Vito Simone, Josephine Simone , and Raymond Lauk

00:04 My name is Josephine Simone. My age is 90 today's date is Thursday, October 15th, 2015.

00:15 The location is the Chicago Cultural Center my relationship to the partner is my husband Vito.

00:30 My name is Vito William Simone age 92 and 1/2. Today's date is Thursday, October 15th location Chicago Cultural Center relation to partner husband.

00:50 My name is Raymond low. I am 55 years old today's date is October 15th 2015. This is the Chicago Cultural Center, and I'm the great nephew of Uncle Bill and Aunt Jo.

01:05 Uncle Bill you were born in Chicago, correct? And what year 1923 and you were born into a large family. I was number seven out of ten. So was I like growing up in a large family in Chicago back then very confusing.

01:21 Got 10 kids there.

01:24 During the Depression so it was kind of a rough time for for us and our family.

01:30 And now VW lost their mother at an early age.

01:35 There is our older sisters would take care of the younger siblings or which I was one of them.

01:41 And that's what it was. I can go to Chicago for you at that time is very trying very tough. How old are you when your mother passed away? I was 20.

01:53 222 if you passed away it was a 1946.

02:03 And which of your sisters were involved in raising the rest of you?

02:13 About my second oldest sister, which is at her name is Katherine, and she just she just died two years ago. She died at ninety-three 94-95 but she kind of look after the youngsters doing that. They're still around there. But we all pretty much had a free hand be kind of every kind of help each other. We'd we did what we had to do this drive in those days. That is your father have the the newsstand get a Time. Yep, my father

02:42 Was the oldest news boy in the city Chicago he had a Newsstand.

02:46 Kitty corner from the Palmer House on State and Monroe

02:51 And as a as an eight-year-old Ice come down and help him and I weekends I had the on Saturday but we don't work Sundays or Saturdays. I had to stand on my own on the on the State Street side the State Street entrance to the Palmer House have little stand there. And and I actually I think I was making more money of Those Days Inn in tips them if I was making sound newspaper.

03:16 What newspapers were you selling it that you want I want to remember is the examiner that take of that time of the second newspaper sold the daily paper not the morning. Easy papers at College of the Tribune are the Sun-Times those are considered morning and evening papers. So we just had to do what they call the daily papers.

03:39 And growing up in Chicago. So you are working from the time you were 18 years old to give you an idea every time I had to go downtown my father in the morning before he left the always left me enough money to ride the L and maybe get a couple couple pennies for some snacks or something. But back in those days the Elvis tree tents to write money even a little bit toll scarce. We never use it.

04:14 We should probably still climb up the elevated up there up. The extensions are get on the tracks and jump over the

04:23 Jump over the third rail and climb up on the on the

04:28 I'm the station. So what you done the station, you're considered up a passenger and that's how we went back and forth to Chicago in Chicago and wanted it for your own use the elevator there. We always walked up the extra steps back backwards to get up to the flight for a nickname.

04:48 My father was sick was call State Street Sam. He had a big write-up in the even he died. They had a big write-up in the paper is bad enough that the one of the channel to channel 5 cover the funeral and they were all out there with their picture with their cameras and everything else. He was interviewed.

05:08 Show me for that by Earth kupcinet two or three weeks ago and then maybe on the way passed away, but his son was very sudden married the daughter of a very close friend of ours and the here so I don't know what my father told me to stay. True Sammy. So yeah, this is my dad. Just remember reading that while back

05:49 So we had a nice conversation that took care.

05:52 No, Enjoy, you kind of drill in the opposite kind of world out in the country essentially and it's relatively small family. Yes. I have one sister and one brother and

06:08 Be the oldest. I was the oldest of three and my mother and dad grew up in the twenties during the Depression days. Then of course, we were all very happy. We knew nothing else but loving each other and it was great being brought up in a small town, which is Batavia, Batavia, Illinois.

06:39 It's called The Fox River Valley Batavia Geneva, St. Charles.

