lest we forget

The Issaquah Press

Staff sergeant, U.S. Army Air Force, 375th

Bomber

Squadron, 308th Bomber Group, Heavy; reported MIA

between January and April 1944;

crew of plane was never

found. Tablets of the missing are at Manila

American Cemetery,

Manila, Philippines.

Second lieu-tenant, U.S.

Army Air Force,443rd Bomb

Squadron, 320th Bomb

Group

MIA Oct. 23, 1943, over the Tyrrhenian Sea near Giannuitri

Island. The crew of the

downed B-26 was seen in life rafts but

Air-Sea Rescue boats could not

locate them, and no one

from the crew was ever seen again. Tablets of the missing are at Florence

American Cemetery in

Florence, Italy.

Staff sergeant,

U.S. Army Air Force,

589th Bomb Squadron,

387th Bomb Group

Shot down near Mayan,

Germany, where his crew was attacking a railroad via-

duct, on Dec. 23, 1944.

Private,

U.S. Army Air Force,

481st Service Squadron, 46th

Air Service Group

Born: Nov. 28, 1920

Killed April 18, 1945, in acci-dental bomb

explosion. Buried in Hillside

Cemetery.

Captain, U.S. Air ForceBorn: July 27,

1939,MIA May 31,

1966, Declared dead: Feb. 11,

1975Missing in air loss/crash in

North Vietnam. (Remains never

recovered.)

Second lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Force,

737th Bomb Squadron,

454th Bomb Group

Shot down in Croatia on April

21, 1944.

Second

lieutenantU.S. Army Air

Force45th Fighter

Squadron, 15th Fighter Group

MIA June 1, 1945, some-

where between Iwo Jima and Osaka, Japan; weather may

have been the reason for the

loss.

Private first class, U.S.

Army,

infantry,Born: Feb. 17,

1926 Died: June 14,

1945184th Infantry

Regiment, 7th Infantry

Division. KIA by a grenade attacking Hill 181 in Ryuku,

Okinawa, Japan. Buried

in Arlington National

Cemetery.

Private, U.S. Army, 18th

Engineer Regiment

Died: Aug. 10, 1918

Buried in Suresnes American

Cemetery, in Suresnes, France. From the Sept. 27,

1918, Press: “A large congrega-tion attended the memorial

service Sunday afternoon at Issaquah in

honor of Peter Erickson, the

first of the boys from

Issaquah to die in the service of his country.

The oration delivered by

the Rev. S. V. Warren touched a high note of

patriotism.

Woman Airforce Service Pilots

(WASPs)Died in a

training exer-

cise over Sweetwater,

Texas, in May 1944. Buried in Lakeview Cemetery,

Seattle.Because WASPs were considered

civilians, she never received

a military burial. She was recent-

ly awarded a Congressional

Gold Medal by President

Obama.

Corporal, U.S. Army, Scotch

Platoon, C Company,

2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry

Regiment, 1st Cavalry DivisionBorn: March 7,

1949Died: June 18,

1969KIA in Tay

Ninh, South Vietnam. Buried in Greenwood Memorial Park,

Renton.

Sergeant, U.S. Army,

8th InfantryApril 7, 1925 – July 15, 1944

Graduated from Issaquah High

School in 1943.KIA in

Normandy, France. Buried

in Hillside Cemetery.

Private, U.S. Army,701 T.D. Battalion

July 9, 1924 – May 31, 1944

Graduated from Issaquah High

School in 1942. KIA in Anzio, Italy. Buried in Hillside Cemetery.

Corporal,U.S. Army,

C Company, 3rd Battalion, 47th Infantry,

9th Infantry Division

Died at age 21.Born: May 6,

1946 Died: July 29,

1967 He was shot

in early 1967, but recovered;

was back in action only a

few days when he was killed in Dinh Tuong

Province, South Vietnam. Buried

in Hillside Cemetery.

s s

Section

B WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

By Warren KagariseIssaquah Press reporter

In the distance, not far from beaches along Sainte-Maxime, a city along the Mediterranean Sea, a battle raged to liberate France from Nazi occupation.

Offshore, a ship painted a radi-ant white girded for the inevitable casualties — incoming soldiers suf-fering from gunshot and shrapnel wounds. The crew aboard spent the months beforehand preparing for service in a combat zone.

The complement of nurses aboard the ship, U.S. Army Hospital Ship Marigold, included 21-year-old Lucille Lennart, a compassionate young woman from tiny Everson, near the border between Washington and British Columbia.

Nowadays, Lucille Lennart is Lucille Lundstrom, a retired nurse and resident at Providence Point in Issaquah. Like other World War II veterans — a group dubbed “The Greatest Generation” by journalist Tom Brokaw — Lund-strom is humble about the years she served aboard the Marigold.

“I thought I should,” she said in a recent interview. “There was a war on.”

Lundstrom served as a nurse aboard the Marigold — a cruise liner converted for wartime use — as the ship sailed around the globe and joined more than 350,000 American women in mili-tary service amid World War II.

In the years after the war, she returned to the United States, married George Lundstrom and started a family. Lundstrom’s daughter is Dr. Rosemary War-ren, a dentist in Issaquah.

The tasks at Sainte-Maxime included tending to wounded Ghoums, or soldiers from France’s colonial territories in Africa. Some soldiers carried a small pouch holding ears sliced from German soldiers, but before the ship transferred the patients to a hospital onshore, Lundstrom and another nurse needed to con-fiscate the pouches for disposal.

“It was harrowing work, not knowing the dialect, to try calm-ing fighters reluctant to give up their spoils,” author Michael Skalley chronicled in “A Medal for Marigold” — a 1982 account about the ship. “The girls said that, un-consciously, whenever they were near the beds of the Ghoums, both hands went up to their ears.”

The odyssey beginsLundstrom started training as

LUCILLE LUNDSTROM

World War II nurse treated wounded soldiers

at decisive battles

See NURSE, Page B6

By Christina LordsIssaquah Press reporter

When William Bentz enlisted in the United States Army in July 1943 to serve in history’s most widespread world war, modern technological communication did not yet exist.

That meant no cellphones, no Skype, no email.

What he and his wife Onadee did have, however, was V-Mail. Short for Victory Mail, the hybrid mail system used by Americans in World War II to securely cor-respond with soldiers stationed abroad.

“I wrote what they call V let-ters,” he said. “During the war times, instead of having your 8.5 by 10 legal paper, they reduced

them down … those days you couldn’t run to the computer to get it across and I was certainly too far away to yell.”

William Bentz reported for active duty at Fort Lewis before taking on firefighting training at a WWII U.S. Army camp called Camp Claiborne in Louisiana.

Bentz opted to be what was called service personnel instead of

in the infantry because he had a wife and infant at home.

It took 25 days via naval ship to get to his first long-term desti-nation during the war — New Guinea.

“A lot of people don’t think about it, but there were 2,500 to

BY CHRISTINA LORDS

At right, William Bentz, a 92-year-old World War II veteran, holds a collec-tion of materials he obtained while visiting the rededication of the National WWII Memorial in May 2004 in Washington, D.C. He served in humid areas, such as New Guinea and the Philippines (above), in his three years of service.

IN THE LINE

OF FIREIssaquah man established fuel stations

in the South Pacific during WWII

Freedom isn’t free. Since the birth of this country, men and women have been willing to fight and die for Americans to be free to live their lives as they choose.

