Ohio War Stories

Beachwood woman inducted into Ohio Veteran’s Hall of Fame

October 15th, 2008

Rebecca Eden By way of ohio.com and UPublish comes this story about Beachwood, OH woman who finally got some overdue recognition.

UPublish story by Sherry Gavanditti

POSTED: 05:06 p.m. EDT, Oct 13, 2008

At 86 years of age, Rebecca P Eden, RN, BSN and WW II United States Army Nurse Corps Veteran, still resembles the rosy-cheeked face of the young woman in the 8 x 10 photographs that rest in her lap. In each picture, a proud and determined woman stares back with a subtle compassionate smile. When she enlisted in the Army in 1944, she was unaware that she would be honored by being inducted into the 2008 class of the Ohio War Veterans Hall of Fame.

When General George Patton Jr., Commander of the US Third Army in World War II, said, “Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men,” perhaps he should have given thought to the crucial role of the women who served, especially the nurses who cared for the wounded soldiers. Rebecca still remembers her patients; soldiers whose lives would be changed forever due to their wounds or traumatic shock from battle, with scars to verify that their nightmares were real. Rebecca remarks that war is different now then it was then, and she questions whether she would have been able to have the same impact in this generation’s wars. But her children, who nominated her for this honor, are aware of her strengths and abilities, and know that she has always risen to challenges she has faced while helping others along the way.

This month, Rebecca will be honored for her military service to her country and her ongoing service to her community when she is inducted into the Ohio Veteran’s Hall of Fame in Columbus. The event begins with an evening reception on November 6th. On Friday, November 7th, Rebecca will participate in the Veterans Day parade in Columbus, and the formal induction ceremony will be held that afternoon with Gov. Ted Strickland presiding over the ceremony. Keep reading…

Posted by Scott Gowans

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Prisoners Among Us

October 15th, 2008

For those of you in or near the Clevealnd area, you might want to think about heading to the The Western Reserve Historical Society is located at 10825 East Blvd. in University Circle for a screening of Prisoners Amoing Us, which is hosted by the Italian American Archives of The Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS). This will show on Sunday, October 19, 2008, at 1;15pm, and includes a discussion with award-winning filmmaker Michael Angelo DiLauro.

The film chronicles the assimilation of Italians into American culture from 19th century immigration through World War II. Archival footage and interviews are interwoven with historical detail, photographs, literature, music, poetry, and analysis to reveal the complications of circumstance during a time of personal loss and international crisis.

This program is free with museum admission. The Western Reserve Historical Society is located at 10825 East Blvd. in University Circle. For more information on the Italian American Archives program, call 216-721-5722 or log on to www.wrhs.org.

WRHS museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Wednesday hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday hours are 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. The museum is closed on Mondays.

Admission to the Museum is $8.50 for adults, $7.50 for seniors, and $5 for children and students. Members are free. With admission, visitors gain access to The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum, The History Museum, The Chisholm Halle Costume Wing, the Hay-McKinney Mansion and the WRHS Library.

Posted by Scott Gowans

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War Dogs

October 3rd, 2008

War Dog I had no idea about War Dog memorials until I found this bit in Cleveland.com’s online newspaper.

Smoky, a Yorkshire terrier with Northeast Ohio ties, proved during World War II that bravery could come in an eager, tiny package.

And Northeast Ohio has honored the animal with at least two monuments.

Eastlake’s War Dog Memorial, one of several in the United States, was built in 2002 next to a dog park on Lake Shore Boulevard at Woodland Park.

The large granite marker with an etched picture of the tongue-wagging terrier honors Smoky and all dogs that assisted U.S. soldiers in World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. The garden also is planted with markers in memory of dogs who have helped police, rescue workers and “Your Pets.”

A quick search brings up several War Dog memeorials, included the one featured at the top right. This makes perfect sense to me now. I keep finding pictures of soldiers with dogs either trained for war efforts, or just strays that they adopted. There’s also a United States War Dog Association.