06:46 I want the world to do to ever meet. I'll let out a joke tell that's my mother's parents and his parents were block apart. And in those days the grandparents had children lot of children later in life and my uncles were the same age is and he was going to join the Navy with one of my uncles. So living in Batavia. He came with my uncle just think about it my mother and we all came home from lunch. I was a junior in high school at the time and that's how I met them through my uncle who came to say goodbye to all of us to go off to the Navy.

07:37 And so then Uncle Bill went off to the Navy. So how did you stay in touch? How did you ultimately get married to both my sister and I he asked us to write to him while he was in service and in a way and I thought oh my God this guy I'm not too but I guess I guess I will write to him. He's in the Navy serving our country and we kept up that writing for quite a while and then he had to leave to come home from the service and he called and said he was coming to our house to visit and he did and he came to the front door and I wouldn't let him in and finally my mother said, please let him Joe so I I let him in and from then on we became more friendly.

08:37 And everybody kept telling me give him a Chance season. Nice young man.

08:43 And I thought it over and I was working and then I thought well, okay. He asked me for a date and then we went out on a date and I kind of liked him after that. And so you're still giving him a chance. I'm still giving him a chance and years later. We've been married 69 years 69 years last September 14th.

09:08 Do you have any rebuttal but I don't want son William working at the time and it trying to have children and it didn't working. So we just kept working and working and finally after fifteen years. We had our son.

09:41 They'll I call him and he was such a delight and I I thought I didn't want to stay home after having him and I wanted to continue working because this was such a shock to have this little one come into our lives and not knowing how to take care of them really because I was older when I had him. I was 36 years old and I thought all he's come into my life now and I want to continue working but after three months of being home with him I decided this is it I am not going to go back to work. I'm going to take care of my little guy and that's what I did.

10:23 Can you miss something in that story about?

10:26 Having Billy at 15 years after we're married. Now. I say to me that that was part of the story that you forgot to tell is how this weekend. How did you get pregnant while we we took off a week or so?

10:40 It's been a week in New York with friends of ours and we got addicted to oysters On the Half-Shell. So are we eating those almost everyday? Both of us everyday against each other why she didn't sell it, but she thinks this is what caused her to become pregnant and I told him that we had to eat an awful lot of oysters and I felt ill coming back and so he examined me and he came out nice as well. You're going to have a little oyster.

11:16 The bathroom that's how I fought the oysters helped it along.

11:25 You were working up till that point. Yes, tell me about the jobs that you had and what you were doing started out actually it working for a finance loan company and then he was working for this press company and they needed a secretary so they called me and asked me to come in and hired me well from secretary. I was graduated to be a buyer which is a trim buyer making purchases of all of the items that went on a dress like buttons and lace and things like that. So I did that for 15 years.

12:06 And was at the same companies in business that you are at exactly. Yeah, I started up in that company. I had a little business going before that electrical business, but that went berserk, but then I looking for a job has really has someone had their

12:23 Looking for a sewing machine mechanic. I said hell I can't do that cuz I went there when I was a Navy I went to parachute school. So I knew how to repair parachutes and how to operate a sewing machine. So I applied for the job in that got us a sewing machine mechanic if the boss guy took a liking to him and I start out at $0.90 an hour and I think it through three weeks later. I got a dime raise at my got a dollar-an-hour big money back then.

12:49 Enter from the from then on Sunday. I like the job and I like the people I was working with try this out of my baby's time to go back to school. So I decided to try to get into college with that didn't graduate high school. So I thought I would just right Lawns accepted a small College in Aurora, Illinois and went there and I got my certificate and Engineering so became an Industrial Engineer and then I work at the company as on as an efficiency man. I guess I was doing all the time study most and studying setting piece rates for the we were all at 100% piece-rate setting all the piece right to do that kind of work.

13:28 And then you've been making dresses been making all those years. How is your neck and red dresses the fact you didn't actually make the dresses. I believe it or not. I was showing the girls how to how to run the machine so they could make the dress and the with 25 factories have worked up to the point where I became chief engineer of all the factories and then I want to look at the end to act as a vice president of the company.

13:57 And trying to factory that was a real challenge.

