World War II Navy Vet Looks Back on a Well-Lived Life

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, John Fisher was a 14-year-old boy living in the borough of Saxton. Four years later he found himself on a ship just off the coast of Japan, loading torpedoes onto submarines and sending them off to fight the empire.

Born in Saxton in 1927, Fisher grew up in the grips of the Great Depression. Although his father worked sporadically for the Huntingdon and Broad Top Railroad, medical issues forced him into early retirement, which made for some lean times for the family.

"My father was disabled, and this was before the days of Social Securit...