And the number of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice is staggering. More than 1.3 mil-lion men and women have died in wars fought by or on behalf of this country since 1775.

Men and women have also been willing to sacrifice their personal time, by serving in times when war was not on or imminent. They have done all types of jobs that people in the civilian sector do, but instead did them in service to this country while they stood ready to defend our lives, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

We at The Issaquah Press salute, honor and thank the men and women from our community who have paid all types of sac-rifices to keep themselves, their families and everyone else free. We hope you will do the same.

Remembering the 19 who gave the ultimate sacrifice for freedom

Paul Alfred Ambrose

Robert Arndt

Robert Baskett

Jack McQuade

Peter Erickson

George C. Larsen

John Raymond Smart

Information is incomplete and/or conflicting for the 19 local veterans killed while serving in wartime. Photos also could not be located for three of them. If you have information or pho-tos, email [email protected] or call 392-6434, ext. 227.

Clifford Benson

Elizabeth Erickson

Robert Philp Robert Watson

James Patrick Brady

Laurence J. Lortie

Emmett R. McDonald

Flight officer, U.S. Army Air Force, 422nd Bomb

Squadron, 305th Bomb GroupKilled Aug. 6,

1944, when the B-17 he was

co-piloting was hit by flak and crashed near Vollradisroda,

Germany.Interred in

Germany; later brought home to Greenwood Memorial Park,

Renton.

Joseph Albert Tondreau

Fireman first class, U.S.

Navy/Naval Reserve

MIA or buried at sea Dec. 18,

1944.Tablets of

the missing are at Manila

American Cemetery in Manila,

Philippines.

Louis Petersen

Carl Albert Larson

Corporal, U.S. Army 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Division

Died Oct. 9, 1918Buried in Meuse-Argonne American

Cemetery, in Romagne, France.(no photo available)

Robert HoskinsLance corporal (mortarman),

U.S. Marine Corps, H&S Company 5, Mar 1 Mar Div

Born: Sept. 14, 1949 Died: Nov. 25, 1968

KIA in Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). Buried in Hillside

Cemetery. (no photo available)

Harold GleasonPrivate first class, U.S. Army, 301st

Infantry Regiment, 94th DivisionBorn: Feb. 6, 1916

Killed March 2, 1945, while serving as a medic near Serrig,

Germany. Buried in Hillside Cemetery.

(no photo available)

TELL US YOUR STORYIf you served in the military dur-ing wartime, we want to hear from you. We would like to share your story in future papers. Email Managing Editor Kathleen R. Merrill at [email protected].

In Loving Memory: SSgt. Dale & Lt. Alice Lee

See FIRE, Page B6

LEST WE FORGETLEST WE FORGETLEST WE FORGET

B1

To learn more about this section, read Managing Editor Kathleen R. Merrill’s column on Page A6.

Archie AdairBorn: May 5, 1911

Died: Feb. 18, 1985Branch of service:

U.S. ArmyWhere served:

Germany in World War II

Details of service: While with the 83rd Infantry Division in

Germany, was award-ed the combat

infantryman’s badge for displaying

exemplary conduct in action

Allen Sherman Anderson Highest rank achieved: E-3

Branch of service: U.S. Navy

Dates of service: Dec. 2, 1972 to

April 7, 1977Details of service:

Hull tech, was on the USS Samuel Gompers, USS John Paul Jones,

USS Kitty Hawk; was off the coast of Vietnam from late

1973 until mid-1975; finished enlistment in dry dock at Bremerton shipyard overhauling

the Kitty Hawk

Edward E. AuthierHighest rank

achieved: Lieutenant colonel

Branch of service: U.S. Army

Where served: Germany, Korea, Vietnam and U.S.Dates of service:

1960 - 1980Details of service: Was a senior Army

aviator

Harry G. BehrensHighest rank

achieved: LTJGBranch of service:

U.S. NavyWhere served:

Served in Korea for one year

Dates of service: 1953-1955

Details of service: Was landing craft

control officer on the USS Logan

David Hardman Black Sr.Born: Nov. 5, 1945Died: Feb. 24, 2008

Highest rank achieved:

SP5 E-5 (T) Feb 1969Branch of service:


Thailand (1966-68) Korea (1970)

Dates of service: 1965 to 1977

Details of service: Served in Vietnam in 1972 and was exposed to Agent

Orange; received the National Defense

Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary

Medal, Vietnam Service Medal,

Vietnam Campaign Medal, Good Conduct

Medal (second award), two overseas bars and the Vietnam

Cross of Gallantry with palm; buried at Camp Nelson

National Cemetery in Nicholasville, Ky.

David Wayne BrackenBorn: 1917

Died: 1979 (in Issaquah)

Highest rank achieved: PFC


Where served: Aleutian Islands

Details of service: Signal Corps


Buford R. (Bud) AmbroseDeceased

Highest rank achieved: SK2 (store keeper second class)


Where served: South Pacific — USS

Saginaw BayDates of service: Feb. 15, 1943 to

Feb. 5, 1946

Gilbert R. AndressHighest rank

achieved: Carpenters mate

third class Branch of service:

U.S. Navy, SeaBees Naval

Construction Wounded in action:

Gun explosion caused tinnitus Where served: Pacific Ocean, Hawaii, Guam,

OkinawaDates of service: July 7, 1943 to March 6, 1946

William Ernest ArndtHighest rank

achieved: Baker second class Branch of service:

U.S. Navy Where served:

Pacific Dates of service: March 1943 to

December 1945

John ArnoldHighest rank

achieved: Lieutenant

Commander Branch of service:


U.S., Cuba, three tours in Vietnam Dates of service: August 1955 to January 1982

William BentzHighest rank

achieved: Staff sergeant


Where served: South Pacific, New Guinea Philippines; Fort Lawton, Wash. Dates of service:

1943-1946, 1948-1949

Carl B. Bridges Deceased (at age 70)


Where served: Stationed on the

USS BraineDates of service:

1952-1956

Daniel T. AndersonBranch of service:

U.S. NavyHighest rank achieved: ET2Where served:

Atlantic Theater two years aboard USS Pocono, flagship of the Atlantic FleetDetails of service:

Served as electronic technician

(UHF specialist); President Truman was often aboard the ship, using my radio shack

and equipment.Years of service:

1946-1948

John Michael BarryHighest rank

achieved: CorporalBranch of service: U.S. Marine Corps

Where served: Vietnam

Details of service: 1st Marine Air Wing, 3rd Marine Division; served in combat at Khe Sahn Combat

Base during Tet and the Siege of Khe Sahn

in February 1968; I Corps below the DMZ; in combat in Vietnam from December 1967

to August 1969Dates of service: February 1966 to

February 1972

Jim BriodyHighest rank

achieved: Specialist 5 (E-5)


Where served: U.S. Military Liaison Mission, West Berlin and Potsdam, East

GermanyDates of service:

1961-1964

Paul Eugene BartholomewHighest rank

achieved: Corporal; airman

second class Branch of service:

Air National Guard/Air Force Reserve/U.S.

