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Thank Day
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The forgotten ones - 3
10 - My ships reunion
Reunion memories - 4
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18 - My time as a WAC
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John Anthony
1946. He earned a degree at the University of Dayton and returned to his hometown of Wapakoneta. He worked as a
bank officer in Lima, married and raised
four daughters. Staying in touch with
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Reunion memories
Ray Bernacchi and his wife, standing fourth from left, enjoyed a 1998 Caribbean reunion cruise with his shipmates.
Walt Buell and Ray Bernacchi pose for a photo with Skipper in October 1946 at Norfolk prior to leaving
on their first Mediterranean cruise.
See Reunion |5
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Serving aboard
a Flying Fortress
Reunion
From page 4
I entered the U.S. Air Force in October 1943. I was sent to England in
February 1945. I was a flight engineer
on a B-17 Flying Fortress and our crew
of nine men flew 19 combat missions
over Nazi Germany to the wars end on
May 7, 1945.
My birthday was June 10, 1925,
which makes me 90 years of age. I was
born in Lima and attended St. Gerard
School, graduating in 1943. In 1952,
I entered the Highway Patrol, serving
Findlay until 1962. I then joined the
US Marshals Service, leaving there in
A Place to Remember
Gethsemani
Cemetery & Mausoleums
A photo of the men who assembled for the 2003 USS Holder reunion. Bernacchi is standing in the back
row in front of the middle flag.
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Woodlawn Cemetery
..
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WEBB-SOMERVILLE
INSURANCE AGENCY
SINCE 1912
WE STAND BETWEEN
YOU AND LOSS
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SALUTE TO VETERANS
Leaving the
farm in Maria
Stein at the age
of 22 was an
adjustment. I
went to boot
camp and was
exposed to
so many new
things. I no longer had to do
farm work but
instead, each
day we trained
Romie Hausfeld
to test our
endurance. We
were also subject to constant inspections
be it our barracks, our clothes, cleanliness, etc. Fortunately I never really had
to suffer any consequences for not doing
something I should have done. The days
were very challenging. The food sure
wasnt as good as my moms, but as each
day went by, I became more comfortable.
In my spare time I read, played cards,
worked on my swimming, attended the
required church services and enjoyed
talking with the guys. Almost every
night we had ice cream, which was
one of my favorite things. After the ice
cream, we wrote letters home. The letters were my only connection to my
friends and my family. How are the crops
doing? Who has gotten married? Has
anyone else joined the service? Does
my little sister Jeanette even realize
that Im gone? The answers would come
days later. I missed my parents and my
brothers and sisters but being away from
home helped me learn a lot about myself.
I was learning that people in general
were good people and that I could stand
on my own. To this day, I still have my
boot camp letters and enjoy reading
about that time period of my life.
After boot camp my first ship assignment was to the USS Hays. This was
a basic troop transport ship. I was so
surprised one day to discover a friend
of mine, Bill Bettinger, of Coldwater,
Romie Hausfeld
SALUTE TO VETERANS
out on our own. Many of us that loved
music would jump on buses and head to
Los Angeles. Once there, we would go
to several large dance halls to watch the
top Big Bands like Tommy Dorsey and
Harry James. Those of us that loved to
dance would jitterbug until it was time to
return to the ship.
One night, several of us got onto a
bus to return to the ship. It was late,
and the civilians on the bus looked on
us with watchful eyes. Eventually one of
us started singing. We all joined in and
sang a medley of songs. We continued to
sing until we got of the bus at the ship.
Before we left, all the civilians on the
bus applauded us. This is still one of my
favorite memories.
When we came in for repairs, you
never knew what other ships would be
sitting in the harbor. Once we docked in
San Diego and two ships down from the
Walker was the ship Elmer Hemmelgarn,
of St. Rose, was assigned. Elmer was a
friend from back home. We ended up
making a connection and within a day
or two, we put in for a pass. We went to
Tijuana, Mexico, for some rest and relaxation (R&R). Another time, we docked
in Pearl Harbor and I met up with Art
Ranly, of Cassella, and Paul Bettinger,
of Coldwater. Paul was Bill Bettingers
brother and was stationed at Pearl Harbor. It was always great to find people
from Mercer County so far from home.
My faith remained strong during my
time in the service. Every night I said
my night prayers. In the midst of an
operation, I prayed to myself. Im sure
everyone was praying at some point
or another. At times I was scared but I
never, ever, lost faith that God would not
pull me through the war.
My wife, Maude, who died two years
ago, also did her part during the war.
She went to work at Buckeye Apparel,
where she sewed cuffs on the sleeves of
mens service jackets. We did nothing out
of the ordinary. We were both grateful
for what we had and mirrored what all
the US citizens did back then.
Two years ago, I attended by first USS
Walker reunion in Charles, South Carolina. Three of my daughters joined me for
the weeklong event. Approximately 18
men attended that were on he USS Walker
during the ships commission. Although
there are other World War II Walker veterans, I was the only one that was able to
attend. We had a great time talking, touring and we even sang Anchors Aweigh.
The group of Walker veterans and their
spouses/sons were just exemplary!
One of the days, we spent touring
Patriots Point Navy and Maritime Museum. We toured the USS Laffey destroyer,
which was similar to the USS Walker. I
was able to show my daughters the No. 1
gun. Another veteran with our veterans
group, Jim Cleveland, of Dunwoody,
Georgia, walked with us. He too was
assigned to the No. 1 gun on the Walker
in the 1950s. We then visited the museum on the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier.
