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Webster County
IAGenWeb
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DEAR JOE: See those new names on the mast head? Geo. Scheidel,
over at the Forty and Eight, and Jay Longstaff and all those fellows
who belong to the Forty and Eight are responsible for one of them; and Bob Estlund
and all of the Loyal Moose of this neighborhood are responsible for the other. We're
glad to have ’em and I know you are, too. Some time ago, Rolfe Larson
talked to me down at Oleson Drug about becoming a sponsor and did become a sponsor
very quickly. Id like to take this belated opportunity to give the nod to Rolfe
. . . Last week we put out 3,315 copies of Y. L. F. H. That’s a good many more than
we started with 30 weeks ago . . . During the intervening weeks, Gates Dry Goods
Store, the Fort Dodge Creamery, the Tobin Packing
Company, the Fort Dodge Serum Company, the Fort Dodge
Grocery, and later Larry Geer, the Oleson Drug,
the Iowa-Illinois Gas & Electric, and now the Forty and Eight
and the Moose have contributed generously in money and time and
good will to keep Y. L. F. H. rolling. For several months Swaney Motor Company
was also a sponsor. They’ve all been splendid about it. Why? Because, Joe, they
think you are the greatest guy that ever lived. And so does everyone back here.
We're not living while you're gone. We’re in a state of suspended animation. This
is a deserted village with little left of laughter and love and youth. When the
war ends and you come marching home, the spell will be shattered and we'll live
again. So, Joe Charming, put the bee on Hitler and hurry home . Working on Y. L.
F. H. are a lot of people who work nights and Sundays so that your letter will go
through. Mae Challberg has charge of that long file of names of
G. I. Joes. She’s spent hundreds of hours on it, arranging and rearranging. It’s
like a garden. It needs work every day. And Charlotte Brown types
the letter, reads your correspondent’s crabbed writing, puts it together and then
she and Mae proof read it. And Dorothy Flinn works on it too...
They are doing it for you, fellow. We know it’s a little sheet, but it’s put together
with a lot of care and affection ... We hope it’s like one of those eggs we used
to get at Christmas time and Easter. You looked through a tiny magnifying window
and saw a fairy village. We hope that Y. L. F. H. may be a little magic window through
which you'll see your friends, your home and the shady walks of your town.
CORNER OF CENTRAL AND NINTH. Fred Clark has been
named manager of the Tobin plant . . . The bankers of Northwest Iowa met in Fort
Dodge Tuesday. Harry Huff presided as chairman. John K. Langrum,
of the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, spoke—saw slight danger of post war inflation.
Several hundred had dinner at the Wahkonsa . . . Ferdinand Kolb
died last Friday. Richard Cornell, 27, has been bound over to the
grand jury in Chicago for impersonating an army officer. Cornell had been a second
lieutenant but was placed on the inactive list in January of this year . . . It
was 92 in Fort Dodge Sunday, May 14th, hottest place in the state . . . John
Plaunt has sold his paint store to the Cook Paint and Varnish Company,
of Kansas City. John’s going to devote all his time to managing the Johnston Hotel
which he bought some time ago. We are driving again for paper and rags . . . Webster
County ‘has pledged two million bushels of corn to essential war processing plants.
That puts Webster County at the top of the list in the entire country . . .
Walt Rekers is chairman of the newly organized: “Jim Dolliver for Congress”
club. Harry Cox is president of the “Blue For Governor”
club. He spoke for Blue over KVFD last Saturday evening . . . Miss Billie McConnell
has been named senior prom queen at Clarke College. Bert Price
is back in the hospital and not well . . . Dr. Matt Saunders is
well on the way to complete recovery. D. Mulholland has
been elected head of the Study Club.
AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER. Helen McMahon
and Lt. John Crilly, of Clare, at Los Angeles, May 6th . Bernadine
Thode and Clarence C. Blaha, petty officer 2/c, of
Fort Dodge, May 13th. He is stationed at Pascagoula, Miss. . . . Bessie House,
of Carizzo Springs, Texas and S/Sgt. Elwin Fricke, at Del Rio,
Texas . . . Shirley Del Viers and Pfc. Willard B. Rod,
of Roland, Iowa, at San Antonio, Texas, April 28th.
