In the World War II era, many American families did their part in the war effort, but few gave as much as “The Fighting Dungan Family.”

William Dungan, 89, is the last surviving of six Dungan siblings who fought in World War II. He will represent his family today (Friday) at the “Heroes Among Us” speaker series hosted by the local Marine Corps League Corporal J.R. Spears Detachment 066, a benefit event for its Marines in Distress Fund.

The event begins at 6 p.m. tonight at Pensacola Veterans Memorial Park.

“My mother, I’m sure, got up every morning and prayed that her children would come back safely,” Dungan said. “All of them except one did, and that’s the sad part of the story.”

Dungan and his family worked on a farm as sharecroppers in southern Alabama until the early 1930’s, living through the Great Depression. They didn’t have money. They didn’t have shoes. But they had what thousands of people at the time had to stand in line for—food.

“That was one thing a farmer had—plenty to eat,” Dungan said. “About everything we wore was patchwork. But we survived.”

Soon after, the Dungan family moved to Pensacola.

Dungan said he believes the tough times made his family better and stronger, up until Pearl Harbor was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941.

“That is when everything in my family changed, along with the rest of the world,” he said.

The U.S. initiated the draft, calling on every able man and woman to enlist in the military.

Dungan’s oldest brother, Elton, joined the Army as a foot soldier, where he served in Europe.

“He went through Italy, France and into Germany, and in one of those places he was wounded. Not fatally, but wounded,” he said.

Dungan’s next oldest brother, Jesse, joined the Army in the 511^th parachute infantry. The last place he jumped was behind enemy lines in Okinawa, where he was wounded.

Marguerite, Dungan’s oldest sister, joined the Women’s Army Corps and served stateside.

Raymond, Dungan’s third oldest brother, joined the Navy and was killed in action aboard the USS Ingraham when a cargo ship collided with the destroyer near his bunk, to which he had just retired.

Dungan’s younger brother, Eugene, who died just three weeks ago, enlisted in the Marines and served at Okinawa/Occupational Forces Japan.

Dungan joined the Navy and served at Pensacola Naval Air Station as a security guard until the last year of the war, when he was shipped out to Okinawa to work in a supply depot.

“Each one of us joined not out of what we wanted to do, but out of what we needed to do,” he said. “If we had not seen the need to go over there and defend the United States, we might have had to defend the United States over here.”

Dungan credits his fellow U.S. citizens, who built ships, tanks, vehicles, guns and ammunition faster than any other nation, with turning the tide of the war.

“That was one of the things that helped us win the war,” he said. “I give the citizens of the United States the greatest praise in the world for that ability.”

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