Published: July 03, 2008 09:37 pm      

Patriot’s heart

Local veteran proud to have fought for america

William Perry “Bill” File lives in a little white house with yellow trim and a neatly manicured lawn. His porch has a small wrought iron fence and gate to keep his dog, Oscar, from getting out and into the street.

Just looking at the house gives no indication of who lives there. The American flag flying from the front porch hints at good old-fashioned patriotism. A symbol of the United States of America.

Ask Mr. File, 91, World War II veteran, about his life and he has plenty of stories to share. But then ask him what the Fourth of July means to him and his emotions come bubbling to the surface.

“It means everything. It’s our independence. It’s our Independence Day. It’s our freedom,” he said Wednesday as he stood in his front yard and looked up at his flag.

An Oklahoma wind caught the flag, making it fly strong and straight. The summer sun peeked through the trees behind the File home and made the flag glow. Mr. File smiled proudly.

“My grandfather was one of the founders of Texas. He would drive around there in a wagon and he set up a store there around Fort Worth. I remember my grandmother telling me how she stood on a hill and watched them forge the Trinity River,” he said.

While that history is something he is extremely proud of, it’s the many years of his life that tell of Mr. File’s patriotism and boasts of “hometown America” attitude. And his experiences have earned him the mark of proud patriot.

Lifetime of memories

Mr. File remembers when the street wasn’t paved, back when he and his wife, “,” first bought the home in Duncan more than 50 years ago. Flowrene died two years ago, but their home is a sweet reminder of their life — from photos of her and File and their children to other items she collected to decorate their home. A lifetime of memories.

Though not from Oklahoma, Mr. File met his wife, Frances Shoopman, not far from Duncan. She, too, was not from Oklahoma. Young, away from home, he had enlisted in the U.S. Army and was sent to Fort Sill, and in the days when there weren’t computers and video games, the soldiers went to dances to socialize.

He was 18 years old.

“I wasn’t married yet. I decided I wanted to get out on my own. My parents were separated and my mother, she remarried. I had a good stepfather, he was a good Christian man. He worked in the oilfield.”

Mr. File said his father wasn’t a bad person, but he was German and he had a tendency to drink. His mother was an Irish girl, he said. Mr. File was born in Utah. He was living in Texas when he enlisted in 1935.

“I joined in Tyler, Texas, and they sent me to Dallas. I passed the examination for the Army, and the recruiter said he was going to send me to Oklahoma, to a place called Fort Sill, an artillery post, that’s how I got in Oklahoma.”

He had been through this way once, years before, when his mother and father were moving from Utah to Texas. “I had an uncle living over by Lawton. When we came out of Utah in 1925, we stopped by. I was just a kid, a young ’un (then).”

After arriving at the Fort Sill post, Mr. File spent six years in the horse-drawn artillery.

“Back then, we had horses instead of trucks to pull our guns around ‘American 3-inch,’ was the first kind of gun we had. About a year later, we started running out of these 3-inch ammunition. They were left over from World War I,” he said.

At one point, he stops to share how in 1936, Joe Westmoreland was one of the ranking officers over him, as second Lieutenant.

“He went to the top. He was an officer in my outfit. There were seven of them. I was nothing but a private 1st class,” Mr. File said. In those days, a private started out earning $17 a month and eventually received $21.

“My clothes were furnished, my food. We were out a little bit for laundry and haircuts, that cost a quarter, but it wasn’t a bad deal,” he said. Eventually he advanced to sergeant and could draw $54 a month, a huge benefit to support his wife and children later down the road.

“I got away from the battery and the guns. I liked to play golf. I got acquainted with a lieutenant and he said, ‘you like to play golf, why don’t you transfer over?’ (to the golf course) The sergeant there made me acquainted with my wife, Frances Shoopman.”

An odd coincidence was that the young woman he eventually married was also from Texas.

“Her father was a German. He was a farmer over there in Tyler. But back then, in the service, we’d all go to Big Lola’s in Lawton and went dancing. I fell for her (Flowrene), she was a good looking gal. I liked to dance, and she did. We dated about a year and a half,” he said.

His enlistment time ran out and he and his wife headed to Texas. The File family started expanding. First, Bill Jr., then Robert, Roy and Tommy.

A defining moment

“I was in Amarillo doing carpenter work when the war broke,” he said.

“Roy was born just about the time World War II started. He was just a baby when I went in the Navy. I was trying to go back in the army, but I couldn’t get my ranking back.

“I moved back to Lawton to try to get my old rating back. My wife’s folks lived out there on a farm west of Lawton. They wouldn’t let me in with my rating and I was talking to a recruiter, The chief bosun mate, he said, ‘Fella, you put six years in the artillery. Let me tell you, I’ll put you in the Navy and make a petty officer out of you. I’ll send you to school and you can learn our guns and make a ‘gunner’s mate out of you.

While his attempts to re-enter the Army failed, looking back, he is proud of the path of his life. Serving in the U.S. Navy gave him many great moments that hold wonderful memories.

“Oh yes, the Navy served hot meals, sure I liked it better,” he laughed. “In the Army, all you got was k-rations.”

Mr. File said the reason he enlisted was because of the Depression. “There was a lot of people out of work. That was why I got in the Army,” he said.