Naval Reserve Where served: United States

Dates of service: Jan. 23, 1946 U.S.N.R to June 4, 1946; June 1948 A.N.G. to June 1952; May 1, 1951

U.S. Air Force to Dec. 20, 1951

Paul Thomas BooneBorn:

Sept. 26, 1924Died:

Oct. 7, 2009Highest rank

achieved: Flight officer

Branch of service: U.S. Air ForceWhere served:

P-51 pilot in combat in the

Philippines, New Guinea and other

places in the South Pacific

Details of service: He was in Japan after the bomb was dropped, and ferried numer-

ous planes from the islands to

storage areas.Dates of service:

1943-1946

Walter Lee BrazeltonHighest rank

achieved: First sergeant


Where served: 508th MP BN,

Military Police; Fort Lawton, Wash.; 61st

MP Co., France; 62d MP (RAFP) Co.; USAREC,

Bloomington, Ill.; Special Forces

Thailand-Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam; 1st

Infantry Division Fwd., Germany; and

Fort LewisDates of service: October 1956 to December 1977

Roger Lee BrownHighest rank

achieved: Army PFC and Navy MR3

Branch of service: Army and NavyWhere served:

41st Infantry Division 146 Field Artillery

(Army); USS Ticonderoga;

USS Coral SeaDetails of service:

Multiple cruises with Pacific Fleet to the

Far EastDates of service:

Army 1955-58; Navy 1958-62

Christopher Lee Brown Sr.Highest rank

achieved: ABH 3rd class


Where served: CVN 68 USS Nimitz

Details of service: Served in Atlantic

Fleet with mul-tiple cruises to the

Mediterranean areaDates of service:

March 1979 to March 1983

Christopher Lee Brown Jr.Highest rank

achieved: SergeantBranch of service:

U.S. ArmyWhere served: 2nd

Infantry Division, 3rd Stryker Brigade

Details of service: Fought in every

major battle in Iraqi Freedom, including Fallujah, Mosul and Baghdad; received two Purple Hearts,

Commendation for Stryker Vehicle Commander under

hostile engage-ments; Personal Commendation

Medal for Operation Iraqi Freedom

Dates of service: November 2004 to

present

Fred ButlerHighest rank

achieved: Colonel


Where served: Vietnam, Germany

and U.S.Dates of service: Jan. 8, 1963 to Jan. 31, 1990

Wayne E. BusbyBorn: 1920Died: 1995

Highest rank achieved: Aviation Machinist’s Mate

Second Class; ratings held — S1c, AMM3c,

AMM2cBranch of service:

U.S. NavyWhere served: NRAB Seattle, NRAB Pasco, Hed Ron 14-2, FAW-14, Hed Ron Fleet Airwing Six-FAW-4Dates of service:

April 1942 to October 1945

Gaius Sunday BuxtonHighest rank

achieved: Signalman third class


Where served: Signalman on staff

of Commander Transport Division 60

in the Pacific area on the USS Grimes; Okinawa Campaign, initial occupation of Tokyo Bay Area and

Nagasaki, JapanDates of service:

1944-1946

Jean-Michel ChristopherHighest rank

achieved: EM2 (electricians

mate second class)Branch of service:


USS City of Corpus Christi

Dates of service: August 1992 to

August 1998

George W. Croft Jr. (Bud)Highest rank

achieved: E9 (master chief

petty officer)Branch of service:


Pacific Theatre, WWIIWounded in action:

In Pearl Harbor hospital recovering from appendectomy when the Japanese

began bombing Pearl Harbor. Ran out to veranda to see the entire Harbor as it

was being bombed. Read his story in the

military section on AncientFaces.com.Dates of service:

1941-1971

Joseph Elmer ChevalierBorn: Aug. 3, 1925

Highest rank achieved: Coxswain on the USS PGM19Branch of service:


Okinawa and RyukyusDates of service: August 1942 to January 1946

Theodore Vernon Colbert Sr.Born: Jan. 22, 1922Died: Jan. 6, 2012


PFC/ Special Weapons Group

Branch of service: U.S. Marine Corps

Where served: World War II, in the Pacific Region and

fought in the Russell and Solomon islands, on Rendova Island,

and in Guam and the Guadalcanal Islands, and stormed many

beachesDates of service: Nov. 12, 1942 to

May 5, 1945Details of service:

awarded the Asiatic Pacific Ribbon 1

star for New Georgia Group Operations

Phillip James ConwayBorn: Feb. 22, 1926

Highest rank achieved: Coxswain

on the USS RenshawBranch of service:

U.S. NavyWhere served: World

War II — Solomon Islands, Marianas, Marshall Islands,

Saipan, Tinian, GuamDetails of service: He was the coxen charged with ferry-ing the “big shots” to shore and trans-porting work crews

around the ship or to shore in a “gig.”Dates of service:

1943 to 1946

Dallas CrossHighest rank

achieved: PFC, U.S. Army Infantry (twice

achieved)Branch of service:

U.S. ArmyWhere served:Fort McNair,

Washington, D.C., and Fort Meyer —

Arlington Cemetery, Arlington, Va.

Dates of service: Active service, Sept.

11, 1957 to Sept. 10, 1959; Army Reserve,

1959-1962Details of service: Drill platoon in The

Old Guard Regiment, 1957; worked with the Secret Service

as bayonet-guarded cordon lines to

limit access to the President and visiting

heads of state Alice L. DavisHighest rank

achieved: Petty officer first class


Where served: San Diego; Great

Lakes, Ill.; Pearl Harbor; Camp LeJune, N.C.

Dates of service: Aug. 11, 1994 to present

William DixonHighest rank

achieved: Bos’n mate

second classBranch of service:


Mediterranean and Pacific TheatresDates of service: October 1942 to

January 1946

W.J. (Joe) DodgeDied: June 3, 1982


Private (infantry)Branch of service: U.S. Army (Samuel

Company)Where served:

Georgia, not deployedDates of service:

Discharged May 3, 1919

W.J. (Joe) Dodge Jr.Highest rank

achieved: AO3 (aviation ord-nance man third

class)Branch of service:


USS Hancock CVA-19 (aircraft carrier),

Southeast AsiaDates of service: October 1961 to November 1963

Thomas D. DoneganHighest rank

achieved: Lieutenant colonelBranch of service:

U.S. Army Where served:

Panama, England, Europe, Korea

Wounded in action: Suffered machine

gun leg wounds while leading a rifle pla-

toon into Germany in February 1945

Dates of service: January 1940 – July 1946, July 1952 to

January 1965

James R. DarstBorn: Jan. 1, 1927

Died: Oct. 27, 2011Branch of service:

U.S. NavyDates of service:

1945-1947Details of service:

served aboard a land-ing-craft carrier in the Pacific Theater during

World War II

Raymond C. DavisBorn: July 8, 1941

Highest rank achieved: Radarman

third classBranch of service:


Far East, Pacific, Guantanamo Bay,

CubaDetails of service: Served on the USS Washburn and USS

CabildoDates of service:

1959 to 1963

B2

Flintoft’s Funeral Home and Crematory is proud to honor our community’s veterans.

B2 • Wednesday, May 23, 2012 The Issaquah Press

�

Brown Bear Car Wash, Fischer Meats and The Johnson Family are proud to pay homage to our veterans.