MOVIN’ AROUND. To. Camp Butner, N. C., Cpl. Robert Nyght
and Pvt. Alan Breen, both in the same H. Q. company with the light
field artillery, 89th division . . . To Camp Sutton, N. C., . Walter Heidick.
To St. Simon Island, Ga., Lt. Robert J. Hogan . . . To Alliance
Air Base, Alliance, Nebraska, Pvt. Floyd L. Peterson . . . To Harding
Field, Baton Rouge, La., Lt. Mark Tuel . . . To Camp Polk, La.,
Capt. John K. Jensen, with the 8th armored division . . . To Camp
Davis,
N. C., from Camp Murphy, Florida, Pfc. Richard Machovec . .
. To
Camp Murphy, Fla., from Ft. Monmouth, N. J., Pvt. John “Bob” Clark
. . . To Camp Beale, Calif., Pvt. Earl H. Ball . . . To Barksdale
Field, La. 1st Sgt. Wm. O. Todd . . . From Savannah Beach, Ga.,
to Moultrieville, S. C., Sgt. Joel E. Daniels . . . To Mobile,
Alabama, from Kelly Field, Texas, S/Sgt. Milton Cottrell. Milt
is now going to his 9th instrument school. Pretty soon he will be qualified for
his D. I. I. K. (darned if I
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know.) . . . From. Jacksonville, Fla., to Hutchinson, Kansas, Dale S. Coffin,
AMM 2/c . . . To Hammer Field, Fresno, Calif, Pfc. Jos. Sorvetti
. . . To Van Nuys, Calif., from Hammer Field, Pvt. Glenn H. Bastian.
Thanks, Glen, for the “Clipper.” . . . To Davisville, R. 1,
Arthur S. Holmer, S 2/c . . . To Bergstrom Army Air Field, Austin,
Texas, 2nd Lt. R. L. DeLanoit . . .
OVER HERE. Home for good and honorably discharged from the service
is John Van Ornum. He’s on his brother’s farm convalescing . .
. Marvin Intermill, F 1/c, is now at Camp Bradford, Norfolk, Va.
in an amphibious training school . . . Pvt. Galin V. Olson, of
Burnside, when not basking in Jacksonville’s sunshine or enjoying its surf, is busy
with a little thing called radio code . . . Robert W. Porter, A.
S., late of Kraft Cheese, is now in boot training at Camp Bennion, Farragut . .
. Helen and Genevieve Brofer are with the WAVES
in Bronx, N. Y. . . . Cpl. Geo. C. Robeson, combat mail man with
the marines, is now on maneuvers in the Mojave desert. Geo. writes a swell letter
but always in red ink. It gives me the jitters. Him being a leatherneck, I can just
see him filling his pen by stabbing a vein in his arm . . . It’s been cold in Alabama,
too. Sgt. Lawrence Johnson has caught his thermometer sneaking
down to 35 degrees several times. Lawrence is in post headquarters at Camp Sibert,
Ala. We'll be looking for the book, Lawrence. Thanks a lot . . . Sgt. Louis
Weideman is at the Newark Army Air Base, N. J. . . . Lt. M. E. Kearns,
A. N. C, is now at Mather Field, Sacramento, Calif. . . . Carl Leiss
is now at Kearns, Utah . . . Sgt. and Mrs. Wayne Brooks now at
Lakeland, Fla., are crossing off days on the calendar. Hope to be home on a furlough
soon . . . Pfc. John E. Vohs is now stationed at Camp Swift, Texas
. . . Home for good is Chas. Hammitt, F 1/c, of Lehigh, on an honorable
medical discharge after a year in service in the states and overseas.
