Jim Ball Is September Veteran Of The Month

By Doug KapkeJames T. Ball was named Jefferson County’s Veteran of the Month for September. In addition, he was presented with a Quilt of Valor and a patriotic wall hanging made by Marley Rosener.Jim Ball was born July 20, 1946, in Mondamin, Iowa. His father supported his wife, four sons and two daughters over the years by working in a hardware store, being an auto mechanic and eventually working heavy equipment construction. Young Jim attended kindergarten and part of the first grade in Mondamin and finished the remainder of grade school and high school at Logan Magnolia Community Schools in Logan, Iowa. He took general course work in high school, played football and basketball one year and graduated in 1964. After graduation, Ball began working at the Snow Company in Omaha, which specialized in constructing farm equipment. Prior to cabs on tractors, Snow Company was the world’s largest producers of tractor umbrellas. While employed at Snow Company, Ball enlisted in the Naval 120 Day Delay Reserve Program in order to be with his family for Christmas, 1965.Basic Training began February 2, 1966, for 13 weeks at San Diego, California, and an additional training for 13 weeks in “Aviation Fundamentals” at Memphis, Tennessee. The next schooling was 24 weeks of training in “Electronic Countermeasures” (ECM). ECM systems gear was used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting information to an enemy.In early 1967, Ball was assigned to Virginia Beach, Virginia Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana Base for basic shop duties and later assigned to do intermediate maintenance on aviation electronics. Soon after, he and his squadron were assigned to Norfolk, Virginia, to the USS Forrestal Aircraft Carrier, the first carrier from the east coast to go to Vietnam. On July 29, 1967, while serving in the Gulf of Tonkin, during the Vietnam War, an electrical fire caused a rocket from an F-4B Phantom to fire into another aircraft, spilling flammable jet fuel across the flight deck causing seven 1,000 pound bombs, several missiles and smaller bombs to explode. The ship survived but 134 crewmen were killed and another 161 were injured. Total damage was estimated in excess of $72,000,000.00. The USS Forrestal traveled to the Philippines for repair at the Subic Naval Operation Base before returning to Norfolk, Virginia. At some point, Ball and two other crew members were flown back to the Philippines to work on top secret aviation gear that they were qualified to repair. Eventually they reunited with their crew when the USS Kitty Hawk Carrier returned to the Gulf of Tonkin for a second tour of the Vietnam War during August and September, 1966.ATN-2 (E-5) James Ball was honorably discharged at Virginia Beach, Virginia October 3, 1971. While serving his Country Ball was the recipient of: National Defense Service Medal; Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; Vietnam Service Medal with three Bronze Stars; and Republic of Vietnam Medal with Device. Ball immediately returned to Logan, Iowa, and began working for Snow Company in Omaha from 1971 to 1983. He married his wife, Betty, in 1974, attended one year of heating and air conditioning school and worked in the heating and air conditioning business in Council Bluffs, Iowa, for about five years.In 1990, Ball moved his wife, son and daughter to Fort Calhoun, where he worked for the Wilkinson Industries Company, noted for the manufacture of plastic food containers. Ball worked on the extrusion line where plastic sheets were formed.Ball’s wife passed in 2006 and he retired in 2008, sold his home and moved his camper and boat to Table Rock Lake near Cassville, Missouri, where he enjoyed fishing and house setting for two friend’s homes and property. In November, 2023, Jim moved to Fairbury to be closer to his son. Over the years, Jim has enjoyed mushroom hunting, camping, boating, fishing and been active in his church wherever he lived, has been a member of the American Legion in Fort Calhoun and Cassville, Missouri. He is a current member of American Legion Post 24 in Fairbury. Jim is a life member of the VFW and has served as Commander, Senior Vice-Commander, Junior Vice-Command and Adjutant of Post 5637 in Calhoun and is currently the Junior Vice-Commander of VFW Post 3113 in Fairbury.

Lois A. Koenig

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