base.

He continued to serve through the Vietnam and Korean Wars, and said the scariest part of his entire career in the Navy was during the Cuban Missile Crisis. "I was almost shipped during the Crisis," and the veteran sailor did not want to leave his  family at home.

Yarnall left the Navy in 1966, after 20 "fulfilling" years of service, but still continues to  see benefits from the years he has put in. "Uncle Sam has been treating me well," Yarnall said, and continues to treat him well as he leaves for the Honor Flight on September 13.

--

John Yarnall will be one of 18 veterans who will be on traveling on the Honor Flight to visit the war memorials in Washington D.C. in mid-September.