Jacqueline Bishop was born in March 1930 in Baltimore, Maryland. Her father was an electrician. During the Depression [Annotator's Note: Great Depression; a global economic depression that lasted through the 1930s], there were no jobs. He saw a sign that electricians were needed in the Panama Canal [Annotator's Note: Manmade canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in between North and South America]. He had to sign a two-year contract. The family moved to Panama in 1936 and lived along the Pacific coast. Her father did the electrical work on the canal itself, and also worked with the mules to get ships through the canal. It was beautiful living there because it was summertime year-round. Bishop was bussed from her town to high school. She was 11 years old and outside playing when she heard about Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. They could not have lights on along the coast at night. They had to paint their car headlights black. They had air raid shelters and civil defense leaders. They collected tin foil for the war effort. Gasoline and certain foods were rationed. They did not get butter or real milk. Civilian guards would get on the ship and be on it until the ship made it through the Canal. She was scared her father would not make it home when he went to work. The church had youth groups. The soldiers who were stationed there would attend the church. The USO [Annotator's Note: United Service Organizations] would host dances. The young women were chaperoned into the dances. They would dance with the soldiers. The soldiers loved hearing what state the girls were from.

Jacqueline Bishop was 15 or 16 years old when she became a USO girl [Annotator's Note: United Service Organizations]. She would dance with the soldiers and would meet them when they docked. She would serve coffee and donuts. The mothers helped more with the volunteer work than the girls did. The Red Cross [Annotator's Note: Red Cross, an international non-profit humanitarian organization] would make an appearance when the ships came in. The main thing the soldiers wanted to do was talk to people from home. The USO sent celebrities to the troops. Bob Hope [Annotator's Note: Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope KBE; British-American entertainer who was famous for entertaining American troops serving overseas during World War 2, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War] made an appearance. Bishop got to see his performance. Her family would invite soldiers to their home for dinners. The soldiers were grateful to be in a family atmosphere and eat good food. The war changed her life because she would have just been in high school instead of being in high school and volunteering for the soldiers. She saw an aircraft carrier that had been bombed. She got to ride on a battleship through the canal [Annotator's Note: the Panama Canal, a manmade canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in between North and South America]. The first year they went to Panama [Annotator’s Note: 1936], her youngest brother was born. They had a baseball field in their town. A barrage balloon was set up in the middle of the baseball field.

Jacqueline Bishop was extremely excited when the war ended. She was 15 years old. She remembers it was VJ-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945]. Many of the troops left and went home. She graduated from high school when she was 18 years old and went to work for the military that was stationed there. She did not go to college. She was a secretary for the Army for about four years before moving to the States [Annotator’s Note: United States]. Her father retired at 62 years old. Her family returned to Maryland. Her husband was in the Marine Corps and fought during the Okinawa Campaign [Annotator’s Note: the Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, 1 April to 22 June 1945; Okinawa, Japan]. After he got out of the service, her husband took a job as a civilian guard at the Panama Canal [Annotator's Note: a manmade canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in between North and South America] and that is how Bishop met him. He was in the Marine Reserves. Her younger brother joined the Air Force when he turned 18. Her brother served in Vietnam [Annotator's Note: Vietnam War, or Second Indochina War, 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975]. Bishop got married in 1961. Both their children were born in the Canal Zone. All the people in the Canal Zone were very patriotic. She is disappointed with the lack of patriotism in the country today. She loves her country and she does not like the direction it is going. Young people today do not have an interest in the war and the cost of freedom.