Mr. File was the first one in his family to serve in the military, but he boasts of his father’s role in the war.

“He tried to join, but he worked in the steel mill and that’s where he was needed. They were rolling out these rolls that were cut into artillery shells,” Mr. File said.

Out to sea

“They put me on a four stacker, a World War I destroyer, so we could escort our ships and things to Europe and make invasion on Normandy,” Mr. File said.

A four-stacker came about in the Navy the year Mr. File was born — 1917. The destroyers were used frequently until 1922 and by WWII, most were decommissioned. When WWII action heated up, the four-stackers were put back into action.

“My ship, well, we got down there in Panama and one of the boilers went out on it and they sent us back to San Diego. I was sent to Seattle. I went up there and boarded a ship. We made trips to Alaska, moving troops. Next thing I knew, I was in Seaside, Ore., and The ‘Latimer’ was built, and I was one of the first ones on it. We had to test fire the guns. The APA152 USS Latimer had a 5-inch gun on the fantail, two twin 40mm guns, 2 20mm tubs on it on the fantail there,” Mr. File said.

His rundown of the battleship covered all the guns and “down through the decks, more 20mm guns and up on the fo’castle. We did our part, we carried troops over there in the Philippines, made the invasion,” he said. “I saw a lot of action and we shot several planes down, we got credit for.”

Mr. File’s eyes light up at one particular memory.

“It was exciting, the only time I really got scared was Okinawa, and a battlewagon pulled in our starboard side. They were 200 or 300 yards away and anchored there. I was gun captain there, watching our troops on the beach, the Japs would swim out there and stick a charge and blow a hole in our ship, so we had to watch them.

“The gun fired and went right over my head, and I was in a gun tub and I jumped about 4 feet high. I thought we’d been hit. It was the only time I got really excited. I was about in my 20s. Probably about 1943,” he said.

Patriotism handed down

Along with the family photos that include grandchildren and great-grandchildren displayed throughout his home, there is one framed naval archive photograph that hangs on the wall by the front door. His oldest son, Bill Jr. gave it to him. It is of the USS Latimer, long since mothballed and scrapped. The battleship was commissioned in 1944 and carried troops to the South Pacific, playing a central role in the invasions of Luzon in January 1945. Mr. File has the memories embedded in both his head and his heart. He was on it at the time of that activity.

Mr. File’s patriotism must have been contagious.

“Everyone of our boys have been in the service. They’ve all been in some parts of war,” he said.

“I was concerned about it. I asked the Lord if he could see fit to have them come out of the service. I appreciate it. Just like when I was in the service, asked him if I could come out and I’d come back and raise my boys and get them an education. And he answered my prayer.”

After Mr. File’s time in the Navy, he and Flowrance made their way to Duncan. They were familiar with the community. He said when he was stationed at Fort Sill during his enlistment with the Army, they would come to the dance hall and skating rink that was south of the old refinery. They liked the area enough to return after the war.

“I lived in Walters, running a body shop. A car salesman called on me and wanted me to come work here,” he said. “We liked Duncan.”

Eventually, he put in a body shop, Files Body Shop. And they bought a little home.

“On (U.S. Highway) 81 I had an alignment shop, doing front end alignments. I had three stations, a Conoco station at Main and 81, Sinclair on the north side of 81 at Main and an Exxon station,” he said.

“Anything I could make money out of,” Mr. File said. And in those days, it was selling gas.

“I sold gas for 12 cents for awhile and then it went to 14 cents, then 16 cents. We had gas wars back then. When it got 21 cents is when I got out of the business.”

His sons also hold true to America and three still live nearby. Bill Jr., 68, is married to Verna and they live in San Jose, Calif. He served on a carrier ship. He’s now an architectural engineer and his wife was a school teacher.

“She’s my first daughter,” Mr. File said and smiled.

The others, Robert, 67, and his wife Betty, live in Duncan. He works as a mechanic on airplanes at Halliburton, said Mr. File. And there’s Roy, 66, who served his time in the Air Force and also is an airplane mechanic. And Tommy, 60, who retired two years ago as an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper. He lives in Lawton.

“Every one of them was a good mechanic. They learned from me,” he said. “They usually come to see about me. My boys seem to worry and take care of me.”

Mr. File doesn’t even need to worry about keeping his lawn manicured. He said one of his sons told him to get rid of the lawnmower, they would take care of it.

As he stands in his neatly trimmed front yard, he reflects on the years and casually mentions he’s the only one left in his neighborhood from all those years ago.

“They’ve all died. But me, I plan to live to 100. I’ve got some stories to tell. I am going to write a book. I’m proud of this country. I’ve got my flag hanging on my house and I love this country. I’m glad to be an American. Fourth of July is our Independence Day.”

On June 13, Mr. File received an unexpected letter in the mail from a Matthew Lopez Jr. in Texas. It brought memories of an old shipmate, also by the last name of Lopez. Mr. File doesn’t believe there is any relation, but the letter announced the upcoming reunion of the USS Latimer crew, set for Oct. 2-5 in Corpus Christi, Texas. He doesn’t think he will attend, but mentions that just getting the invitation was special as was his time in the Navy.

“I really enjoyed it,” Mr. File said.