Norma Ernsting-EmmonsHighest rank

achieved: Storekeeper

Second Class Branch of service:


Milledgeville, Ga.; and Bremerton, Wash.Dates of service: March 2, 1943 to

July 12, 1945

Duane W. EnglundHighest rank

achieved: Sergeant

Branch of service: Army EngineersWhere served:

Europe, Philippine IslandsDates of service:

July 1943 to January 1947

Tauno L. EricksonHighest rank

achieved: Technical sergeantBranch of service:

U.S. Army Signal Corps

Where served: Southwest and Central Pacific

theatersMedal awarded:

Bronze Star Dates of service:

May 1942 to October 1945

Ralph Carl EikenberryHighest rank



infantryWhere served:

Served in a combat zone in Korea for six months in 1950 in

the 7th Marines; was wounded at Chosin

Reservoir and was air evacuated to Japan

Dates of service: 1946-48; 1950-51

Joel EsteyHighest rank achieved: E-5


Where served: Served in combat in I Corps South Vietnam, Da Nang Chulai; mostly in the field through-

out tour of duty; American 196th Light

InfantryDetails of service: Wounded by booby

trap; earned a Purple Heart and two Bronze

StarsDates of service:

1967-1969

Luther Edward FranklinHighest rank

achieved: LieutenantBranch of service:

U.S. NavyWhere served: ZP-4 and NADEVU Naval

aviation unitsDetails of service: Flew

several aircraft and airships on East Coast

on anti-submarine missions and as test

beds for gadgets being designed at MIT; fer-ried the admiral who lined up the world’s

warships at Norfolk’s 1954 Navy Centennial

Parade (he was tall and somewhat upset I couldn’t strap a para-

chute harness on him); navigated the super-connie that tracked

Kruschev’s plane as he departed our Northeast

Coast 1957 Years of service:

November 1953 to November 1957

William Falkenstein Born: Dec. 22, 1913Died: Dec. 18, 2001


Master sergeantBranch of service:


WWII — New Guinea; Korean War — Seoul, Korea


Delbert E. FlemingHighest rank

achieved: Chief petty officerBranch of service:


Vietnam on various ships and

commandsDates of service:

1957-1977

Barry A. FederHighest rank

achieved: Lieutenant colonelBranch of service: U.S. Army, retired

Where served: Fort Polk, La.,

active duty; reserve units in Oregon and Washington; active duty for six months during Desert Storm

(first Gulf War) Dates of service: Commissioned in 1969; active duty

1973-1975; reserves 1975-1995

John E. FloodHighest rank

achieved: LieutenantBranch of service:

U.S. NavyWhere served: Supply

CorpsDates of service:

Three years

Tyler Lenwood Fraker Born: June 11, 1970


E-4, fuels specialistBranch of service:

U.S. Air ForceWhere served:

Spain during Desert Shield and Dahran, Saudi Arabia, during

Desert StormDetails of service:

406th TFTWDates of service: October 1990 to

October 1994

Ray GiaudroneHighest rank

achieved: MM 1st Class


Where served: Navy Post OfficeDates of service:

1941-1945

Louis Charles GiraldinHighest rank

achieved: Radioman

second classBranch of service:


North Pacific Ocean Dates of service: April 12, 1944 to

Feb. 21, 1946

Wayne GeigerHighest rank achieved: E4


Where served: 1st Marine Division; served in combat in Danang, Vietnam, from May 1969 –

May 1970Dates of service: November 1968

to May 1970

William Daniel GilleyHighest rank

achieved: Sergeant Branch of service:

U.S. ArmyWhere served: Panama; Fort

Columbia, Wash.; and Fort Stevens,

Ore. (the forts guard-ing the mouth of the

Columbia River)Details of service:

Hurt very seriously in an accident as they

fired one of the 10-inch disappearing guns at Fort Columbia

early in 1942. Was unable to serve after-

ward and was dis-charged.


Doris GrossHighest rank

achieved: Link instructor,

involved in American Legion, first woman

vice commander Branch of service:


Corpus Christi, Texas Dates of service:

1941-1945

The Issaquah Press Wednesday, May 23, 2012 • B3

�

David HayesHighest rank

achieved: Journalist first classBranch of service:

U.S. NavyWhere Served:

USS Simon Lake; Diego Garcia;

USS Kittyhawk; Naval Station Sandpoint,

Naval Station EverettDates of service:

1987-1998

S. William Hollingsworth Born: 1925Died: 2010


PFC (private first class) Branch of service: U.S. Army 100th

InfantryWounded in action: Wounded in combat in France, Nov. 1944

Dates of service: World War II Jan. 1944 to Aug. 1945

Shirley Beining HilgemannHighest rank

achieved: E5/SP5Branch of service:

U.S. ArmyWhere served: 9th

Adjutant General Fort Lewis; HQ U.S. Army Element, Brunssum,

The NetherlandsMedals awarded:

Army Commendation Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Joint Services Commendation Medal

Details of service: We married one year

before joining the U.S. Army. Would do it all over — the marriage

and serving. Dates of service:

1975-1980

Ewert HilgemannHighest rank

achieved: E5/SP5Branch of service:

U.S. ArmyWhere served: 9th

Adjutant General Fort Lewis; HQ U.S. Army Element, Brunssum,

The NetherlandsMedals awarded:

Army Commendation Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Joint Services

Commendation Medal, Expert (M16)

Details of service: Married my high

school sweetheart one year before joining the Army. She convinced

me that serving togeth-er would be fun. It was.


James Thurston HogansonHighest rank

achieved: Sergeant Branch of service: U.S. Army, infantry

Where served: 40th and 24th Infantry Divisions in KoreaDetails of service:

Served in combat in Korea as a

medical techDates of service: May

1953 to March 1955

Archie HowatsonBranch of service:

U.S. ArmyWhere served: Hawaii

for 26 months; Served during

combat in Okinawa, Japan, with the

892nd Ordnance Heavy Automotive

Maintenance Co. in the 10th Army; he

was a mechanic who kept the vehicles

movingDates of service: Jan.

5, 1942 to 1945

Ron HowatsonHighest rank

achieved: CD3

Branch of service: U.S. Navy — Seabees

Where served: Korea 1952-1954

Kenneth Lee HamptonBorn: Nov. 12, 1931

Highest rank achieved: Staff ser-

geantBranch of service: U.S. Army Security

AgencyWhere served: Korea

Details of service: Served until the truce

was signedDates of service:

1952 to 1955

Judson Burns HarperBorn: Dec. 8, 1936

Highest rank achieved: Gunnery

sergeantBranch of service: U.S. Marine Corps

Where served: Korea and VietnamDetails of service: Awarded Combat Action Medal, two

air medals, six good conduct medals, Navy commendation, served as aerial gunman on

CH-46 helicoptersDates of service: Dec. 10, 1953

Roger L. HericDied: 1994

Highest rank achieved: SergeantBranch of service:


Germany, 749th Tank Battalion

Details of service: The 749th fought with the

76th Division, April 7-30, 1944; was

wounded in action

Erik Johnson Highest rank

achieved: Second class petty officer


Where served: Iraq


Roy InuiHighest rank achieved: T5


Where served: Was an allied translator, interpreter section; served in combat in the Philippines for

two monthsDetails of service:

Received Presidential Unit Citation,

Congressional Gold Medal (2011),

Philippine Liberation Medal, others


Reed W. JarvisDied: April 1, 2012

Highest rank achieved: Colonel

Branch of service: U.S. Army and U.S. NavyWhere served: USS

Wisconsin (Navy) and 3rd Battalion 161

Infantry (Army)Details of service: Served six months

in combat in Korea; Meritorious Service

Medal (2), Army Commendation

Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Korean

Service Medal, U.N. Service Medal,

Humanitarian Service Medal, Washington

State Legion of Merit, Washington

State Commendation Medal; recalled to

Army active duty for Operation Desert Storm at age 58Dates of service:

