Jesse Reynolds

Jesse Reynolds is a Navy man who served aboard several destroyers including the U.S.S. MacDonald, U.S.S. Radford and U.S.S. Haynsworth. These 1500-ton ships required a lot of manpower to keep clean and in good working order. Jesse remembers rising every day with the sun to wash, wipe and paint the ship to keep it in tip-top condition. At one point, Jesse was made a ship’s cook. He fondly recalls the very first meal he prepared on board – fried potatoes and fried chicken. Jesse also remembers the time pressure of needing to put together lunch and dinner for a ship full of hungry men. In all, Jesse served 7 1/2years in the U.S. Navy.

In honor of the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Jesse Reynolds was honored as Missouri's oldest living Pearl Harbor survivor and made this inspiring video about Jesse and his story: Click here to view on Youtube.