According to olive-drab.com:

In December 1941, at the time of Pearl Harbor, the sled dog was the only working dog in the Army. About fifty were assigned to military stations in Alaska, and another forty were used by the U.S. Army Air Corps Ferrying Command to rescue airmen forced down in Newfoundland, Greenland, and Iceland. As World War II started in Europe, and the U.S. Army began to prepare for its coming role, an estimate was made that 200 dogs might be needed. In actuality, about 10,000 dogs were trained for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard by the time the war ended in 1945.

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OHIO

August 1st, 2008

Ohio Logo The 83rd Infantry Division Association is a non-profit organization, based in Alton Bay, NH, dedicated to honoring the men who served in the Division during World War II. The organization has 680 members. Known initially as the OHIO Division and later as the Thunderbolt Division, the 83rd Infantry was first deployed in World War I and was deactivated after World War II. The Division’s insignia, a graphic representation of the word O-H-I-O, reflects the home state from where the Division’s original ranks were raised.

Their history is worth checking out. Here’s just a sample from their web page:

We beat them. We broke their backs. True we were losing our lives, losing our limbs, losing the things a young fellow values most in his body. But we were beating the hell out of the Germans. Their vaunted might, their pure Aryan strength was tottering before the prowess of us multi-raced Americans. Before a plain ordinary civilian army.

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Doodlebug

July 8th, 2008

The Fieseler Fi 103, better known as V-1 was the first guided missile used in war and the forerunner of today’s cruise missile.

The V-1 was developed at Peenemünde by the German Luftwaffe. Between June 1944 and March 29, 1945, it was fired at targets in southeastern England, Belgium, and Antwerp. V-1s were launched from “ski” launch sites along the French Pas-de-Calais and Dutch coasts until the sites were overrun by Allied forces.

The jet engine pulsed 50 times per second, and the characteristic buzzing sound gave rise to the colloquial names “buzz bomb” or “doodlebug” (after an Australian insect).

The rocket’s mere sound was enough to turn soldiers stomach into butterflies, but was also cause for sky-watching for some. Carroll Tignor talks about this in this clip:
External links
* V1 Launch Site
* Vergeltungswaffe V-Weapons – From Daniel Green’s World War II Air Power website; contains descriptions and film sequences (AVI format)
* The V-Weapons – From Marshall Stelzriede’s Wartime Story website; with June 1944 UK/US news reports on V-1 attacks
* Fi-103/V-1 “Buzz Bomb” – From the Luftwaffe Resource Center website, hosted by The Warbirds Resource Group; with 42 photos
* The Lambeth Archives Includes a sound recording of an incoming V1 - circa 1944

Posted by Scott Gowans

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A Safer Way to Land

June 24th, 2008

Landing Gear From a site user:

Edward S. Sanders worked during the war for Cleveland Pneumatic in Cleveland, Ohio and tried to join the Navy after the start of WWII. He got as far as Columbus, Ohio on the train before he was intercepted and sent home as “essential to the war effort.”

My father was never happy about his work in a shop setting, either as a tool designer or an assistant shop forman. But one of the things he was most proud of was his work in helping to design a positive locking mechanism for landing gear for carrier aircraft. He told me that the hard carrier landings often collapsed the landing gear and that Cleveland Pneumatic, which made landing gear and landing gear components, gave him the job to improve the system they currently had.

He showed me on a simple tool, how he adapted a positive locking mechanism so that when the gear went down, it snapped into a positive lock that wouldn’t retract no matter how hard the landing. It was a simple an elegant solution that earned patents for Cleveland Pneumatic that had his name as designer. Keep reading…

Posted by Scott Gowans

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More Than Names: Lakewood Ohio

May 29th, 2008

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The First Shots of World War II

May 29th, 2008

Courtesy of the Daily Sentinel, Pomeroy, Ohio.

Rear admirals recognized in museum, marker projects
By Brian J. Reed
Published: Monday, May 26, 2008 4:40 PM CDT

MIDDLEPORT - Commemorative plaques honoring two rear admirals native to Middleport now hang in the Meigs County Museum.

Members of the Middleport High School Marker Committee presented the museum with framed displays honoring William Outerbridge and Arthur C. Clark, and are now seeking donors for Ohio Historical Association markers to honor them.