It was docked next to the destroyer.
They had a whole section dedicated to
the Battle of Leyte Gulf. We happened
upon a really nice memorial in honor of
the sailors who had lost their lives on
the USS St. Lo. There on the memorial
plaque, the eighth name listed was William A. Bettinger, F2C. Just seeing his
name was quite moving.
Viewing this memorial was with us
another veterans, Doug Damron and his
wife Ellen, of The Villages, Florida. Ellens
father was also on the USS St. Lo that
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Thank you
for your
service
My ships reunion
From Philip S. Meeks, Lima
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11D
Kenny Melson, left, poses with an unknown buddy during his time of service.
THANK
YOU!
TO THE MEMBERS OF
ALL BRANCHES
OF THE MILITARY
FOR
THEIR
SERVICE
TO OUR COUNTRY.
VA Approved Post 9/11 GI Bill
Military Scholarships available to all
Military Veterans, spouses, and dependents.
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Steve Mendenhall with Shyska. He was a dog handler in Vietnam, helping guard provisions and base camps.
Vietnam veterans Steve Mendenhall, from left, Ed Cotter and Jay Schmitz pose for a photo at a recent reunion.
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Bill Moore poses for a photo in 1955 in the communications center at Paine Air Force Base,
Everett, Washington.
www.allencountyvsc.com
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Ron Weaver plays Army with neighborhood friends in the 1950s. Ron is wearing the helmet.
1965: The Vietnam war was escalating and Ron knew he could be drafted.
Rather than wait for that inevitable day,
he enlisted in the US Army his preference of military service.
Following basic training at Fort Knox,
Kentucky, Ron was stationed at Fort
Gordon, Georgia. At Fort Gordon, he
was assigned to Signal Corps and took
crypto school.
Next was Fort Sam Houston in San
Antonio, Texas, working in communications center.
The same year, 1966, Ron was sent
to Dominican Republic. At that time,
Dominican Republic was in political
turmoil. Ron served with the Organization of the American States. There, Ron
met Rodney and other soldiers, and they
became friends.
After the Dominican Republic tour of
duty, Ron and Rodney were stationed at
Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Ron was
still assigned to Signal Corps of the 3rd
Army. The following year Ron made rank
of Sergeant 1968. Rodney had also
worked at Signal Corps.
When duty ended, Ron returned to his
home in Lima and Rodney returned to
Virginia and married his girlfriend, Diane.
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Adolph Wende
Joseph Hetzler
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Jim Reeves, from left, Bob Winkle and Paul Pickle during their time in the Navy during World War II.
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Bob Winkle and Paul Pickle reminisce during a reunion earlier this year.
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All GrAnite
Monuments
Mausoleums
Markers
Bronze Memorials
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My time as a WAC
From Shirley Hawk Green, Dunkirk
I was standing on the only remaining hardstand, my own No. 44, in June
2000, returning to what was left of the
Great Ashfield Air base, England, which
had been so much a part of my life in
World War II when I was a 24-year-old
pilot.
I joined the Army in June 1941 and by
October 1943 I was training to fly the
B-17 Flying Fortress. They could limp
back to their bases with considerable
damage, as I would prove during my
combat missions.
By August 1944 I was sent to the
550th Squadron in the 385th Bomb
Group of the Eighth Army Air Force,
based at Great Ashfield, which consisted
of four squadrons, the 548th, 549th,
550th and the 551.
Each night the crews were put on
Alert, Standby or Standdown. Breakfast
came at 5 a.m. and attendance at briefing by 6 a.m. When the Group or Flight
Commander raised the screen he had our
full attention as it gave our target for the
day and position in the formation.
Taking turns we taxied to take off position, depressed the brakes and revved up
the engines. The drone and thunder of
those four, big 1,200 horsepower engines
reverberated in the chest and filled your
ears. Bombers were not easy to fly.
When fully loaded they had to be coaxed
and bullied with a firm hand. A loaded
bomber carried over 20,000 pounds of
fuel and bombs, making it difficult to
take off from a 6,000 foot runway and
a nail biter on short 4,800 foot runway.
Any crew that failed to get off the ground
would be talked about in the past tense.
My plane was named the Barbara B,
after the wife of my crew chief.
Heading back to England after that first
mission I suddenly realized that the Germans were shooting to kill so it was a situation of kill or be killed. It was a staggering thought and was hard to comprehend.
Watching planes get hit and losing men,
those you knew and others you knew only
by name, would make an impact.
Oct. 9 saw us heading for Gustavsburg
to a diesel engine factory. We reached
our destination and had just released our
bombs when we were hit by flak. The
flak hit our oxygen bottles located just
to the rear and below the pilot and copilots position in the cockpit. A piece of
metal hit the back of my legs and blood
was soaking my flight suit. I was experiencing some pain, not excruciating, nor
did I feel any distress. So, I got back in
my seat and continued on to Great Ashfield. I didnt want to miss any missions
so after getting back to the Quonset I
treated the wounds myself.
After a reunion of the 385th Bomb
Group in Dayton in 1987, a former
crew member brought up the incident.
I received a Purple Heart, 46 years later
at an Eighth Air Force Reunion at Las
Vegas, Nevada the first week of October
1990. Unbeknownst to me I was still carrying a piece of flak in that leg when it
was discovered by an X-ray in the 1990s.
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A TRUSTED NAME
1305
Allentown
We
also
engraveRoad
yard rocks
next to Dairy Queen
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bob@johnsmemorials.com
IN THE
MONUMENT BUSINE
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