POWERGRAMS

4 For Kenneth Teal, World War II and the Korean War seem light years away, but his military service remains among his cherished memories. "I had just finished up Clio High School in Barbour County when I was drafted in February 1944," said Teal, 92. The draft began Teal's 21-year military career and a tour of the Pacific Ocean, including Australia, Borneo, China, Guam, Japan and the Philippines. Getting drafted into the U.S. Army at 18, Teal learned important life lessons about the value of hard work and the discipline required by the military, and gained technical skills that helped working at Alabama Power. In 1944, a loaf of bread cost 10 cents, a gallon of gas was 15 cents and the average house was about $3,500. WWII was on the tip of everyone's tongue, and Teal wanted to be part of the action. "I wanted to go. I thought everyone else was going, and it was my duty to go, too," Teal said. From 1944 to 1946, he trained at Fort McClellan in Anniston; Fort McPherson in Atlanta; and Camp Crowder in Neosho, Missouri. "Afterward, they sent a group of us to heavy-equipment school in Camp Wood, New Jersey," Teal said. "They trained us to do jungle stuff, clearing land with a bulldozer. We cleared a big farm in Ronson, New Jersey, to prepare us for work overseas." From there, he went to Camp Maxey, an advanced infantry training camp in Paris, Texas. "We cut through woods, cutting logs and building rafts to float vehicles across the river – the things we'd do overseas," Teal said. "But I got hurt there when one of the trees we were lifting got away and hit me in the back." Teal was checked at the hospital. About a month later, he was transferred to the 398th Service Squadron in the Army Air Corps at Ephrata Army Air Field, near Seattle. He was fortunate to never see combat. "The war ended while I was over there," Teal said. "When I left in December 1946, I was a sergeant." In April 1946, Teal married his sweetheart, Maxine, who grew up a few blocks away from him. Teal's two-year Army stint whet his desire to further serve his country. After receiving an honorable discharge, he joined the Navy, which was his true dream. "I'd rather swim than wander through the jungle or fall out of a plane," Teal said with a laugh. In 1950, when the Korean War broke out, Teal served on the USS Helena, a heavy cruiser that was the Navy's third ship named for the city of Helena, Montana. "I was in the engineering department, always below deck in the engine room," Teal said. "We threw shells at the beach, shelling the coastline wherever the troops were, helping our soldiers evade the enemy. "We never stopped working on the ship," he said. "Three crews worked around the clock, the ship never stopped." Teal left Army for Navy career pre-APC Teal and wife, Maxine, were married 59 years.

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