March 1951 to June 2001

Steve Johnson Highest rank

achieved: Sergeant



Dates of service: August 1967 to

August 1969Daryl E. Johnson

Born: December 1927

Died: October 2009Highest rank

achieved: Seaman first class


Where served: Washington, D.C.Dates of service:

1945-1946

Donnas D. JohnsonHighest rank

achieved: YN1Branch of service:


Mare Island Naval Shipyard; Alameda

Naval AirbaseDates of service:

1950-1954

Scott Wayne JohnsonHighest rank

achieved: E4 AMH/AMS


Where served: VAQ – 129 Viking


Bonnie Eugene Johnson Jr.Born: July 5, 1925Died: March 29,

2012Highest rank

achieved: ETM 3CBranch of service:

U.S. NavyDates of service:

Jan. 1, 1944 to May 31, 1946

Details of service: Great Lakes Naval Air Station in Radio

Training School, radio operator, World War II

veteran

Rolland R. Kiefel Highest rank

achieved: Storekeeper

second class (SK2) Branch of service:


Atlantic, Mediterranean, Gulf

of Mexico aboard USS Exultant, USS

Rigel, USS Des Moines,

USS ConwayDates of service: June 6, 1958 to

June 6, 1964

Larry R. Kulin Deceased


Yeoman Third Class Branch of service:

U.S. Navy Where served: Japan, Hawaii,

PhilippinesDates of service:

1959-1963

Gene KlineburgerHighest rank

achieved: Corporal


Where served: Utah, California,

ArizonaDates of service:

1942-1945

B3

Arthur E. Landdeck Born: April 25, 1921 Died: March 9, 2003

Highest rank achieved: Sergeant

Branch of service: U.S. Army, 1393rd

Engineer Construction Battalion; entry

and training – Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and Camp Joseph T.

Robinson, Ark. Where served:

During WWII, in the Pacific Theater – In

the Philippines was in the Battle at LuzonDates of service: June 15, 1942 to

Dec. 23, 1945

Howard E. LanddeckHighest rank

achieved: AX3 (aviation

antisubmarine warfare technician,

third class)Branch of service:


Ream Field, Imperial Beach, Calif.; USS

BenningtonDates of service: Nov. 17, 1961 to

Aug. 31, 1965

Ivan A. LeeHighest rank

achieved: Lieutenant commander


Where served: Patrol Squadron 46 (VP-46); Vietnam 1972-1974

Dates of service: July 1969 to

September 1974

Richard C. LarsonBorn: Aug. 3, 1919

Died: Nov. 26, 2010Highest rank

achieved: Tech Sergeant 5th GradeBranch of service:

U.S. ArmyWhere served: 2nd Armored Division

Headquarters Company 66th

Armored Regiment Details of service:

Fought in World War II — North Africa, Sicily,

Holland, France, Belgium

and Germany Dates of service: February 1941 to

July 1945

Robert C. LyonHighest rank

achieved: Lieutenant commander


Where served: Served in combat in Korea

for 18 monthsDetails of service: On senior ship in Inchon

Harbor at the time of the truce in 1953; commanding officer of USS Lenawee APA 195; navigating offi-

cer of USS MastersonDates of service:

May 17, 1943 to July 1, 1966

Margaret (Slate) LarsenBorn: April 12, 1930

Highest rank achieved: Staff sergeant

Branch of service: U.S. Air Force

Where served: KoreaDetails of service: As one of very few female radio repair

technicians, she worked to prepare

Presidents Truman’s and Eisenhower’s

planes for flights in the Pacific.


Edward Prior LeahyBorn: April 1, 1923

Highest rank achieved: Lieutenant JG

Branch of service: U.S. Navy/ Marine

CorpsWhere served: 4th Marine Division — Iwo Jima, Marshall

Islands, Tinian, SaipanDetails of service:

Injured and taken to the hospital on the third day of attacks

on Iwo JimaDates of service:

1942 to 1945

Steven W. Lewis Highest rank

achieved: CorporalBranch of service: U.S. Marine Corps



Sean S. Lewis Highest rank

achieved: Private first classBranch of service: U.S. Marine CorpsDates of service: 2011 – currently

serving

Lucille E. LundstromBranch of service:

U.S. ArmyHighest rank

achieved: First lieutenant Where served:

General nursing care on the hospital ship Marigold, Zone

of Interior and in the European and Southwest Pacific

Theaters of operationDetails of service: Was the youngest

nurse on the Marigold at age 22; Bronze

Star (4) Asiatic-Pacific Campaign

Medal; Bronze Star (2) European-African

Middle Eastern Campaign Medal;

Bronze Star (2) Philippine Liberation

Medal Years of service: Dec. 31, 1943 to

Feb. 1, 1946

Ledo J. MalmassariDied: Oct. 25, 1998



Where served: Korea – Third Infantry

DivisionDates of service:

1950-1952 Norman W. McLeanDeceased


Seaman first classBranch of service: U.S. Coast Guard

Where served: Alaska

Dates of service: April 21, 1943 to March 18, 1946

Kathleen R. MerrillHighest rank

achieved: Specialist 4

Branch of service: U.S. Army/Reserve

Where served: Various states includ-

ing Indiana, South Carolina and Colorado

Dates of service: March 1983 to

December 1989

Edith Rose MacDougallDeceased (at age 58)


Mechanics mateBranch of service:

Navy — WAVES Where served:

Cedar Falls, Iowa; Norman, Okla.


Mother of Issaquah Mayor Ava Frisinger

Jeremiah Fraser Pitts MacDougall

Deceased (at age 76)Highest rank

achieved: Lt. junior grade

Branch of service: Navy

Where served: South Pacific; Atlantic

Dates of service: 1943-1945 active

duty; reserve to 1954Father of Issaquah Mayor Ava Frisinger

Bob McCoyHighest rank

achieved: Lieutenant


Where served: USS Forrestal CVA-

59, Sixth Fleet (Mediterranean)Dates of service:

1966-1973

John A. MarshDeceased

Highest rank achieved: PrivateBranch of service:


75th Infantry DivisionDetails of service: Served in combat for one year in the European Theatre;

received Purple Heart for being wounded during the Battle of

the Bulge

Urban V. MassetHighest rank achieved: E-7

Branch of service: U.S. Coast Guard

Where served: Marine Patrol; Marine

Inspection; served in combat in Korean waters marking chan-nels for troop ships

for six monthsDetails of service:

Served from Korean Waters — Bering Sea Patrol — ice breaking for dew line; teach-

ing firefighting school at T.I. Coast Guard Academy; and up

and down the East Coast all in different groups. Wrote book for Marine Corps on

the new Marine Corps in 1985.

Dates of service: 1952 until retirement

Ed McKeeHighest rank

achieved: SergeantBranch of service:

U.S. Air Force, turret gunner

Where served: Served in combat in 12th Air Force in Corsica, fall and winter of 1944-

45; 23 bombing missions over

European TheaterDates of service: Sept. 16, 1940 to

Sept. 14, 1945

David John MitmanBranch of service:

U.S. NavyWhere served: USS

Coral SeaDetails of service:

Served as flight engi-neer for top secret

Martin Mercator intelligence-gathering

aircraft, flying spy missions into Soviet airspace from Port Lyautey, Morocco.

During one mission, his plane was fired at by a Soviet sur-

face to air missile. (It missed.)

