World War II veteran John H. Bartlett Jr., spoke in chilling terms when describing the destruction caused by atomic bombs in Japan during World War II.

  “Believe me, you don’t want to be nowhere around where they dropped it,” he said. “There was one building left in Hiroshima. Just the four walls were all that was up. There were no floors. It was gutted from the bottom to the top.”

  The nonprofit Quilts of Valor Foundation honored Bartlett and several other World War II veterans in a ceremony at Heritage Park in McDonough on September 22. Bartlett, of McDonough, said he never expected that he would receive the handmade, multicolored quilt.

  “It was a complete surprise to me, said Bartlett, 92. “It’s a beautiful quilt. They did a fantastic job on it.”

  Bartlett went into the Army on May 10, 1945 when he was 18 years old – less than a year after he and his wife Hazel had gotten married. His service began with a stint the 99th Signal Battalion. After a month at sea in transit, he was then assigned to the 62nd Signal Battalion in Kure, Japan in November of 1945.

  By then, the U.S. had dropped atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While in Kure, Bartlett helped to construct and repair buildings destroyed by the bomb in Hiroshima.

  “I was stationed 20 miles outside of Hiroshima after they dropped the bomb,” said Bartlett.

  His daughter, Linda Bartlett Ellis of McDonough, said her father and his fellow servicemen faced a difficult task when they got to Japan.

      “The U.S. helped to rebuild Japan after they dropped the bomb,” she said. “They were not welcomed when they got there. There were a couple of ports that would not let them get off the ship.”

  Bartlett then went to the 58th Signal Battalion for another phase of his military career. Still, he seemed to maintain a sense of humor regarding his actual duties during that time.

  “I had the most dangerous job in there,” he said. “I was a cook. I got threatened every day.”

  Reflecting on his time in the Army, he spoke with a quiet candor about the perils of wartime.

  “I’d rather not think about it,” he said. “If I had to do it again, I’d do it again, but I’d rather not. It was an experience, believe me.”

  Ellis said her father doesn’t elaborate much on his time in the military.

  “He doesn’t brag about it at all,” she said. “He doesn’t talk about it unless we point-blank ask him something.”

  Bartlett returned to the U.S. in November of 1946 and was released from the Army  in December of that year, as a TEC 5. During Bartlett’s service, his honors included: a Good Conduct Medal; an Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; a World War II Victory Medal; an Army of Occupation Medal; and an Honorable Service Lapel Button.

  After being discharged, Bartlett went to work at Atlantic Steel Company in north Atlanta, and stayed there for 32 years until he retired at age 52. He has lived in McDonough since the early 1960s and has five children – two boys and three girls – all of whom live in Henry County.

  Ellis said she is grateful for the foundation’s efforts in paying tribute to her father’s service.

  “I think it’s a wonderful thing that the volunteers for the Quilts of Valor do in recognizing and supporting our veterans,” she said.

  Bartlett reiterated his appreciation for the foundation’s collective desire to honor those who served in the military during the war.

  “It feels great, it’s wonderful,” he said. “I’m glad they recognize them. A lot of them went through hell.”