Vernon Cummings was born in Mimico, Canada in March 1926. He was born an American citizen because his father was working for an American company in Canada. There were six children in the family. In 1933, in the depths of the Great Depression, Cumming's father lost his job and moved the family back to Fort Wayne, Indiana. His father found work digging ditches with the WPA [Annotator's Note: Works Progress Administration was a New Deal organization designed to provide work for the Depression era American unemployed]. Cummings says it was hard for his father to go from a top job to the bottom during the Depression, but it made better people out of the whole family. Cummings attended Central High School and studied mechanical drawing and machine shop. The Navy recruiters were very interested in people with that type training. Cummings enlisted in the Navy in February 1944 and was given a deferral until 8 June 1944 to allow him to finish high school.

After five weeks of boot camp, Vernon Cummings was given leave and then reported for mechanical training at Great Lakes, Illinois and later to diesel training in Richmond, Virginia. In late January 1945, Cummings boarded a troop train to San Francisco where he boarded a transport ship to Ulithi [Annotator's Note: Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands]. Ulithi was a large atoll with no piers but had an excellent anchorage for the fleet to refuel and rearm. While in Ulithi waiting for assignment, Cummings watched the fleet come in after the pre-landing bombardment of Iwo Jima. The next day, Cummings was assigned to the USS Indiana (BB-58) as a Fireman 1st Class. It was January 1945. In mid-February, the Indiana set out to cover the landings on Iwo Jima. Cummings recalls the Indiana being assigned to carrier Task Force 58. Enemy aircraft were targeting the aircraft carriers in particular since they were doing so much damage to the Japanese. The task force was composed of two carriers protected by two battleships which in turn were protected by four cruisers and 16 destroyers. That was the composition of Task Force 58.3. There were three more task forces the same size. The Navy was obviously very strong at that point.

Vernon Cummings' ship [Annotator's Note: USS Indiana (BB-58)] stayed in formation with the carriers until 1 April 1945 when they participated in the bombardment of Okinawa. Cummings recalls that it was Easter Sunday. In June, Cummings says the Indiana was caught in a typhoon and the ship "bounced like a cork." One of the ship's Kingfishers [Annotator's Note: Vought OS2U Kingfisher scout aircraft] was knocked overboard in the storm. In mid-July, Cummings recalls bombarding a munitions plant on Kyushu. Harry Truman [Annotator's Note: Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States] had replaced Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States, had died on 12 April 1945] as president. After the Japanese surrender, Cummings volunteered to go ashore at the Japanese Naval base in Yokosuka, Japan as a member of an initial occupation force. Prior to landing, Cummings recalls getting refresher weapons training as no one had handled a rifle since boot camp. On 30 August, Cummings went ashore. No military presence was encountered at the base. Instead, Cummings says, three tuxedoed Japanese politicians greeted the landing party. Cummings was assigned guard duty over a Japanese submarine pen during his short stay at Yokosuka. On 5 September, Cummings returned to the Indiana which had become a temporary receiving center for Canadian and American POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war]. He says he was happy to help out the liberated prisoners in any way. Everyone on board cleaned out their lockers to help clothe them. On 15 September, the Indiana headed for the United States. Upon arrival, the Indiana was placed in dry dock in Bremerton, Washington and Cummings was issued a 30 day leave. After Cummings returned to Bremerton, the Indiana was sent to San Francisco and tied up alongside her sister ship, the USS Massachusetts (BB-59). Cummings was transferred to the Massachusetts which was bound for Norfolk, Virginia by way of the Panama Canal. In May 1946, upon arrival in Norfolk, Cummings was discharged with the rank of Fireman 1st Class, although he says he should have been a Machinist's Mate 3rd Class.

Following his discharge, Vernon Cummings had several jobs in Fort Wayne, Indiana and then decided to attend Purdue University on the G.I. Bill. He majored in agriculture. A former professor talked him into joining the Quaker Oats Company. Cummings had a 32 year career with Quaker. He and his wife met in 1950 and were married in 1952. The couple had five children. The children and grandchildren are spread throughout the country. He is grateful for his education in the Navy. It made him a man. He is active in the Honor Flight program with Gary Sinise to fly veterans to visit The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: the Soaring Valor Program]. He has only met one veteran of the USS Indiana (BB-58) over the years. People thank him for his service to the country.

