JOHN & JANIS BELL • VIETNAM WAR
John Bell, 82 & Janis Bell, 81
Gloucester, MA
Born: 1/29/1943 (John) & 6/10/1944 (Janis)
Born/Raised: Gloucester (John)/Various (Janis)
Service: US Army & American Red Cross
Unit: Quartermaster Corps, 8th Army South Korea
Rank: Captain (John)
Dates of Service: 1966-1968
The son of Mighty-Mac company treasurer, and the daughter of a Presbyterian minister, landed in Korea during the Vietnam war under very different circumstances, but their meeting would lead to a 56-year marriage, three children, five grandchildren and a lifetime of service to their community.
John Bell, son of Harold & Elizabeth, grew up in Gloucester, graduated from Gloucester High School in 1961, was in the ROTC program and captain of the tennis team. He graduated from William & Mary College where he studied political science and continued in the ROTC. Janis Rose’s family moved up and down the Eastern Seaboard where her father, the Rev. Cecil Rose, established new churches, eventually becoming the Dean of Curry College. She graduated from Maryville College in Tennessee.
John was called up for service in 1966 and stationed at the ASCOM Depot in Bupyeong District near Incheon, Korea as part of the Quartermaster’s Corps. The depot was responsible for testing gear/equipment and providing critical resupply to troops in Vietnam. As a captain, John oversaw a section of the Depot.
After graduating from college, Janis wanted to see the Far East. A friend’s mother suggested the American Red Cross where she signed up to be a “Donut Dolly.” She originally volunteered for Vietnam, “I was trying to be a hero,” but her mother, Helen, intervened and she was routed to Korea instead. She was struck by the abject poverty in Korea.
There were 38,000 troops in Korea at the time. Janis and the other three dozen Dollies lived in Quonset huts and would travel throughout northern South Korea visiting various troop locations and hospitals with jeeps full of donuts and hot coffee. They met and talked with soldiers flown in from Vietnam recovering from physical and emotional wounds. “I began to realize that the wounds were deep.”
The pair met at the ASCOM Officer’s Club during lunch. John asked Janis whether she’d ever been to Cape Ann. “You mean Cape Cod?” “No, the better Cape.” The pair started dating and after they both returned to the US, Janis in 1967 and John in 1968, they married. Janis taught elementary school in Attleboro and Rockport schools, became a realtor, and a tourism director. John worked as CEO in direct marketing with CPS Direct for 40 years. They raised their children, Robbie, Rebecca and Bret in Gloucester.
John served on the Gloucester City Council for two terms in the 1970s as a Ward 1 councilor and as council president helping to successfully guide the city’s first Charter Commission. In the early 2000s he served three terms as Mayor during which he was a vocal advocate for work-force housing and Gloucester’s fishing community. Both remain deeply committed to service in Gloucester in various volunteer roles. Janis regularly volunteers at the Trinity Thrift Shop, the Middle Street Walk and numerous other groups. John and Janis deliver meals for The Open Door using their “date night” as another opportunity to serve their community.