Years of service: 1951-1953

Duncan MulhollandHighest rank


Branch of service: U.S. Air ForceWhere served: 3595th GIDIST

Supply Squadrons; Nellis Air Force Base

1951-52; NCOIC Base Supply Nagoya,

Japan, 1952-54Details of service:

Received good con-duct medal, National

Defense Medal, Korean Service Medal

and United Nations Medal

Dates of service: November 1950 to

November 1954

David V. MerrittHighest rank

achieved: SFC (sergeant

first class)Branch of service:


Okinawa, Vietnam, India, Bolivia, Greece

and Afghanistan Dates of service: July 1954 to July

1957; Sept. 1959 to Nov. 1976

Alan Ray MilesBorn: July 18, 1947

Highest rank achieved: CorporalBranch of service: U.S. Marine Corps


Details of service: Received the Purple Heart for shrapnel in the leg, Presidential

Unit Citation, 2nd Battalion and 9th Marine Division


Leonard MilesBorn: Dec. 16, 1920

Died: 2005 (in Issaquah)Highest rank

achieved: PFC, washman


Where served: Sitka, Alaska

Details of service: Received the Victory

MedalDates of service:

1945 to 1946

Michael Dean Miles Born: Oct. 10, 1951


Lance corporalBranch of service: U.S. Marine Corps

Where served: Okinawa

Details of service: Meritorious Unit

Citation and National Defense Service

Medal, 5th Marine Division, Fleet Marine

Force PacificDates of service:

1970 to 1972

Gary C. NewbillHighest rank

achieved: Major


ReserveWhere served:

Virginia; California; Okinawa, Japan;

The Philippines and Vietnam

Dates of service: January 1965 to

March 1968 (active duty)

Ernest R. NybergHighest rank

achieved: Sergeant

Branch of service: U.S. Army Air Force

Where served: South Pacific –

Tinian IslandWounded in action: B-29 crashed off Iwo Jima, three men sur-vived out of crew of 10, Ernie made 17

missions, some over capital of JapanDates of service:

1943-1945

Norman B. ‘Crash’ Nash Highest rank

achieved: CaptainBranch of service:


Service included two combat tours in A-6 Intruders in Vietnam


Details of service: naval aviator; served in attack squadrons and weapons test facilities, was an

aircraft carrier opera-tions officer, squad-

ron commanding

Vernon M. Parrett, M.D.Highest rank

achieved: CaptainBranch of service: U.S. Army, medical

Where served: Served two years in

the Valley Forge Army Hospital in officers’ ward, tuberculosis

unitDates of service:

1944-46 and 1952-54

Charles D. ParkerDied: Nov. 7, 2010

Highest rank achieved: Captain


Where served: U.S.; Okinawa, Japan;

VietnamDates of service: Sept. 9, 1954 to Sept. 30, 1974

Russell D. PeeryHighest rank

achieved: Specialist 4th class

Branch of ser-vice: U.S. Army/

Washington National Guard Where served:

Camp Murray, Wash., 181st Support

Battalion, Company DDates of service: August 1977 to

May 1983

Louis OrtizHighest rank

achieved: Petty officer second class


Where served: In the Pacific, aboard

the carrier USS Lexington, as radio

gunmanWounded in action:

Received Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal and

Purple HeartDates of service:

1942-1945

Norman PeeryHighest rank

achieved: Seaman first class Branch of service:


Aleutians Islands Alaska; Japan; USS

Jarvis DD-799Dates of service: Dec. 16 1943 to

May 19 1946

Gerald Francis PetersenBorn: Sept. 15, 1925

Highest rank achieved: Air cadetBranch of service:

U.S. Army/Air ForceWhere served: Various

bases in the U.S.Dates of service:

1943 to 1945

Elmer John Petett Highest rank

achieved: Pharmacists mate

second class Branch of service:


USS Alshain in the Asiatic Pacific and

PhilippinesDates of service:

July 1943 to March 1946

Klahanie Family Dentistry, Bellevue Honda, The Erickson Family and Las Margaritas are proud to honor our community’s veterans.

John Norman Naegle Born: May 1, 1942Died: Jan. 4, 1999

Highest rank achieved: Commander

Branch of service: U.S. Coast GuardDetails of service:

Coast Guard Academy graduate with honors in 1964; Master of

Science in engineer-ing, University of Michigan – Naval

Architecture 1969; Engineering Mechanics

1970; Ph.D. Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering 1980;

Détente Delegation to USSR 1974-75; served on several “wind” class

ice breakersDates of service:

1964-1985

B4


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Jay Robert RodneHighest rank

achieved: Lieutenant colonelBranch of service: U.S. Marine Corps/still serving in the

U.S. Marine ReserveWhere Served:

Persian Gulf War (1991); Somalia

(1992-93); Operation Iraqi Freedom, Kuwait

& Iraq (2003)Dates of service:

1990-present

Robert Howard Rockwell (Rocky)Highest rank

achieved: PFC (private first class)

Branch of service: U.S. Army 173rd Airborne Recon,

RTO (radio telephone operator) call sign

Papa Kilo, nickname Crash

Where served: Vietnam 1969-1970

(The Blackscarfed Gunslingers)


Philip PitruzzelloHighest rank

achieved: Aviation Radioman

Second Class Branch of service:

U.S. Navy Where served: Atlantic Fleet, Pacific Fleet

Dates of service: June 1942 to

September 1945

Robert PlossHighest rank

achieved: CaptainBranch of service:

U.S. Air Force (B-17 pilot, physician U.A. Air Force medical)Where served: 11 combat missions

over Germany; POW Mission Austria to France; two food

drops to the Dutch; flew Atlantic twiceDates of service:

1943-1952

Reuben Allen RichardHighest rank

achieved: SP4Branch of service:


Co. E 122nd Mnt. Bn. USAREUR

Dates of service: January 1968 to December 1969

Michael M. RisteDeceased

Highest rank achieved: SP5/E-5Branch of service:

U.S. Army, transportationWhere served:

1st Cavalry DivisionDetails of service:

Served three tours of duty in Vietnam

Years of service: Oct. 25, 1966 to

Nov. 15, 1983

Elmo Jerome SagedahlHighest rank

achieved: Corporal


Where served: Pacific area

Dates of service: May 26, 1944 to

Aug. 31, 1946

Daniel S. SegonHighest rank

achieved: Private Branch of service:


GermanyDates of service:

1966-1967

Edward SchaeferBorn: June 10, 1911

Died: 1986 in Spokane

Highest rank achieved: Technician

fifth grade (Tec 5)Branch of service:

U.S. ArmyWhere served: Served

in combat in the European Theater, February 1944 to November 1945;

3429th Ord Mam Co.Details of service: “A man who loved his

country”Dates of service:

1943-1945

Dave SaoHighest rank


Branch of service: U.S. Air ForceWhere served:

Strategic Air Command

Dates of service: March 1966 to

March 1970Details of service:

Munitions specialist, sent to Anderson AFB in Guam and Utapao

AFB in Thailand, team chief of a team that was responsible for loading hundreds of bombs each day on

B52 bombers in sup-port of the Vietnam

War, and loading and caring for nuclear

weapons stateside.

