With the help of Ancestry.com, Lance Bass, pop star of the boy band NSYNC, recently learned he may have gotten his dance moves from his Marine veteran grandfather.
“My papa was a dance hall manager, which makes sense because he loved to dance,” Lance chuckled. “He loved to square dance.”
Elza “Shorty” Pulliam, Lance’s maternal grandfather, served in World War II and the Korean War, and was a quiet veteran who rarely talked about his time in service. Lance grew up in “a proud military family,” but has been able to dive deeper into his family’s military history by partnering with Ancestry.com — the world’s largest genealogy company that is honoring Veterans Day by offering free access to more than 200 million WWII-era records from Nov. 10 – Nov. 12. Utilizing the vast category of military records, Lance has discovered details like Shorty managing a dance hall, and found both of his grandfathers’ military photos and enlistment cards.
“I was excited to kind of get into the military aspect of ancestry, and finding these stories was really great: being able to see the enlistment cards of my grandparents, which I’ve never seen before, and seeing a picture of them at that young of age,” Lance said. “My [paternal] grandfather’s was very interesting because on his enlistment card, he enlisted as a veteran. Already at that young of an age, he got back from serving, and he enlisted already — again — at such a young age as a veteran.”
History preservation
While Shorty was reserved in reliving his military time, James “Jimmy” Bass, Lance’s paternal grandfather and a Navy veteran of World War II, has dedicated his life to military history preservation and sharing stories. As one of the founders of the Veterans Memorial Museum in Laurel, Mississippi, Jimmy is somewhat of a celebrity, occasionally overshadowing his pop star grandson.
“I will always be a footnote in his life. He is definitely the star of the family,” Lance said with a smile, acknowledging his grandfather’s impact not only in his own family but to his hometown, state and beyond.
Long before Jimmy reached celebrity status, though, he was a teenager volunteering to fight in World War II before even finishing high school.
“He always famously tells me the story of begging his dad, because his brothers went off to the war, and he felt guilty that he was too young. He didn’t want to be the only sibling that did not go fight for his country, and he begged his dad to let him do it, and sign the papers,” Lance said.
Jimmy’s father supported his family by working on houses, so Jimmy climbed to the roof where he was laboring to get permission to join his brothers. His dad signed the papers with tears in his eyes.
“When he was on the train leaving Laurel, Mississippi, everyone’s there to kind of wave goodbye, but his dad had to work. And [he] could see in the distance his dad working on a rooftop, and his dad was waving at him as he was leaving. And his dad thought that would be the last time he’d ever see him.”
All of the Bass sons survived the war.
‘Our responsibility’
Lance and Jimmy have a shared mission in encouraging people to tell their authentic stories — even the difficult and vulnerable tales — and Lance explained the larger picture as benefitting society.
“We all need to know the truth and where we came from. And when we’re telling our authentic stories, the purpose of that is for the future,” he said. “We don’t want to repeat history … and we’re bound to [repeat] history … we always see that in the history books. But if we can make sure that we learn our lessons from the past through these incredible stories of people who lived it, it’s our responsibility to make sure that those stories are told and not lost.”
‘Carry the torch further’
Now married with 4-year-old twins, Alexander James and Violet Betty, Lance understands the importance of story preservation and history education to share with future generations.
“I do think it’s my family’s responsibility to carry the torch further, and just keep going, and that’s what I’m gonna definitely teach my kids … they’re gonna be proud of where they came from, and they’re gonna be responsible for making sure that the stories continue even when I’m gone.”