14:02 That that song that's my story and I'm going to stick to it. Is that is that company still in business know the company the company went out of business?

14:12 Just about five or six years before I retired.

14:17 They were robbed. I bought out by company in New York called rust arrest Hogs and the rest are eggs.

14:24 Would you are preparing concrete company? And they would Every Witch Way, they would come to Aurora to make sure everything's running straight and me they got they put me out of Rose. I was commuting between Aurora, Illinois Chicago and New York are does that he was all done in New York that I used to go to New York to work with the designers not this time out of house design anything but the show me the proper way to put a dress together. So it's pretty proficient in that that feeling so that's that's what's

14:55 All time, you're wearing a very decorated hat tell me about the decorated hat I'm wearing is.

15:06 Show the symbol of the USS Wasp. If it's just plain color underneath there by the USS Wasp was an aircraft carrier of the it was the Essex classic aircraft carrier and the plank order designation. I was one of the original crew when the ship is launched and it was Kristen as meth head. The person with Chris's was mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt.

15:29 And then from there we went through the Panama Canal.

15:33 Got a neighbor with your Hawaii.

15:38 Where we we got more training there.

15:41 And the radio

15:43 We got our air Groupon there and we ready for war. So the first times we had was that you I was Wake Island that's out of the out of the fish out of the Honolulu. And from there we went on to all the other Ivan's Peleliu said the Solomons Marianas, we would all those battles. Khawaja Lindsay and we talk if you read the book,

16:11 Kathy The Unbroken unbroken Jack to remember the book If you read the book Unbroken, I just see that the prison 21 prisoner-of-war is an army flyer. He was captured by the Japanese and he was held captive in the end we talk which is an item that we happen to.

16:30 Liberate after he was there and then we also liberated the other I love bugs and I think we're awesome jobs in the

16:42 The battle for the Philippines we were in both thousands of Luzon in the Manila Bay as a matter of fact for those for the liberation of those islands. We were given the

16:54 A coming up presidential Commendation on both of her twice once for the first part that much for the second part.

17:02 And Annette Annette Island. Are there in the war right after the war they they they made a movie there called. I was an American spy and that was with an old movie action fight event devorak. Probably you guys never heard of everything but she was an old time movie Gile you let one of their Glamour Girls with a Japanese for the Americans.

17:26 And then you see the movie you'll see probably the last scene in the movie shows a deck of the aircraft carrier, which is our ship. And if the other the subject you see the number 18 cv18 that was that was us so hard the whole shop movie without ownership. And so you were there for the christening I was there for the Christian. Did you did you see mrs. Roosevelt know she was there for the but Monday Christmas when we saw her voice and we saw her but we couldn't get near her right now. So you're in the Navy for 4 years, but it had a huge influence on you. I assume that whole experience influence you well it did it. Say it straight touching X young. Could you see a lot of lot of things anymore?

18:26 But I don't I can't and I don't know how to answer that.

18:32 I don't answer when you see the wars since the World War II what goes through your mind when really I thank God for the kamikazes.

19:00 They were devastating but before Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we didn't know where the time I found was but we do what we know what they are know how devastating they are. They say that they probably said we shouldn't have probably Dropped a Bomb in the first one on Hiroshima.

19:17 The Japanese verb

19:21 As as

19:23 I'm sure they were they would die to the end was led you can tell from the kamikazes have for coming after we got his back Kamikaze. We got hit by kamikaze and a 500 pound bomb simultaneously. So I was in Okinawa. So we were kind of put out of commission at that point there. And from there we

19:45 Try to have a long-standing in a very public with no see no shape to do that anymore. So we have all back to Pearl Harbor for repairs. But that was out of the question were hit too badly. And then he showed us to Bremerton Washington Bremerton Navy yard and being that I was already overseas almost four years my executive officer came down and asked me if I want to be relieved of Duty.

20:10 Hell yes, I do. I don't want to go back out of you. I went through the whole the whole world goes for years. I never got a scratch except a couple of fingers that word kind of mangle a little bit but nothing really serious like some of the guys you got.