Lee F. ScheelerBorn: April 10, 1926

Highest rank achieved: PFC

Branch of service: U.S. Army/Air Force

Where served: Germany,

9th Infantry DivisionDetails of service:

4th Infantry DIV Rifleman, 22nd Infantry


Frank Valentine SchroederBorn: Feb. 10, 1894Died: Sept. 6, 1977Branch of service:

U.S. ArmyDetails of service:

Fought in France dur-ing World War I

John SchroederBorn: Feb. 23, 1888Died: Jan. 10, 1973

Highest rank achieved: privateBranch of service:

U.S. ArmyDates of service:

Muster out telegram Nov. 16, 1918, according to dis-

charge papers. Start date unknown.

Details of service: Last assigned school for cooks and bakers. Was a cook at Camp Lewis, now known as

Fort Lewis.

William Edward SeilDeceased(at age 66)

Highest rank achieved: Colonel

Branch of service: U.S. Air Force Where served:

World War II, Korea and Vietnam


Jack Richard SteidlHighest rank

achieved: PFC (private first

class)Branch of service: U.S. Army Air Corps

Where served: Jackson, Tenn.


William Britton StrikerBorn: Dec. 12, 1907 Died: Oct. 1, 2003


T-4, sergeantBranch of service:

U.S. Army, Big Red 1Where served: Omaha Beach

Normandy, Sicily, Tunisia, European – African Campaign,

Middle Eastern front – Ardennes

Wounded in action: Leg wounds, shrap-nel, received Silver

Star and Bronze StarDates of service: July. 6, 1942 to Sept. 2, 1945

Ernest Milton SwansonHighest rank

achieved: Aviation machinist

first classBranch of service:

Coast GuardDates of service: Oct. 21, 1941 to Dec. 23, 1946

George H. SwansonDied: 1992

Branch of service: U.S. Army Air Corps

Where served: United States


John SwansonDied: 2001


Staff sergeant Branch of service: U.S. Army Air Corps

Where served: Missouri and Alberta, Ferry Command Post

planes to Russia Dates of service:

1942-1945

William A. SomsakHighest rank

achieved: Boatswain’s mate

third class Branch of service:


Marshall Islands, USS Midway

Details of service: Received two med-

als; operated landing craft


Hugh Gordon RossHighest rank

achieved: Petty officer 2

Branch of service: U.S. Navy,

cryptograph techWhere served:

Strategic nuclear deter-rence in South China Sea during Vietnam

War; Combat Zone vet, 1972-1973; nuclear

submarine forceDates of service: January 1971 to

January 1977

Alonzo Lee SweetBorn: Nov. 18, 1938

Died: 2003Highest rank

achieved: CorporalBranch of service:

U.S. NavyDates of service: April 27, 1956 to

Oct. 16, 1959

Frank R. TroutmanHighest rank

achieved: Colonel

Branch of service: U.S. Army/Air Force

Where served: Pacific - Italy

Dates of service: May 1940 to January 1984

Details of service: APTO-US-MTO

Dallas L. WaggonerDeceased(at age 76)


Tech sergeant Branch of service:


Europe, Italy, North Africa

Wounded in action: Purple Heart awarded


David S. WaggonerHighest rank

achieved: Lieutenant colonel Branch of service:


Vietnam, Central America, U.S.

Wounded in action: Purple Heart awarded


Dwight Eldon WaggonerBorn: August 23,

1922Died: Oct. 9, 2009


Seaman third classBranch of service:

U.S. NavyWhere served: South Pacific

Details of service: American Area

Campaign Medal, Asiatic Pacific Area Campaign Medal,

WWII Victory MedalDates of service:

April 1943 to November 1945

Austin Vickery WigginsBranch of service: U.S. Marine Corps

Where served: Saipan in the

Mariana IslandsDates of service:

1942-1946

Robert Edward WolahanBorn:

Nov. 23, 1932Deceased:

Dec. 10, 2010Highest rank

achieved: PNC (chief)


Where served: Korea and Vietnam


Geoff WarrenHighest rank

achieved: CDRBranch of service: U.S. Coast GuardDates of service: 1992 to current

Details of service: continues to serve in the Coast Guard

Reserve; is the senior reserve officer for

Sector Puget Sound in Seattle; has mobi-

lized for national disasters such as the Deepwater Oil Spill, the Haiti Earthquake

and Hurricane Katrina; flew C-130s

while stationed at Kodiak, Alaska, and Elizabeth City, N.C.

James WoodBorn: May 8, 1950

Highest rank achieved: RM3


Where served: Vietnam, three tours

Details of service: Radio Teletype Task

Group operator, Yankee Station


James H. Van WinkleDied: Feb. 9, 2008

Drafted into the U.S. Army in 1944, one month before high school graduation.Deployed to Japan and in transit, the Japanese surren-dered before he

arrived. James went from front line duty to a clerk typist in the office due to

termination of the war. Stayed in Japan in civil service and returned stateside from Kanagawa, Japan, on Nov. 5,

1946

Jay Anthony VanniHighest rank

achieved: Petty officer third class


Where served: two six-month tours to

Persian Gulf on the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson as cata-

pult officerDetails of ser-vice: Letter of

Commendation; grad-uated from Central

Washington University with degrees in sci-ence and business;

now lives in St. Louis (he lived in Issaquah

for 36 years)Dates of Service:

1993-1997

Winston Matthew Yourglich


PhM3c (photographer’s mate third class)


Where served: South Pacific

Wounded in action: After his ship, the USS Houston, was

torpedoed, Winston swam in shark-

infested waters in the China Seas for four hours before being

picked up.Dates of service: Oct. 11, 1943 to April 13, 1946

David Les YeisleyBorn: Dec. 23, 1932

Highest rank achieved: SergeantBranch of service: U.S. Army, Infantry

Where served: 3rd Infantry Division,

Korea and 28th Infantry Division,

GermanyDetails of service:

Received Bronze Star with V-Device Combat

Infantry Badge, Korean Service Medal with

Bronze Service Stars and United Service

Medal, National Defense and Army

Occupation (Germany) Medals

Dates of service: Jan. 22, 1951 to

Information for this section came from readers, veterans’ family members and/or friends, the Veterans of

Foreign Wars Post 3436, Issaquah History Museums, Editor Kathleen R. Merrill, Issaquah resident Cory Christensen and the website www.ww2usakilledmissingpow.com, which does

personalized World War II historical research.

Jack YusenBranch of service:

U.S. NavyWhere served: Pacific Theater: Home Front,

Atlantic sub scare, Leyte Gulf

Details of service: Served aboard

the USS Samuel B. Roberts amid

World War II, until Japanese forces

sunk the destroyer escort in the Battle of Leyte Gulf — the largest naval battle during World War

II; some sailors sur-vived the attack only to bob in the shark-infested Philippine Sea until rescuers arrived days later

Kiwanis Club of Issaquah, Issaquah Valley Grange #581 and NAPA Auto Parts of Issaquah are proud to recognize our veterans.

Meindert PillieDied: March 10, 2010, at age 95


Branch of service: U.S. Army Air Corps

Where served: Instructor at 349th

Flexible Gunnery Training Squadron, Tyndall Field, Fla.Dates of service: Oct. 21, 1941 to Sept. 17, 1943

B5

The Issaquah Press Wednesday, May 23, 2012 • B5

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By Warren KagariseIssaquah Press reporter

Historians refer to the Aleutian Islands campaign as the Forgot-ten Battle.

The battle occurred amid roiling seas and pea-soup fog in the chain of islands stretched between North America and Asia at almost the same time as the Battle of Guadalcanal started thousands of miles to the south.

Guadalcanal is engrained in history, but the Aleutian Islands campaign is almost relegated to a footnote.

