WW2 Fallen - Three Valentine Stories

World War 2 era Valentine's Day card.
https://www.pinterest.com/chandagaeth/valentine/

As has happened a couple of times on other dates so far, I could not find enough information among the fallen who were born 100 years ago on February 14, 1917 to write up a profile.

So instead, I will bring attention to a few of the fallen with stories that are appropriate for Valentine's Day.

When I started this project at the start of the year, I was confident that I would find many compelling stories about these mostly forgotten fallen. These are more than just names on a war memorial in their home towns or stars on the Wall of Stars at the National World War II Memorial. They were sons, sometimes husbands, sometimes fathers. In their mid-twenties they had a future that should have encompassed the rest of the 20th century most likely shared with someone to love. They had dreams that went unfulfilled. They left girlfriends or wives who lost their sweethearts.

Here are three examples from the stories I have researched so far:

• What Bernice did after her pilot husband Harold Barnett died: here.
• The message Johnston Wiles's former girlfriend left him 58 years after he died: here.
• The dying words from the soldier I will profile on March 10: "Please write my wife a letter and tell her I love her, and also that I did everything I could for her and for my country. So long, Dozier, give 'em hell for me, I'm done for." Check back on March 10 for the story of this medal winning sergeant.

If you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others. Thanks for your interest!

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http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/be-good-darling-wont-long-5152082

WW2 Fallen - Robert Cox, Kwajalein Medic

Marine receiving medical attention at Battle of Kwajalein where Robert Cox served in the Medical Department.
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-C-Marshalls/

Robert J. Cox could have been 100 years old today. 

He was born on February 13, 1917 in Scranton Lacka, PA. We don't have census information on him to see his family background.

Robert joined the Army on June 15, 1942 and served as a private in the Medical Department. 

He was serving in Kwajalein when he died on February 29, 1994. At that time the Battle of Kwajalein had been over for nearly a month. He died of non-battle injuries.

His remains were returned to be buried at Gettysburg National Military Park.

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=50694155

Thank you Robert for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Robert.


If you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others. Thanks for your interest!

Visit tomorrow for three fallen Valtentine's Day stories.

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Join public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen - Edwin Rechlin, 388th Bomb Group

Crew from Sgt. Rechlin's 363rd Bomb Squadron a month before he died.
http://abmc.nomadmobileguides.com/Normandy.php?page=narrative&id=cont-929

Edwin C. Rechlin could have been 100 years old today. 

He was born on February 12, 1917 in Ohio. His mother was born in Pennsylvania and his father was born in New York. His father was a paper hanger. Edwin had one younger brother. By 1940 Edwin had completed two years of high school and was working in a machine shop in Buffalo, still living with his parents. At some point after the census Edwin married.

Edwin joined the army on August 6, 1942. He was 5' 7" and weighed 132 lbs.

He became a tech sergeant on B-17s for the 363rd Bomb Squadron, 388th Bomb Group. He was trained as a flight engineer and top turret gunner.

On March 23, 1944 Sgt. Rechlin's plane, nicknamed Pegasus, was on a mission to bomb aircraft factories in Brunswick, Germany. It was his crew's eleventh mission, including seven aborts that returned early due to mechanical or weather reasons. On this day Pegasus was in the low squadron that arrived at the European coast early so it proceeded without fighter escort.  The squadron was attacked by as many as 40 enemy planes. His B-17 was badly damaged and fell out of formation. Before it could be shot down, the pilot ordered everyone to bail out. Five of the crew landed safely and were made prisoners of war. Sgt. Rechlin was among the five who did not survive the jump.

http://www.diseno-art.com/news_content/2014/10/how-to-bail-out-of-a-b-17-flying-fortress/

His remains were returned to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Thank you Edwin for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Edwin.


If you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others. Thanks for your interest!

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen - Johnston Wiles + I Dream of Jeannie tie-in

Johnston "Jack" Wiles high school yearbook picture.
John Muir High School, 1934

Johnston "Jack" B. Wiles, Jr. could have been 100 years old today. 

He was born on February 11, 1917 in Ohio. His mother was also born in Ohio. His father was born in Pennsylvania and worked as a newspaper printer first in Ohio and later in Pasadena, California. Johnston had two older sisters who were 13  and 18 years his senior. He attended John Muir High School in Pasadena where he participated in band, orchestra, and drama.

By 1940 Jack and his parents had moved to San Francisco where his father was still a printer. Jack had graduated from high school but was not working when the census was taken. Perhaps he was attending school at the time. Jack joined the US Navy Reserves and was a lieutenant serving on an Infantry Landing Craft (Large).

Lt. Wiles ship, third from left.
http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/15/150218.htm

On D-Day June 6, 1944,  Lt. Wiles was one of three officers who with 21 crew manned the USS LCI(L)-219, a ship about half the length of a football field which transported about a company's worth of men to Omaha Beach. A first-hand account by the ship's engineering officer, Lt. William Becker, says they went in with the seventeenth wave at 10 AM. Records show that Lt. Wiles died on that day. Strangely, Becker makes no mention of any casualties from his crew on D-Day, even though this would have been the ship's first casualty from the war. However, five days later an enemy airplane dropped a bomb that exploded ten feet from the ship's side, killing and wounding crew members. The ship sank that day. 

His remains were returned to be buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery. 

An intriguing note for Lt. Wiles was left on the findagrave.com website in 2002, 58 years after his death:

My Dearest Jackson,

I have been thinking of you as today Febrary 11 is your birthday and I just wanted to wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!You will forever be in my heart.I shall always remember you with your good looks and bright smile. Your former girlfriend.
- June Staley 

Thank you Jack for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Jack.