20:27 And I didn't want to face that again.

20:31 Couple years ago you went on with his at the honor flights. Yes. There was that like those two years ago. You were there two years ago. And now that's a group of Chicago summer in Chicago. It's all over the country. Now, it's matter of fact, they take out all these World War 2 veterans. They pick him up in the morning 3 in the morning to reply and then they take it to Washington DC and if parties for y'all on the way of turn time you there if you spend the whole day in Washington going to the World War II Memorial going to the Vietnam memorial memorial and busy busy. It is these people supplied every world war with it with a a personal aide.

21:26 If you wanted one, luckily, I was able to walk and get around by myself. So I didn't have much use for any but I stayed with him. Anyway, most of the guys were in wheelchairs, but I was one of the few that was in a wheelchair. I guess I was just lucky there.

21:43 No intro your 90 Uncle Bill your 9292 just saying you're both in great shape. You're walking around driving to the city walking everywhere. What's the secret?

21:55 The secret is it well, so do you an hour an hour and a half every morning? I was stretching and running I run for 30 minutes run a jog little bit for 30 minutes and then I stood more skytech me now and have it all my workout every morning. I very rarely miss doing a date.

22:27 But but you been through far more than I could ever say, I mean you went through all of those battles.

22:36 Yum, and I I never had that I just I guess I my dad passed away at 93. So maybe I have the genes that are going to keep me going but you went through a lot and there are a lot of young people that don't even know about World War II. I wish they would start teaching that in school and you saved a lot of your Shipmates telling about everything else and my compartment in my quarters, right right below the flight deck and I was walking through the are going through through the my Battlestation of that time. Was he the one occurred on this?

23:36 Number three water curtain is isolate a certain part of the ship was sea water in case of ship is hitting the center. Well, then the boy records on both sides of that will be turned on to keep the water contained in that one little area where that was.

23:55 That was my station. That was one that was hit.

23:59 Don't complete the obliterate but I wasn't there cuz they did not sound teleport as we didn't know there was a cat attack coming, but the mice my station was completely blown apart.

24:12 And the only thing I remember walking across the across the hangar deck trying to get up the gangway up to the to the Parish of Loft.

24:22 And then when I open the door the bomb head and threw me into the compartment if I landed on my face not no injuries. I think some of them in the back of the back. I reached over it was a box of iodine with a picture of poison. That is that's the only thing I remember about that. It was funny that happen.

24:47 But I did help your Shipmates get out. I helped him get stuck in the game again plank a gangway going from one side of the ship the port side of the starboard side or left side says right side and they were yelling and I and I was doing that had a flashlight. So I got in there and I just let him out with the lightness or they came through and I never even thought about it until one day we were at a reunions and just one guy check his name is Jack osias. He was one of the guys I was in that thing when he heard that I was at the at the at that reunions of the first reason, I mean, I didn't know they were having him so he kept looking for my name on everybody that I didn't know what I was unaware of it so that when I finally got there and he looked at the Riu sign in and he saw the name.

25:42 Bill a video smaller Bill Simone and he's asking quite a few was there so and then the Joe is worth the hospital and then when I saw him at his eyes wanted to shake your hand if you let us out of that tub blacked out walkway on the ship when we were hit on my God. I said I was the first class petty officer. So I was going to a commission.

26:12 So that was why I was surprised that you would remember something like that. I didn't think it was that big a deal but he did he did you saved his life younger. It's receipts. He thought young. What was it like for you back home when this war was going on when you're young you just absolutely don't really think about it cuz you're not there and you don't see what's going on and I was working and I fought about him a lot but I didn't realize this serious trouble that they were in like any young person, you know, but I just thought well I'm in love and he'll be back and half-wits about it.

27:08 So I I just didn't realize how dangerous the all those boys were in that saved all of our lives.

27:18 And everybody was very very together on that war. Nobody was anywhere else like it is today.

27:31 Everybody that's what's so sad.