Vernon Cummings' first battle station [Annotator's Note: aboard USS Indiana (BB-58)] was below deck in the powder room where he would load bags of powder for one of the ship's 16 inch guns onto an elevator to be taken topside. Cummings was assigned a topside battle station, as well, carrying 20mm magazines [Annotator's Note: for the Oerlikon 20mm anuomatic cannon] to the various guns. He recalls kamikazes flying over the Indiana in attempts to strike the aircraft carriers. One night at Ulithi [Annotator's Note: Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands] after the bombardment of Okinawa, Cummings and others were watching a movie when a loud explosion was heard in the harbor. The next day, Cummings found out that a Japanese plane was able to fly in behind an American plane undetected and launch an attack on one of the carriers causing serious damage. Going through a typhon after Okinawa was memorable. Cummings recalls approaching the hilly shoreline of Yokosuka aboard an LCVP [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel] after the surrender. He saw dozens of white flags indicating where enemy defensive gun emplacements were established. Had the two atomic bombs not been used, the loss of American personnel during the invasion of Japan would have been very heavy. Cummings never had any experiences with the local population or members of the Japanese military on shore in Yokosuka. He only dealt with politicians. The worst thing about his time there was living on c-rations. One night while on guard duty, Cummings and another guy snuck into one of the submarines to have a look around. Looking back now, Cummings knows that was stupid. He realizes that the Japanese could have boobytrapped the submarine before they left. Another time, Cummings had the chance to go deep into caves used by the Japanese at Yokosuka. He was amazed to see the sophistication of the caves, complete with mess halls, barracks and gymnasiums. The highlight of his time in Yokosuka was watching the Japanese flag being taken down and replaced by the American flag. Instead of using a regular flag, Cummings witnessed a much larger American battle flag being raised. He still gets goosebumps thinking about that moment. When Cummings returned to the USS Indiana on 5 September 1945, he was issued a Japanese rifle with the former owner's name painted down the side. Cummings recalls the day he heard the news of the Japanese surrender. A group of bombers had just set out for a mission over the Japanese home islands when President Truman [Annotator's Note: Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States] came over the radio to announce the surrender. The bombers were recalled before they had released their bomb loads. The bombers had to drop their ordnance into the ocean before landing. Everyone aboard ship jumped for joy at the news of the war's end. Word came that a mistake had been made and another wave of bombers were sent in against Japan. Shortly afterward, the formal word of Japanese surrender was announced. After duty in Yokosuka, Cummings was disappointed to learn that he would not be going home immediately. Once he realized why the Indiana was staying, he was glad to give his time [Annotator's Note: the USS Indiana (BB-58) was helping to repatriate recently liberated American and Canadian prisoners of war]. He did everything he could to help the liberated American and Canadian POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war]. The Indiana finally reached the West Coast on 30 September [Annotator's Note: 30 September 1945].

Vernon Cummings had the opportunity to voyage on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) with his son in 1977. His son was returning home from Pearl Harbor. Cummings accepted the offer but was struck at the difference in discipline from his wartime shipboard experience to the peacetime Navy of today. He has stayed active with veterans since the war. His most memorable experience of World War 2 was going ashore at Yokosuka because it was a very small group with few others having a similar chance. Cummings joined the Navy because his mechanical and machine shop training in high school provided the background that branch needed. Cummings says the Navy made him into a man. The Navy taught him even more about discipline than he already knew. Put simply, he says, "I'm a Navy guy… I'm a better man because of it." Cummings says he is grateful to have the chance to participate in the preservation of the memory of World War 2. Institutions like The National WWII Museum are important to keep the knowledge of the wartime experience alive for future generations. If the Nazis and Japanese had accomplished their mission, the world would be completely different.