Lowcountry WWII veteran reflects on wartime days before milestone birthday
FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCSC) - With only a couple thousand World War II veterans still alive across the country, one Lowcountry veteran reflects on his life as he’s less than two weeks from turning 100.
WWII veteran Forrest Neely resides on Folly Beach but was born in Detroit, Michigan. He spent a lot of his childhood in Copperhill, Tennessee, which he refers to as “home.”
Neely worked under a few job titles, such as a shoe shiner and a banker, before heading to Tennessee Wesleyan Junior College in 1942. When he and a couple of friends thought about joining the Navy less than a year after Pearl Harbor, a recruiter had talked them into trying out for Navy Flight School.
“I guess everybody kind of looked on it as an adventure,” Neely said. “It didn’t turn out to be an adventure, of course. We lost – what? 477,000 something.”
Soon after, Neely started flight training at the Naval Air Station in Millington, Tennessee, a few miles outside of Memphis and attended pre-flight school at the University of Georgia. He traveled to various states for different training and ended up at the University of South Carolina to continue more mental and physical training.
He describes how rough the physical training was, adding that he went from 147 pounds in August to 195 pounds in December in the same year when he was at the University of Georgia.
“We grew up in those four – well, in my case – four and a half years,” Neely said. “That was one big impact. We learned to be independent, pretty much, other than we knew to take orders.”
From there, Neely took his first solo flight in 1944. In total, he served in the Navy from 1942-1946 and spent most of his time serving in the Philippine Islands.
“Strictly working on aircrafts,” Neely said. “Engines and all. Getting to learn an airplane front to back.”
He did not spend any of his time in actual combat.
“I look back on it, probably saved my life,” Neely said. “Because some of the kids that I knew didn’t get to make it back.”
After his time in the war, Neely met his late wife, Jean Meyer, and got married four months later. They eventually had two daughters, Debbie and Mitzi, as they moved a couple of times through different job changes.
Neely says he built around 70 houses across the Charleston area and helped build the outer perimeter of the Country Club of Charleston. In 2020, he visited Mitzi right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and he never left. They now both reside in one of the homes he once built on Folly Beach.
“Physically, I feel as good as I did when I was 30 or 40 years old,” Neely said.
He adds if it weren’t for his balance and having to use a walker, he would be walking everywhere. The only physical ailments that came from his time in service is some partial hearing loss from gun training.
“Being mighty blessed to be here at this age after going through war and all and everything else, you know,” Neely said.
As he approaches his 100th birthday on June 6, he reflects on what’s kept his life so full for so long.
“My life for many, many years has been this: I live today,” Neely said. “Today. Just today. Because I don’t know and none of us know whether tomorrow is going to be here.”
And gives advice to others.
“Live today, don’t worry about tomorrow and love everybody,” Neely said.
He tells the story of how one of his friends at the American Legion had never heard the phrase, “That’s life.” When Neely had said that to him once, the friend thought it was funny enough that he brought Neely a white baseball cap with the phrase embroidered on it in black stitching.
He laughs when trying it on.
“Ain’t that something,” Neely said. “‘That’s life.’”
In the last few years alone, Neely has participated in the WWII Honor Flight, received the Quilt of Valor from Athens Legion Auxiliary in Georgia and received the key to the City of Folly Beach in 2020.
He says he looks forward to celebrating his milestone birthday next week surrounded by his family and friends.
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