The recognition is the result of discussion among members of the Middleport Class of 1957. Members of the committee are Mayor Michael Gerlach, Council Member Sandra Brown, Milford Hysell, commander of Feeney-Bennett Post 128, American Legion, Bob Delay, Jane Huffman, Bob Hennessy and Ed McComas.

Gerlach said the committee has not yet determined a location for the markers, but said they might go along the new riverfront multi-purpose path to be built in Middleport.Outerbridge

The marker proposed for Rear Admiral Outerbridge will read as follows:

“The First Shots of World War II: The first American military action against Japan in World War II was intiated by Middleport native William Outerbridge at 6:37 a.m. prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. Outerbridge was commander of the destroyer U.S.S. Ward, which engaged and attacked a Japanese midget submarine as it attempted to slip into the harbor.

“Outerbridge reported the action and the sinking of the submarine before the attack by Japan. In 2005, the submarine was found and the shell holes in the coning tower confirmed as reported.

“During World War II, he went on to command U.S.S. O’Brien, which served in support of the Normandy D-Day landings on the beaches and at the port of Cherbourg and served in the Pacific Theater during island invasions leading up to the Japanese islands and the end of the war.

“He later commanded the cruiser, U.S.S. Los Angeles. Rear Admiral Outerbridge’s family home was at 499 Fisher Street.

Clark

“Middleport Native Rear Admiral Arthur Clark served two tours as in-country military intelligence advisor to South Vietnam military and with USMAV and was one of the last to leave in 1973.

“He went on to serve in many leadership roles, which transformed the U.S. Navy and contributed to efforts which helped to win the Cold War. He was project coordinator for the construction of California and Virginia Class guided missile cruisers that introduced the world’s most advanced surface ships, with two nuclear reactors and advanced combat systems.

“Director Ship Logistics for all conventional and nuclear powered surface ships (147 ships) during a period of accelerated weapons technology advancements. Commander, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, where he led development and implementation of first program for reactor compartment disposal of the first 28 nuclear reactors to long-term, environmentally-safe storage. He also developed safe recycle disposal of nuclear submarine and ship hulls. Director, Atlantic Fleet Maintenance.

“During the first Gulf War, Rear Admiral Clark developed innovative maintenance processes to sustain improved and effective Naval operations, thus contributing to success in Bosnia and the Second Gulf War.

“He became the Navy’s senior engineer officer, planning officer and production officer at Norfolk Naval Shipyard and leader of engineering officer community. Received Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit (with Gold Star) and Bronze Star with Combat V.

“After retirement, he served as deputy director for operations at the Idaho National Laboratory to develop the Next Generation Nuclear Plant, a high-temperature gas reactor for civilian reactors designed for all types of process heat applications.

“Rear Admiral Arthur Clark graduated from Middleport High School in 1957, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1962. He served 35 years in the Navy. The family home is at 211 South Third Ave.”

Posted by Scott Gowans

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Memorial Day in the Comics

May 29th, 2008

I’ve expressed my awe regarding the work of Milton Caniff before, but thought it was worth posting, now that Memorial Day has come and gone, how much Caniff meant to the soldiers overseas and to those families at home. Caniff had a medical condition that prevented him from being drafted, a blow that he tried to right by writing and drawing patriotic strips. During the war, Caniff began a special version of Terry and the Pirates (later renamed Male Call) without Terry but featuring the blonde bombshell, Burma. Caniff donated all of his work on this strip to the armed forces — the strip was only available in military newspapers.

In his syndicated Terry and the Pirates, Caniff’s hero delivered this speech during a Sunday strip that was later inserted in the Congressional Record. You can read the whole strip by clicking the image on the above right.

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The Food Drop and the Danes

May 22nd, 2008

Danish Flag Courtesy of the Cleveland Plain Dealer comes this story about an unlikely reunion many years in coming…

WWII American food-drop airman, Dutch recipient land in Northeast Ohio
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Stan Donaldson -Plain Dealer Reporter

Elyria — Robert Smith and Jan Van Galen met a few years ago over breakfast, but it was meals decades ago and thousands of miles away that created the bond between the two men.

