Like many second world war veterans VanKirk didn’t talk much about his service until much later in his life when he spoke to school groups, his son said. He later moved from California to the Atlanta area to be near his daughter. Then he went to school, earned degrees in chemical engineering and signed on with DuPont, where he stayed until he retired in 1985.

VanKirk stayed on with the military for a year after the war ended. But if anyone has one,” he added, “I want to have one more than my enemy.”