Victor Bellows Badly Hurt In Accident
Mr. and Mrs. Burt Bellows of Loon Lake left by early morning bus Wednesday for Omaha, Neb., where they were to secure the fastest mode of travel to reach the bedside of their son, Aviation Cadet Victor Bellows at Phoenix, Ariz. The family received three wires on Tuesday informing them of the injury of Victor, supposedly in a plane crash, as he is in the Army Air Corps training and had soloed [illegible] for the station hospital at Luke Field.
The first wire stated that he suffered a broken hip, burns and lacerations about his head, and later wires stated his condition was worse and asked the family to come as soon as possible. No further word has been received by other relatives here.
The injury of this son brings the war even closer to Mr. and Mrs. Bellows, who have a son a prisoner of the Japanese in the Philippines. Their son, P. F. C. Glenn Bellows, who was with the Marines at Cavite, Manila Bay, when Cavite was bombed, was reported as missing in action in May 1942, and it was only recently that the family received a government message stating that Glenn was a prisoner of war. A third son, Donald, is in Michigan, taking the preliminary technical training of the Army Air Corps.
Source: The Spirit Lake Beacon, Spirit Lake, Iowa, Thursday, April 15, 1943, Page 1
Plane Crash Fatal to Cadet Victor Bellows
MILITARY SERVICES TODAY AT
LOON LAKE BAPTIST CHURCH
The Loon Lake community was grieved Saturday when word came that the first of its young men had paid the supreme sacrifice in this war. Aviation Cadet Victor Bellows, 26, son of Mr. and Mrs. B. V. Bellows, having passed away at the Station Hospital at Luke Field, Phoenix, Arizona. His death came at 4:10 o’clock Saturday morning as the result of serious injuries received when his training plane crashed near Phoenix on Monday, April 12.
His parents, who had been called to Phoenix last week by his serious injuries, arrived at his bedside there Friday noon, and were able to visit with him before his death. His injuries included a broken hip and severe burns and lacerations about the head and back. The best of medical care was immediately available following the crash, but nothing could be done to save the life of the young soldier.
Victor had entered the service in October, 1942, having enlisted in the Army Air Force in May of last year. He took his early training at Santa Ana, Calif., and had just completed his primary training at Thunderbird Field, at Phoenix, and was ready for his basic training. His fatal accident cut short what his captain described as “an admirable record.” His lieutenant, in paying tribute to his memory, said he was a fine soldier who honored the uniform he wore and was a credit to his country. His buddies in the barracks paid him tribute, by stating that he “stood ace high with the men and officers in the barracks.”
Victor entered the service with the thought in mind to avenge the loss of his brother, P. F. C. Glenn Bellows, of the Marines, who at the time Victor entered the service was missing in action in the Philippines. [illegible] another son of the Bellows has also entered the service, Pvt. Donald Bellows, being in the Air Force college training detachment at the Michigan State college at East Lansing, Mich.
Funeral services for Victor were held this afternoon at 2 o’clock at the Loon Lake Baptist church, which he attended as a child and as a man. Rev. G. L. Conley, who baptized him on July 26, 1931, and Rev. J. E. Feller of the local Methodist church, conducted the services. The American Legion posts from both Jackson, Minn. and Spirit Lake attended the services and were in charge of the military burial service at Lakeview cemetery, Spirit Lake, where full military honors were paid the young man.
The flag draped casket, bearing the youth’s body, was brought by train to Iowa falls by the parents, and by hearse to Spirit Lake, arriving here late Tuesday afternoon.
Francis Victor Bellows was born in Minneota township Dec. 5, 1916, and died in Phoenix, Arizona, Saturday, April 17, 1943, being 26 years, four months and twelve days of age at the time of his death. He was graduated from the Jackson High school in1936, and assisted from then until his induction into the service, with the farming operations at the Bellows farm. During these years he spent a great deal of his time aiding with the Boy Scouts and in Sunday School work in the Loon Lake church where he taught a boys class. He was one of the outstanding young men of the church as well as his community.
His former pastor, Rev. Ralph Johnson, now of Rapid City, S. D., who had worked in Christian circles with the youth, as well as being a close friend, sent the following message upon hearing of his death. “I will always think of Victor as a good friend and a Christian brother.” Each letter brought a note of great spiritual strength. The last one closed with these words, “There is always the hope God knows what is best.”
Victor’s death is mourned by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. B. V. Bellows of Spirit Lake, and by four brothers and three sisters, Mrs. Dorothy Wilmarth of Harris, Mrs. Alton Clark of Lake Park, Vinton at home, P. F. C. Glenn Bellows, a prisoner of war, Pvt. Donald Bellows, East Lansing, Mich., and Bruce and Grace at home; also two nephews and three nieces, and many other relatives an innumerable friends.
Source: Spirit Lake Beacon, Spirit Lake, Iowa, Thursday, April 22, 1943, Page 1 (photograph included)