THE I DREAM OF JEANNIE TIE IN

Also born on November 11, 1917 was the prolific writer Sidney Sheldon. While his name may not be as familiar to modern audiences, he wrote 18 novels and 25 screenplays including Easter Parade and Annie Get Your Gun.

During the war Sheldon lied about his health to get into the Army Air Corp. He had bad eyesight, so he couldn't directly qualify for fighters or bombers, but he could qualify for something called the War Training Service where he learned the basics of flying. Before he could complete advanced flight training school the WTS was discontinued and this time the Army would not take him due to his health issues.

Apart from his success as a screenwriter and novelist, Sheldon is best known for being the creator of the iconic 1960's TV comedy, I Dream of Jeannie. Sheldon died in 2007 at the age of 89.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/411938697143514133/

If you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others. Thanks for your interest!

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen - Ivar Peterson, 34th Infantry Division

Pvt Peterson's 34th Division profiled by Saturday Evening Post.
http://www.imgrum.net/media/1045693649496546450_1658432022

Ivar L. Peterson could have been 100 years old today. 

He was born on February 10, 1917 in Sweden. His parents were both also born in Sweden. The family moved to American in 1927.

We don't know when Ivar enlisted in the Army, but he was a private in Company K, 135th Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division. The 34th Division was active in the Italian theater. Pvt. Peterson died on June 8, 1944. On that date his company was advancing through Vetrella on the way to Rome. Enemy resistance was light and only one other 135th Regiment soldier was killed that day. There was also a tragic strafing of the unit by American planes. We don't know if Pvt. Peterson was killed by the enemy or the strafing.

http://www.34thinfantry.com/maps.html

86 soldiers from Company K died during the war. Considering a company has about 200 men, that is a significant number of fallen from one company.

His remains were returned to be buried at Rock Island Cemetery in Illinois.

Thank you Ivar for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Ivar.


If you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Thanks for your interest!

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen - Smith J. Young, B-17 Waist Gunner

Sgt. Smith J. Young is standing second from left.
https://100thbg.com/index.php?option=com_bombgrp&view=personnel&id=5694&Itemid=334

Smith J. Young could have been 100 years old today. 

He was born on February 9, 1917 in North Carolina. His parents were also both born in North Carolina. His father was a laborer and then a miner in the feldspar industry. Smith had an older brother and sister and four younger brothers and a younger sister. Curiously, only Smith had the uncommon first name. His brothers were Jack, Robert, William, Harry, and Bill. By 1940 he had completed high school and was working as a carpenter while still living at home with this parents in Crabtree.

Smith enlisted in the Army Air Corp on May 7, 1941, six months to the day before the war started. During the course of the war he advanced to the rank of Staff Sergeant and was part of a B-17 crew. He served in the 351st Bomber Squadron, 100th Bomber Group aka the "Bloody Hundredth", so named because it suffered horrendous rates of losses. The popular 1949 movie Twelve O'Clock High was based on the experiences of this bomber group.

Keith Ferris painting depicting bombers from 100th Bomb Group
http://www.aviationarthangar.com/frs18.html

The period from October 8 to October 14, 1943 became known as Black Week, with costly missions over Bremen, Munster, Marienburg, and Schweinfurt (which alone saw 60 bombers downed).

On October 10, 1943, when Sgt. Young was in the waist gunner position on the mission to bomb Munster. another damaged B-17 struck the tail of Young's plane during the bombing run. The pilot ordered all men to bail. Half of the crew survived and became prisoners of war, but not Sgt. Young. Young's body was recovered from the Waal river the next day.

Damage similar to this caused Sgt. Young's plane to crash.
https://www.pinterest.com/liamkuhn/wwii/

His remains were returned to be buried at Will Young Cemetery in Yancy County, North Carolina.

Thank you Smith for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Smith.


If you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others. Thanks for your interest!

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen - 3rd Infantry Division's Clark Clemons

3rd Division soldiers including Audie Murphy (2nd row, 2nd from left)
who served in 15th Infantry Regiment with Clark Clemons.
http://www.warfoto.com/AudieMurphy.htm

Clark F. Clemons could have been 100 years old today. 

He was born on February 8, 1917 in New York. His parents were also both born in New York. His father was a cigar store clerk and later a box tender. Clark was an only child. By 1940 he had completed 4 years of high school and was working as a laborer.

We don't know when Clark enlisted in the army but he was assigned to serve as a private in the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. This unit was involved in the war against Germany from the very beginning, It participated in the landings in North Africa in 1942, the invasion of Sicily and other Italian campaigns. It was also part of the 7th Army's invasion of southern France. 

We don't know if Pvt. Clark was with his unit from the start. It is more likely that he joined as a replacement, since the 3rd Division had more than 28,000 casualties during the war. Pvt. Clark died on December 25, 1944, which would have made Christmas, a sad day for his mother, who had no other children. At that  time the 15th Infantry Regiment was near Ribeauville, France. Pvt. Clark death was listed as Missing in Action. This was often the result of a soldier being killed by a direct artillery hit; when this happened there sometimes were no remains to identify.

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-E-Riviera/maps/USA-E-Riviera-31.jpg

Pvt. Clemons was one of 1,633 15th Infantry Regiment soldiers killed during the war. The 15th Infantry Regiment had 16 Medal of Honor winners, including the most famous one - Audie Murphy.

He remains MIA but a memorial for him can be found at Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in Loraine, France, and at Arlington National Cemetery.

Thank you Clark for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Clark.


If you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others. Thanks for your interest!

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100