SCOREBOARD. St. Johns, of Bancroft,
slid past West Bend, 5 to 4. Humboldt got around
Rippey, 2 to 1. Ft. Dodge beat Lohrville,
6 to 0; and St. Johns beat Humboldt, 5 to 0, putting
St. Johns and the Dodgers in the finals of the
district baseball tournament played at Dodger field. Comes the big moment. Do we
go to the state meet at Manson or not? Whoopee! We're going to the state baseball
tournament at Manson, and how! Finals in the district meet. Dodgers 13, 2. The boys
played beautiful ball. Knack pitched a no hitter. And so we're
on our way. Next week we'll have the story on the state tournament . . . The
Dodgers took the district field meet last Saturday, piling up 89 points.
Ames was second, with 78. Ray Prohaska, the running
redhead, broke the meet record in the mile with the time of 4:37 2/3 Hinie Wasem
won both the high and low hurdles. Schweiger won the 440 in a photo
finish. Ruby took the half mile and the Dodger
relay teams took the half mile, the mile and medley. We weren’t good in golf last
week. In the Big Seven, with Pfaff, Schill, Kruckman, and Schaupp
playing for the Dodgers, we finished next to last.
ATTENTION H. E. “HUB” NELSON. Ivan Elmo McBrayer,
MM 3/c, riding a sea going destroyer, is headed your way. And soon. If you guys
open a keg of nails or anything, have one for me.
OVERSEAS. Sgt. Bob Fisher, of Duncombe, is now
in North Ireland with an evacuation hospital. “I am quite fascinated with everything
over here, especially the beautiful countryside . . . Cpl. Geo. Haire
and his sister-in-law, Lt. Nancy Sittig, are now in the same outfit,
an evacuation hospital in England.
DOWN UNDER. James W. Gormally, RM 2/, who is now
“down under”, observes that the navy wasn’t kidding when they said “Join and see
the world.” He met Robert Carroll a short time ago and had about
a five minute visit, the only Dodger he has seen. Bob's a subscriber now, Jim .
. . Lt. (j. g.) Ed Kelleher is engineering officer on a mine sweeper.
Brother Leo is a Lt. and dive bomber pilot in the same area . .
. Lt. Morrie Haskell is a recreational officer in New Guinea .
. . Dale Burton, petty officer 1/c, took part in the landing at
Hollandia.
NOW EVERYTHING HAS HAPPENED. Either a mean old censor stole the
letter out of Pvt. Jerome Bockoven’s envelope marked the 18th of
March—or—or—horried thought—we just never did get the letter into the envelope.
Because Jerome got the envelope but no letter. Gentlemen—and Ladies—there is the
saddest picture in our scrap book of mistakes. We send a letter clear, for Pete’s
sake! to Italy and there is Jerome, standing on the shore of muddy Italy waiting
for a letter . . . And what does he get? Golly, golly, I could at least have sent
along a couple of past due bills or the tickets I didn’t use to the policemen’s
ball. Jerome, my friend, we are sorry.
FUNNIEST LINE OF THE WEEK. Pfc. Ray E. Nelson
is
in England on what he calls the “Spam Circuit.” His letter is written on pale blue
paper of a texture that seemed oddly familiar. At the end of the letter, he added
this post script, “No Ed, I did not get this paper in the latrine.” Ray's letter
from home, mailed from here on April 29th, reached him six days later in England.
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Ray says (and we agree) “I believe that is a record for regular mail.”
HOME TOWN BOYS MAKE GOOD. To Sgt., Arleigh Kullberg,
down in Panama. He’s been gone from Ft. Dodge over two years . . . To Sgt.,
Robert O. Larson, of Badger, now in Italy . . . To 2nd Lt. from T/Sgt.,
W. V. “Bill” Mulroney, who some time ago completed his 25 missions
as radio man and gunner on a Fort in England. Bill expects to stay in England as
a communications officer . . . Capt. Lowell Brueland, of Callender,
got two German planes on last week end’s mission over Germany. That gives him eight
. . . Robert Sheker got wings and an ensign’s commission at Corpus
Christi, Texas, May 1 . . . Pvt. Andy Stensrud and a couple of
other guys captured twelve Nazis early this month over on the Anzio beach head.
