The start of World War II | Teen Ink

The start of World War II

December 10, 2018
By Anonymous

My name is William (Will) Jones and I am from the Boston, Massachusetts located in the United States of America. I am currently 20 years old and I am turning 21 really soon.

My father is a veteran and served in the army when he was a young man  My father is still helping in the army today. He is the head of selective service and wants me to be in the army when I turn 21.

Will is not really feeling like he would like to go into the air force. But the thought of carrying around a gun and trying to kill someone is not what I am about.

“What does it take to be in the air force”? Said Will.

“Many things boy,” Said Mr. Jones.

“How did you feel when you were in the air force not knowing where you would ever end up?" asked Will.

“Well son, I never thought I would enlist in the air force because the thought of battle scared me,” Mr. Jones said.

“Well, Dad I don’t know if I still want to be in the air force,” Will said.

“Well, you have to make up your mind because you are turning 21 soon,” Mr. Jones said.


That night, Will sat down, really frightened while eating his perfectly cooked pork chop with a side of vegetable soup and a slice of baked bread. Will spent the whole night in a bad mood because he was frightened that he would get “drafted” into the air force through the selective service.

That night Mr. Jones and Will had an honest discussion on what the selective service was.

“The Selective Service is a system used in the United States to draft young people into the armed services. Young men between the age of 21 to 45 are required to fill out forms to be drafted into the selective service, Mr. Jones had stated.”

Will woke up with a feeling that he had never felt before. Will had felt very energetic and ready to rock but a little nervous. That morning Will had been informed that he was going to his local town council to register for the draft. It was a really long process from start to finish.

During the entire registration process, Will was interested to know how many people had registered for the draft so far? Will was curious to know how many of his friends were registered. Then Will's Mom, Mrs. Jones, asked Will in a very calm voice if he wanted to go grab some breakfast at the best place in town.

Poor Will did not want to eat and all he wanted was to go home and play hopscotch with his friend in the backyard. He invited his best friend Ryan over to play hopscotch and to throw the baseball. Baseball was their favorite sport. Will would not want to be with anyone else other than Ryan.

Ryan and Will have had the best experiences with each other. They have been friends since 2nd grade. Every day they had hopscotch tournaments and played in the yard with the neighbors. A couple of days after Will and his mother went to register for the selective service Will

and his family got a message from the United States saying "thank you" for registering and you will receive a letter in the mail if you are chosen from the lottery to attend the military.


“Dad today, September 1, 1939, Hitler just invaded Poland”. Will said.

“Oh my god”, Mr. Jones said.

“I wonder if a war is going to break out”, Will stated.

“I mean you never know”, Mr. Jones said.

Today is September 16, 1940, and today is that first day that they are introducing the selective service in the United States because their allies are getting attacked.  

Suddenly, that same day the Jones family gets a letter from the government saying that William Jones has been selected to serve in the United States Air Force. Will was stunned, but at the same time he took it in as a compliment. His face lit up and he smiled. He felt really accomplished because he was chosen out of the 50 million people that registered for the service.

Will got instructions as to where to go to train. William’s first day, he went to his local draft board and got a physical to see if he was eligible to attend war. A couple of days later, William was sent to go to Fort Banks to train in Massachusetts.

As William walked through the gates, his eyes started to glow. Quickly, as he walked through the gate, he suddenly met his fellow soldiers who would help him out and guide him around for the day. As they gave him all of his equipment he suddenly felt like he was special and worthy of it all.

A couple days later, William was getting settled in his barracks.

“William, let's go push it. If you want to be in the military, then you have to work for it”, William’s ambassador yelled.

“I’m new I don’t know how to do any of this yet,” screamed Will.

“It does not matter, get to work,” William’s ambassador yelled.

Right off the bat, Will had known that guy was a jerk. Everytime Will would see him walking around he always gave him the stink eye.

“Everybody up,” William’s ambassador yelled.

“What? but it is only 5:00 am in the morning,” Will said.

“Everyday you are waking up this early, but the first couple days we eased it down,” William’s ambassador yelled.

“Down 1, up 1, down 2, up 2,…” screamed the Cadets.

William Jones is struggling to get all of his work done because all of these guys have been doing it for longer than he has.

“You're out of shape," screamed Will’s ambassador.

Every night, Will would go back to his barracks and cry because he wanted to go home but he knew he had to stay and work hard.

446 days later- December 6th, 1941

Today was a really great day for Will. He had been named the hardest worker of the cadets. He is really proud of himself. All of his hard work had finally all paid off. He felt ready and up to the task for anything.

1 day later- December 7th, 1941

“William Jones, hop in let's go fight the Japanese. Their fighter jets and airplanes made a surprise attack on the US Navy in Pearl Harbor. They have destroyed many ships and killed many soldiers so far and we gotta go fight and help,” Screamed Will’s Ambassador.

5,021 Miles Later- December 7th, 1941 ( At Night)

“Jones, left the side of the barrier, 220 meters away,” said the sniper.

Jones seemed very worried because it was his first flight, but he knew inside of him that he could do it. Will is being very cautious and aware of where everyone is due to the fact that he has witnessed his fellow cadets getting shot.

Will had trained over the course of many many months and today he had to show his skills vs the Japenese. One thing that Will did not really practice and work on was the way of dropping bombs. When he thought about it he worried about the people on the ground. Jones worried about missing the targets and killing innocent people.

From the air, Will had seen many sailors drowning and ships sinking. Will was frightened. But Will knew that he could finish the job. He also knew that all of his dedication would pay off. It turned out that the US ended up beating the Japenese.



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This article has 1 comment.


DJAlyss GOLD said...
on Jan. 5 2019 at 8:04 pm
DJAlyss GOLD, El,paso, Texas
12 articles 1 photo 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
Practice doesn't make perfect,
Practice makes Permanent

Wow, amazing story!! This is absolutely great!