To celebrate local resident James Currie Jr.’s 98th birthday last week, his family surprised him with 98 balloons.

Currie served as a member of the 4th Naval Construction Battalion, the Seabees, in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

After being drafted at the age of 18 into the U.S. Army in 1943, Currie’s failed eye exam caused him to switch to the Merchant Marines. After enlisting with the Marines, Currie was quickly drafted into his position with the Navy.

Currie received his training and served as a courier at Camp Peary in Williamsburg, Va. Currie also received his advanced training at Pearl Harbor. Currie’s 4th Naval Construction Battalion was the first group of Seabees to depart the United States for service in 1944.

Submitted photos James Currie Jr. celebrated his 98th birthday on Nov. 3. Currie was surprised with 98 balloons by his family to celebrate.

As part of the Seabees, Currie completed various construction projects on the Pacific Island of Guam from September 1944 to July 1945. The construction projects included Guam’s Apra Harbor and the airfields that serviced the B-29 bombers in the Pacific.

After completing projects in Guam, Currie was stationed at Okinawa during a critical point in World War II. The Seabees’ construction projects at Okinawa included supply depots, hospitals, harbor facilities, a road system, seaplane bases, tank farms and encampments. Currie was one of almost 55,000 Seabees from four brigades to participate in the work at Okinawa.

Prior to the 4th Naval Construction Battalion’s deactivation in 1945, Currie survived the devastating Typhoon Louise on Oct. 9, 1945.

In April 1946, Currie was officially discharged from the Navy and returned to Jamestown. In the years following his service, he has been an active member of the Henry Mosher American Legion Post 638.

During Currie’s time in the service, he achieved the rank of Fireman First Class in the Navy.

In 2019, the American Legion post officially recognized Currie’s 95th birthday and his service to his country.

“James Currie Jr. served his nation in the most honorable of ways and has been a faithful member of Henry Mosher American Legion Post 638 for 50 years, after his most honorable discharge from the United States Navy in April 194,” they said.

Legion Commander Roger Bingham Jr. described Currie as a “very nice gentleman.”

“He doesn’t get the chance to stop in as often lately, as he’s become a little older,” Bingham said, “but it’s always great to see him when he does stop in. We’re very proud and glad to have him.”

In addition to his service to the United States and his active involvement in the Legion, Currie has lived a life of dedication and adventure.

ADVENTURE SEEKER

Laurie Proia, Currie’s daugther, said her father was always in search of adventure.

“He’s always liked adventure,” she said. “When he was young, he had motorcycles, much to my grandma’s demise. Then he was interested in scuba diving as a hobby, and then he loved parachuting. Those things would all make a mother pray I’m sure.”

Currie’s parents, James and Jessie, and his brother, Andrew, arrived from Scotland. Currie was born in Jamestown on Nov. 11, 1924. He attended Lakin Avenue Elementary School, Lincoln Jr. High School and Jamestown High School, prior to being drafted in World War II.

Currie was married to Marilyn Steward for 56 years before her passing in 2004. He has four children, 11 grand-children and four great-grandchildren.

An active member of his community, Currie has resided at his current house on Garfield Road for 69 years.

Currie’s career included work with Art Metal, Marlin Rockwell and Blackstone. He was a member of the research and development division at Blackstone and worked n prototype radiator designs for automotive companies, including the Cummins supercharged diesel engines.

An avid scuba diver, Currie was part of the Warren Scuba Dive and Recovery Team. In addition to his scuba diving adventures, Currie was an avid skydiver and parachute enthusiast. Continuing his adventures late into his life, Currie even hiked the Grand Canyon at the age of 84.

Proia, said her father’s birthday celebration is very special this year, especially considering the health challenges Currie overcame during the summer months.

Currie tested positive for COVID-19 two different times during the summer and ended up in the hospital three times.

“We’re just thankful to have him,” Proia said.

A MISSED GENERATION

As the daughter of a military member, Proia said his service had a profound impact on their family.

“I think we’re more thankful for the military than we might have been if we had not had a dad in World War II,” she said. “We’re more mindful perhaps of the importance of having a military. We miss that generation.”

Proia said her father’s “sense of adventure” carried into their family’s daily life. She said he enjoyed traveling and visited several national monuments on trips out west with her mom.

Currie’s son, Scott Currie, said his father’s skydiving exploits resulted in a memorable moment for the family.

“He once jumped from the plane over his home on Garfield Road for his daughter’s birthday party,” he said. “His main parachute became tangled and his emergency parachute wrapped around the entangled main parachute. Fortunately, he landed safely, missing the neighbors pond and landing in his vegetable garden. All this while the young birthday girl and party goers chased him down through the fields, laughing and cheering.”

Proia said that her father remained active until recently, even walking the length of Garfield Road each day to wave at people going by on the street.

She said people can live up to her father’s example in the community by being “honest” and helping others in need.

“Honesty would be really important,” she said. “To do as much as they can do, and if they have an ability to help someone else that they would also do that, to think of someone other than themselves.”