ENJOYING MOM’S COOKING. Leo RoJohn, S 2/c, from
Farragut . . . Chas. Mattice, petty officer 3/c, on leave from
sea duty in the Pacific . . . S/Sgt. C. L. Brown, from 16 months
service overseas. He was at Guadalcanal and Tarawa. His brother, Cpl. Geo. Brown,
was killed while leading a patrol in the Solomons . . . Wm. Thode,
Gur. with the armed guard aboard a merchant vessel in the Pacific . . . Sgt.
Lester Carpenter, of Dayton, from Puerto Rico . . . Darwin Wing,
of Callender, from the Aleutian Islands . . . Sgt. Oscar Olson,
from England, after completing 26 missions as tail gunner on a Fort . . . Pvt.
Robert Tullis, from the Aleutians. He was up in that territory about
two and a half years . . . Lt. Edward Law, of Clare, from Hobbs,
N. Mex. . . . Jack Calvert Mineman 2/c, after 18 months in the
Southwest Pacific . . . Cpl. Harold K. Powers, of Moorland, after
28 months in the Southwest Pacific . . . Sgt. and Mrs. Robert Gates
from Kearney, Nebr. Bob, who was practicing law in Washington before his induction
in 42, has been running a Link trainer at the Kearney air base . . . Cpl. and Mrs.
Bob Rule from Oklahoma City . . . Pvt. Melvin Edgerton,
from Fort Ord, Calif . . . . John Callahan, MM 1/c, of Duncombe
. . . Morris Lumsden, S 2/c, of Lehigh, from Farragut, Idaho .
. . Pvt. and Mrs. Woodie Clarken of Vincent . . . Pfc. and Mrs.
Melvin Block, from Indiantown Gap, Pa . . . Archie H. Keyser,
F 2/, from Farragut . . . Neva Knickerbocker, with the WAVES, from
Olathe, Kans. . . . 1st Lt. Vaughn Blaine, from Carlisle, Pa. .
. . Over nighters were Lts. Bob LeValley, of Dayton, and Bill
Harper, of Long Island, N. Y., at the LeValleys’ in Dayton. They
flew up as far as Des Moines from San Angelo, Texas.
. . . FUNNIEST LETTER OF THE WEEK. One from Eugene Wilcox,
who joined the SeaBees and is now in the Southwest Pacific. Burden of his dream
of the next war is that he will join the army.
MISSING IN ACTION. Sgt. R. E. Thompson, of Clare,
on a raid over Germany on April 29th. He had been engineer-bombardier on a Fort
based in England. His brother, Conrad, a Sgt. in the Southwest
Pacific, was wounded in action in 42 but has long since rejoined his outfit . .
. Lt. Howard Erricson, on a raid over Germany April 29th. Howard
left here with Co. G. and later transferred to the air corps. He is a bombardier.
His brother, Jim, is with the navy in the South Pacific . . .
Lt. Owen D. Walton, on a raid over Germany, April 29th. He is co-pilot
on a Fort based in England. Had completed 25 missions and probably was on his thirtieth.
PRISONERS OF WAR. Sgt. Eugene Briggs is a German
prisoner of war. He was reported missing on a raid over the Italian theatre April
19th. He was a tail gunner . . . S/Sgt. Dick Wretman, gunner on
a Fort, reported missing following a raid over Poland April 9th, is a prisoner of
war in Germany. It was his 13th mission.
HE FOUND HIS BROTHER’S GRAVE on Tarawa. Palmer Haroldson,
of Gowrie, died in the battle for the tiny atoll last November. His brother,
Alvin, signalman aboard a destroyer, found the grave where Palmer is
buried and sent home pictures of the grave and the cemetery to his folks.
FROM THE FIVE CORNERS OF THE WORLD. Pfc. James E. Ralston,
Italy, “There are quite a few Iowa boys in my outfit. The commander of the ground
forces is Major Richard A. Wing, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I am with
the Ordnance section of a B-24 outfit. Our job is to take care of the guns and to
take care of and deliver the eggs which eventually end up in Hitler’s back yard.
Italy is a very pretty place at this time of the year. The countryside is covered
with wild flowers. But for all of it I would not trade one little corner of Iowa.
