Carl Mackey of Montezuma, Kansas entered the army at the age of eighteen in 1944, just before the end of WWII. He went to basic training at Ft. Hood, TX. On his way to fighting in the war, his troop carrier stopped in Hawaii for a two-week training on how to survive in the jungles. He was sent to Saipan where 25,000 Japanese civilians and soldiers committed suicide by jumping off Banzai Cliff as ordered by the Japanese Emperor.

On Okinawa, the company commander from C Company came back and selected about 70 replacements to fill the slots for those that had been killed or wounded from the previous weeks. Carl was selected to be a machine gunner. Carl told his commander, 'I don't want to be a machine gunner.' The commander asked why not and Karl replied, 'Machine gunners don't last very long; the Japanese will do anything to get rid of a machine gunner.' His commander told him, 'If you live the first three days, you will have made it.' There was a tent where a priest was available to give the last rites before soldiers began fighting. Out of the five, Carl was the only one to survive.

After Okinawa, Carl was sent to Cebu, Philippines in preparation for the Japanese invasion of Tokyo. Following the dropping of the atomic bombs, he then went to Hokkaido to aid in the US occupation, then down to Tokyo. When the war was over, he drove a truck and hauled supplies to military camps and saw some beautiful parts of Japan. In Nov. 1946, Carl sailed to San Francisco Bay and received his honorable discharge from the army at Camp Beale. Carl returned to Montezuma, KS and married Vera Mae Steward. Together, they farmed for about 30 years. Retired from farming, they moved to Dodge City, KS where they lived for 25 years. Carl was active in VFW Honor Guard and received a certificate for his 332 Veteran's flag and funeral services. In 2912, Carl and Vera Mackey moved to Chapman, KS where they still reside today.