27:35 That were you getting messages letters because this was before internet before. Yes. I've got all of the letters that he sent to me on the ship were used to read a lot of onion skin real real thin and the first one starts out as dear Joe. How's the family nothing about me? Then the second one about the same thing about the third one? And the last one did say dear sweetheart. I finally got the love part. I think I might have 10 12 or

28:28 Is pretty hard writing letters in your quarters almost 24 hours a day and your eyes not on call every chance you get to try to jot down something or you try to sleep cuz you aren't they start at 3 in the morning that's enough for that flight operations started and we had to be up and everything else. So we are every time that we had a chance. We're kind of Allah and everything else. We've I would go on the Sonic on the catwalk above the water if I text him quite a bit above the water and this layout of a blanket there and just sleep on it irondrakes Denver and relaxing.

29:18 The Rancho back to your childhood you had an interesting experience growing up talk about that when I was growing up my parents, especially my mom wanted my sister and I to have a little culture so she put us in ballet school in and we were there for a couple years and then it was our doctor doctor West that bizarre doctor at the time. He had a daughter that taught the ballet so she thought I had a little potential as a ballet dancer and she came to my mother and dad and asked if she could take me to Paris France to study.

30:10 And at first they were apprehensive and then they decided that yes, she can go but they had to pay for half the expenses and it was a little tough. It was 1931. I was 6 years old and Mom and Dad both work two jobs.

30:33 And then they've got the money together. And finally I was on my way to Paris France in 1931. We went on the ship called but first we had to drive to New York. They drove me in the backseat of their car and actually the mother the father and the two sisters we all drove in the car and we got to New York overnight. We stayed at the New Yorker Hotel and the following day. We got on the ship El de France.

31:13 And that took 14 days to cross over so as a little girl, I remember part of it, but I don't remember all of it. I just remember I had a good time with all the other children that were on the ship and then we got to Paris and I was so lonely for my parents and my sister and brother. I I just was very unhappy, but they took me to the park every day and they took me to the classes and I enjoyed the ballet classes, but unfortunately, my heart wasn't really in it.

31:53 And soda help me get over this loneliness. They bought me what they thought was a French doll, and I still have her turned out to be she's an Italian doll and worth quite a bit of money. So that made me happy but I was supposed to stay a whole year one year and I only stayed three months. I just had to get back home. And in order to do that. I became a brat I did things that I wasn't supposed to do like break things that they have these French toilets that had the pole string and I yanked that one day and all the glass that was class on the ceiling in that flask came pouring down. Here's this little six-year-old stepping on the toilet and yanking that thing. I knew I was going to try to break it and it did.

32:52 And they came in and they said well, I think she really wants to go home after three months. However, I did have a contract with a ballet Russe which went home to my parents and they said my dad especially an old Italian. No way you're not leaving this house. So that was the end of my although I did continue dancing. I danced at the beach hotel in Orange Beach beach hotel for quite a while. And then I did Dancing in our area in the Fox Valley. I danced for a couple of companies that my dad had worked for I entertained quite a while and then decided I think I've had it and that was the end of my dancing days.

33:52 I thought you're dancing continued at the YMCA. And when we got to California that I joined the Y and there were a teen girls that were taking tap lessons and we entertained all the home people to poor people in his retirement homes and really enjoy but they the age limit was like from 40 to 80 and now they're all gone. I'm the only one left. I can't believe it.

34:30 No, but you're still not really really retired. You still working when you go to California. We spend eight nine months a year in California and my son is it in construction their showroom everything else and I work in the office. I'm actually I'm a gofer I would do anything for the needed some of the run-around to get the car gas stop to get the car washed are the do some minor errand or something but I got national office that much bigger than this patient here. I got my computer there and all my personal stuff there I go there I go to the office every day and enjoy being around people and I enjoyed being around my son, especially

35:16 And my daughter-in-law works there also, so I'm close to the close to both of them.

35:21 I do that for days a week 5 days a week and 1 day a week, which is Thursday. I'm at the airport LAX Airport. I volunteer there one day a week. I've been doing that for 2324 years.