When I first landed in Italy we went to an assembly point where it was my good fortune
to run into one of those men who was inducted when I was. We took basic training
together at Miami Beach, Florida. He is Cpl. Stagman who lives
near West Bend and is the uncle of Lt. Wilfred Stagman, of Fort
Dodge.”
Roger E. Viers, GM 3/c, FPO New York, “Just arrived back in the
good old U. S. and it sure was a sight for sore eyes. One never appreciates what
he has until he leaves it and sees what others don’t have. I’ve been to Murmansk,
Russia, again this trip and also to Scotland and Belfast, Ireland. You might be
interested to know that your letters reach me in foreign countries even while Im
at sea.” (Thanks for the papers, Rog.)
Pvt. Bill E. Algood, APO San Francisco, “I am in the Ellice Island
group, on an island which was heavily bombed by the Japs a while back. The natives
are very friendly and helpful. They love to trade their handmade items for colored
cloth and other articles which we consider common back home. All the males smoke
cigarettes, even the smallest boys.”
Walter I. Pigman, S 2/c, Hawaiian Islands, “P. S. Latest Order:
All mosquitoes being rode to the chow hall by sentries and guards must be securely
tied before entering the mess hall. There have been too many steaks missing and
this must be stopped immediately or riding privileges will be banned from this camp.”
John F. Estlund, F 1/c, Lido Beach, Long Island, N. Y. “I’m at-
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tached to P. T. boats as a repairman on the electrical gang. We think. our next stop
will be some place in England. Today we drew all our overseas gear which included
a helmet, gas mask, first aid kit and all kinds of foul weather clothing. As soon
as we each draw a carbine rifle, we’ll be on our merry way.” (O. K., John, “Wedding
Bells” it will be.)
Cpl. Stan Ulrich, Fort Knox, Ky. “Enclosed is an Iowan’s address
and he said he’d see that every one got to see his L. F. H. if you send him one.
At the present, they are reading mine and really finding it what we call a “good
deal” or a “tremendous transaction.” Keep the good work up and the gardens weeded.”
(He’s an old subscriber now, Stan.)
Pvt. A. K. Noland, England, “I just received my Y. L. F. H. (Easter)
today and sure got a kick out of it. Say, what's wrong back there in Iowa? People
killing themselves and others. Isn’t there enough of that going on in the world?
I had a furlough before coming over and was coming over to the station and talk
over the war as seen from Dodgers’ eyes all over the world, but not having much
time, I didn’t make it.”
Cpl. Bob Lawson, Anzio Beachhead, “This Anzio is quite the place.
I’m told it is the busiest port in the world, considering the size. We never lack
entertainment. Jerry keeps us well supplied with his persistent shelling his Luftwaffe
paying us a nightly visit. Sometimes at night, this old town is lit up like Fort
Dodge on Sat- urday night. But just a wee bit more exciting. It’s a nice sight to
see two to three planes coming down in flames. The Jerries keep us pretty busy keeping
our telephone lines working. Bombs and artillery can sure raise heck with our circuits.
But the U. S. Signal Corps keeps the lines open. The chow is O. K. We just had good
old Iowa pork chops from Raths in Waterloo. Our lines are out so I got to go.”
Pfc. Lauren Averill, FPO San Francisco, “I’ve been in the Marine
Corps for a year now and had the good fortune of coming through boot camp with
Dick Lowry, of Fort Dodge. I had all the dope about Fort Dodge from
him. I’m on board this battle ship now and it wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for
the sailors.”
Lt. John Metcalf, England, “Just as I was leaving the good old U.
S. A., I received a flat fifty of cigarettes from you. Just as I landed somewhere
in England the Red Cross handed me a pack of cigarettes marked “Courtesy of Omaha
World Herald.” It really made me feel as if I were being especially thought of and
very much back home. Thanks a million.”