In one of Smith’s final missions as a bombardier in the Army Air Corps during World War II, the 20-year-old dropped food rations from a B-17 Flying Fortress over the Netherlands. The 1945 mission was part of “Operation Chowhound,” designed to help Dutch citizens who were starving after years of German occupation.

Van Galen, a teenager at the time, was one of the people who benefited from the food delivery by U.S. and British airmen.

Smith returned from the service and Van Galen immigrated to America, both settling in Northeast Ohio. But they would not meet until 60 years after the war ended.

In 2005, both men were living at the Wesleyan Meadows senior living facility. By chance, Smith and Van Galen sat near each other at breakfast one day. Van Galen overheard a conversation Smith was having about World War II and the two men talked about the war. Realizing their link, Van Galen said to Smith, “Let me shake your hand. You saved my life.”

The two men broke bread together again Saturday, this time over lunch.

Smith was honored as Veteran of the Year by the Cleveland Wing of the Commemorative Air Force at the Lorain County Regional Airport. Van Galen was there, too, among dozens of guests on hand to celebrate Armed Forces Day.

“It boggles my mind that after all of this time, we were able to meet,” said Smith, 83. “It’s an honor to be recognized by the humanitarian effort I was a part of in 1945. The time still sticks in my heart like it was yesterday.”

Van Galen, 78, wore wooden shoes native to his homeland at the airport. The retired schoolteacher said he is forever grateful to Smith and to the U.S. military.

“People were dropping on the streets because they were starving so bad,” Van Galen said with tears in his eyes. “It was dangerous . . . but they came to us and dropped food and helped to liberate the country.”

Van Galen said the food was delivered because Holland’s Queen Wilhelmina, exiled to England during the war, asked British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin Roosevelt to help her nation.

The missions, flown in May 1945, came just as the Allies reached a cease-fire with Germany. Still, the flights were considered risky and a test to see if the Germans would abide by the cease-fire and not shoot down the B-17s.

The food consisted of items such as corned beef, bread and cigarettes. It was dropped in wire-wrapped bundles, each containing enough food to feed 10 people for one day, Smith said.

The Dutch Red Cross picked up most of the rations and served them to people in soup kitchens.

After the men shared their stories Saturday, audience members stood up and applauded.

“It was an honor to sit and listen to them, and there should be more events like it,” said Robert Gazso, a North Olmsted resident and civilian member of the Commemorative Air Force.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
sdonalds@plaind.com, 216-999-4885

This story brings to mind the tale of one boy, now an adult , who lived through the blitzkrieg. Olaf Kongshaug was a boy living in Denmark when the Germans invaded as part of their Blitzkrieg in 1940. The country fell in mere days, meaning that Olaf (and his large family) and the country were occupied for years.

According to wikipedia: Nazi Germany’s occupation of Denmark began with Operation Weserübung 9 April 1940, and lasted until German forces withdrew at the end of World War II following their surrender to the Allies on 5 May1945. Contrary to the situation in other countries under German occupation, most Danish institutions continued to function relatively normally until 1943. Both the Danish government and King Christian X of Denmark remained in the country in an uneasy relationship between a democratic and a totalitarian system until German authorities dissolved the government following a wave of strikes and sabotage.

FYI: The image at the top of this entry shows the headquarters of the Schalburgkorps, a Danish SS unit, after 1943. The occupied building is the lodge of the Freemasons located on Blegdamsvej, Copenhagen

Mr. Kongshaug’s video is below:

Posted by Scott Gowans

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Ohio War Stories: Share Your Memories

Beachwood woman inducted into Ohio Veteran’s Hall of Fame

October 15th, 2008

Prisoners Among Us

October 15th, 2008

War Dogs

October 3rd, 2008

OHIO

August 1st, 2008

Doodlebug

July 8th, 2008

A Safer Way to Land

June 24th, 2008

More Than Names: Lakewood Ohio

May 29th, 2008

The First Shots of World War II

May 29th, 2008

Memorial Day in the Comics

May 29th, 2008

The Food Drop and the Danes

May 22nd, 2008