35:36 My job is to help help Travelers. Travis really want to know how to get here how to get their best way to do this if it's waiting for that or they might have but you might have a runaway who needs of a shelter for the night or something to eat or some money or we can take care of that too. And I'm going to get a lot of that and I enjoyed it but doing it for 22 23 years smells like I should be there today. This is my day. So you watch do you get to watch your son bill and his business? He's a 6A School construction company and also a finance company. He's got a big finance company now that is doing really well and he's he's president for both of them in.

36:26 Question

36:27 I don't know where you got it from. This is real sharp in business is real shopping finances. So I'm happy for that. He's also was entrepreneur of the Year remodeling magazine. That's past year. He was the winner of the whole industry in the United States have been made the cover of the magazine front page cover sheet. I should say so you get to see him firsthand everyday or as many days as you're there besides being sharpened Finance. What do you think makes him? So successful? I think he's he doesn't talk a lot. But he's he's goal oriented. I mean he just in case a busy as I was like that too as an are you going to talk I can talk to me. I should I take over a little bit of that. But but he said he's got a good crew or real top-notch crew.

37:27 And I expect somebody was a job and then they leave him alone in this mess with them. It's your job to it may also started from when we first started the business SOB by Joe and I work in the office with no don't answer but Bill and Joe and I and we were who is doing small jobs in south-central not the best neighborhood in Los Angeles probably the worst neighborhood in the whole country, but he will be going there and doing night interviews for jobs different things like that. So you can see how to get an appointment. He's going to bring back a contract and then I was doing the show was doing all the bookwork and I was doing the solar swing and telephone step one of the people that call us now you coming over here in your butt?

38:23 And you said earlier is one of things you wished for was the schools would teach more about World War II and that you think that today there are things we take for granted there is what are those?

38:40 I think

38:42 Ira our freedom, I think we take that for granted and

38:49 I think we took almost everything for granted. I think they are the people is in this country.

38:56 They don't date. They just want to a free ride. I mean, they don't they don't want to go out and work like we did they would people say what was not do what we did as kids.

39:11 Just to get the food that mouth. I can bring some food home to the family. They would not do that today. They expect the government to take care of this and then take care of everything that you want to go from the from the womb to the tomb and the government which I think is wrong. I think that that's party really bothers me because I know I see you people like my son and his shoe at the other working and now we got the whole crew are always pretty much Hispanics, but they're all legal and how do you treat them? Good they work with their damn good workers and their in Toronto stand there and let me hear you depend on them.

39:50 And so do you think we take anything for granted?

39:55 I think this generation coming up is taking things. They just are not aware of previous years the temper and I don't think the parents of these kids are giving them the background that they should have unfortunately.

40:21 I I feel really bad about that because a person like my husband who fought for their freedom. It is just thrown in the trash and they don't realize that I we really can't blame them because they haven't been raised like we raised our children with values and goals and hard work you can get anywhere in this world, but they don't have that. So I really don't know who to blame the parents or the schools in that way you get the school should not raise your children. You should raise your children.

41:04 And unfortunately, that's not being done. They're losing out.

41:12 You leaving for California in a short time? What are you what are you looking forward to when you get back there with the first thing to do when you get back to California unload the truck?

41:24 I'll probably sleep a couple hours. The time change does make a difference. I'm even though it's only two hours, but then we'll probably have to do a little grocery shopping and I usually our son is there when we when we get there, but he's not going to be there. He's going to be in Italy up at a wedding on his wife side cousin that's getting married in Italy. So he's going to be gone a couple refrigerator with my daughter-in-law volume pot of soup a good homemade soup for us and then you got all the other things. We need their vegetables cereals and milk and all the Staples in juice. So they say we don't have to do it this weekend and shopping.

42:21 I just coming into Friday night to a bar tonight. I might come in the airport and pick him up. He's just know Dad you're not going to do that with my granddaughter is coming in. Also, usually what will hire hire a limo to come out. I'll pick you up there. Cuz you know, I don't want you come out of the night that my God every truth is like we're kids, you know, it's reverse now, but thank you both very much. Thank you. Thank you. It's been a pleasure husband. Thanks.