Sgt. Jim Skophammer, England, “Can’t say much about our flight over
here without talking about our route, so won't, but it wasn’t very eventful—mostly
sleep—”
T/Sgt. Robert Lee Bell, APO, San Francisco, “During my tour of duty
in the Hawaiian Group I met several Fort Dodgers. Here are a few of the names but
some I know left there before I did. I met Chris Constantine,
Dick (Ross) Tierney, and spent a very enjoyable day with them in the
neighboring city. I saw Tierney off and on as we were both on the same post. I arranged
to meet Irwin Greenlief a couple of times (he was in the Merchant
Marine) in Honolulu when I was on pass. Just before leaving my previous station
I ran into Lt. Donald Evans (recuperating in the Station Hospital)
and spent a few hours chatting over things—people and places in Fort Dodge. I am
now stationed on one of the islands of the Marshall group and you can put me on
record as saying that it is not so bad. I have not become so attached to this island
(Atoll is a better word) that I have decided to make this my home.”
And in the bag were lots of other letters. We used news from many of them so we won’t
acknowledge them here. Other grand letters and cards come from Jack Jones,
S 1/c, North Africa . . . Eugene Wilcox, FPO San Francisco, Calif.
. . . Sgt. Fred Vannoni, New Guinea . . . D. V. Laurent,
MoMM 1/c, Southwest Pacific . . . Sgt. Julian Messerly, England
. . . Pvt. Richard Hill, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas . . . Ralph
Rutledge, SC 1/c, Camp Endicott, R. I. Pvt. Herschel C. Elliott,
APO San Francisco . . . Cpl. William Oswald, APO New York . . .
Pvt. Frederick J. Miller, Camp Pickett, Virginia . . . Pvt.
Lenus Wieberg, North Africa . . . T/Sgt. Leo Simmons,
APO New York . . . Pfc. Richard Culver, England . . . Pvt.
Paul H. Mundt, Camp Plauche, La. . . . Sgt. Theodore Essig,
New Guinea . . . Robert E. Lochray, S 2/c, Bremerton, Wash. . .
Cpl. Roy Dreier, England . . . Cpl. Ralph Christenson,
Williams Field, Ariz. . . . Fred N. Cooper, PhM 3/c, Santa Margarita
Rancho. Calif. . . . Cpl. Otho U. Rohr, Victorville, Calif. (Yes
sir, Cpl. we'll take care of that request.) . . . Sgt. Dallas DuBois,
Fort Jackson SC . . . H.L. Torgerson, G. M. 2/c, Washi n, D. C. . . . (Thanks, Sailor,
for the Mag.) . . . Sgt. Wallace R. Weiss, Camp Hood, Texas . .
. Sgt. William George, Jr., FPO, San Francisco . . . James
E. Haring, San Diego, Calif. . . . Pfc. Frank Loftus,
Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and Pvt. W. C. Strom, Camp Kohler,
Sacramento, Calif, (Yes, sir, we played a number for your wife and son.)
And with them were camp papers and magazines from Enfrid D. Linder,
S 2/c, Memphis, Tenn. . . . Sgt. G. K. Julander, India . . .
Lt. Harold Dessinger, Ft. Devens, Mass. . . . Sgt. Fred Vannoni,
New Guinea . . . Pvt. Herschel C. Elliott, New Guinea . . .
T/Sgt. Ivan Arnold, England . . . R. E. Viers, GM
3/c, Brooklyn, N. Y. . . . Fred N. “Bud” Cooper, PhM 3/c, Santa
Margarita Rancho, Calif. . . . Pvt. Mervin D. Bowman, APO Seattle,
Wash . . . . H. L. Torgerson, GM 2/c, Solomons, Md. . . . Ralph
Rutledge, SC 1/c, Camp Endicott, R. 1 . . . Lt. (j. g.) A. A. Carlson,
Yosemite National Park, Calif., and Ens. R. K. Larson, Boca Chica,
Fla.
Thanks so much, everyone. The weather has been strange. One day warm and delightful,
the next full of showers and thunder and lightning. Today it’s sort of in between.
A good day for gardening. That's where we are going, home to the garden. Wish you
were here, Joe, doing the same thing: Good luck. And may God keep you safe. See
you next week, same corner.
Your home town correspondent,
Ed Breen
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