Not for local veteran Norman Peery.

For Peery, 86, World War II meant rough seas in the Aleutian Islands and, in postwar military service, smooth sailing to occu-pied Japan.

The retired Boeing electrician participated in the Aleutian Is-lands campaign, a bitter struggle over the islands between the United States and Japan.

The islands stretch for more than 1,200 miles from the Alaskan Peninsula and form a dividing line between the Ber-ing Strait and the North Pacific Ocean.

Peery entered the United States Navy on Dec. 16, 1943, and served 18 months in the remote island chain aboard the USS Jarvis, a destroyer. (The ship was built at a Seattle ship-yard in 1943-44.)

“There was a lot of rough water, believe me,” Peery said in a recent interview. “If you’ve ever been up in that water, you know.”

The destroyer plied the water off Adak and Attu. The islands hosted fierce fighting in the campaign.

“The water up there was so rough that you had to stand in the kitchen and put an arm around a post at dinner and hang on to that post and eat with the other hand,” he said. “That was kind of hard.”

The ship’s massive size offered some relief from the angry sea.

“On a destroyer, you’ve got a big ship, so it’s pretty easy to calm down,” Peery said.

Peery, a Navy boatswain dur-ing the war, served as a fuse setter on 5-inch guns used to bombard Japanese forces on the islands and in the Kuril Islands, another disputed archipelago.

“We shot these big 5-inch shells over to the little islands,” he said.

The harsh conditions on the rugged islands — craggy terrain, limited vegetation, dense fog — made the fighting difficult for the soldiers ashore. Navy ships at sea shelled the islands in a long struggle to eject the Japanese from the hardscrabble territory.

(The racially charged U.S. propaganda during World War II referred to Alaska as a “death trap for the Jap.”)

The bitter cold in the North Pacific reminded Peery of condi-tions at boot camp in Farragut, Idaho.

“They had these peacoats that they’d given us, and we really

used them, because it was cold when were exercising out in the open,” he said.

The ship operated out of Adak and Attu throughout the efforts in the Aleutian and Kuril islands. In August 1945, the USS Jarvis left the North Pacific.

In September 1945, the ship reached Japan.

Japanese authorities surren-dered to Allied forces about a month earlier. The crew aboard the USS Jarvis assisted in oc-cupation landings and destroying military installations along the Sea of Japan.

In Japan, Peery also had the opportunity to meet his brother Paul, a sailor on the escort car-rier USS Manila Bay. The broth-ers’ ships came close to each other and, after signaling back and forth, the Peery brothers met on a gig boat, a small craft used to ferry sailors between larger vessels.

Peery and other crew mem-bers assisted in disarming the Japanese military. (Allied forces occupied Japan until 1951.)

Despite the language barrier,

U.S. forces in the island nation and the Japanese enjoyed a cor-dial relationship.

“They were friendly to us,” he recalled.

Peery served in the Navy until May 1946, and although he re-mains active in the local Veter-ans of Foreign Wars Post 3436, he said he would have liked to kept in touch with USS Jarvis crewmates.

“I wish I’d paid more attention and gotten their numbers and all that stuff, but I didn’t really get ahold of anybody,” Peery said.

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or [email protected]. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

3,000 troops up there, but they zigzagged going across the Pacific because of submarines,” he said regarding a maneuver that was supposed to make ships harder targets to hit. “Coming home was a different story, of course.”

After spending seven months in New Guinea, he served in the 781st Engineer Petroleum Distri-bution Company on Leyte Island in the Philippines.

“I knew where he was all the time because we had a code set up,” Onadee Bentz said. “He came home for Christmas before he shipped out and we figured out he was to say, ‘It’s a sunny day today,’ and then I knew what he was going to write. Every sentence after that started with the letter telling me where he was … so if he was on Leyte Island, that sentence would begin with l, then e, and so on. Of course the Army probably wouldn’t appreciate that.”

Bentz put his time training as a firefighter to good use, supervis-ing a pump station that would provide fuel to nearby pilots in the Air Force.

“We went to both places be-cause we got involved with build-ing 10,000 barrel storage tanks, metal tanks for fuel,” he said. “That was our purpose for going overseas.”

Born in Speyer, Germany, in 1920, William Bentz and his mother came to the United States in 1922, when he was just 2 years old. They settled in Washington and he has lived in the state since.

He married Onadee in 1940, and their first child, Judy Wat-son, was born in 1944. She was 2 years old before William saw her after serving in the war.

“I thought it was a better idea to enlist as a part of the service per-sonnel,” he said. “I could do some good and serve, and not have too many bullets go over me.”

“Or through you,” his wife added.The job was not without danger,

though.“Of course the enemy, which

was the Japanese at that time, they’d still fly over and once in a while it was a little scary,” he said. “They’d let their bombs go up there, but we had our foxholes that we’d get to real quick.”

William Bentz was discharged from the Army in 1946, but he

re-enlisted in 1948 for another 18 months. He achieved the rank of staff sergeant while in the armed forces.

In 1952, he took on a custodial maintenance job with the Highline School District.

In 1956, the couple’s son Brian was born. They now have eight grandsons, 16 great-grandchil-dren and two great-great-grand-daughters. William and Onadee have been married for 72 years.

In 1964, William Bentz became the supervisor of building grounds of Highline Community College be-fore he retired in 1978. The Bentz’s have lived at Providence Point in Issaquah for about 10 years.

“We always say he’s the perfect example of starting at the bottom and working to the top,” Watson said. “We’re very proud of him.”

Christina Lords: 392-6434, ext. 239, or [email protected]. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

a nurse at 18, at college and at a Bellingham hospital. Then, as World War II roiled, she enlisted in the U.S. Army on Dec. 31, 1943, and entered the military as a second lieutenant. Lundstrom, then 22, was the young-est nurse aboard the ship.

The odyssey for Lundstrom started in basic training at Camp White, near Medford, Ore. Though she worried about a post in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska — site of fierce fighting between the United States and Japan in 1942-43 — she instead reached the Marigold.

In June 1944, the ship departed Seattle for points unknown. Battles raged across islands in the Pacific Ocean and in ancient cities in Europe.

“We had orders to go overseas, but we didn’t know where,” Lund-strom recalled.

The ship passed through the Panama Canal and reached Charleston, S.C., in July 1944.

Memories of sticky humidity linger in Lundstrom’s mind 68 years later. Segregation in Jim Crow-era South Carolina stunned and disturbed the young nurse from rural Washington.

In late July, the ship set sail for Europe. It steamed through the Strait of Gibraltar and deep into the Medi-terranean, en route to Naples, Italy.

Anchored in the Gulf of Naples along-side other Allied ships, crew mem-bers aboard the Marigold readied for Operation Dragoon, a push by Allied forces into the French Riviera.

Commanders planned for the Marigold to take aboard wounded soldiers from the beachheads and then rush them to Naples for ad-ditional treatment.

German planes buzzed over the harbor each night, as crew members aboard the ships observed a strict blackout to obscure the vessels from enemy pilots. Meanwhile, Allied anti-aircraft guns blazed to knock the planes from the sky. Shrapnel landed on the Marigold’s steel deck.

Operation Dragoon commenced Aug. 15, 1944, and only a few days later, the Marigold awaited wound-ed soldiers off Sainte-Maxime. The ship collected the casualties and then departed to Naples to offload the wounded personnel to facilities on shore.

Operation Dragoon launchesIn late August, the ship steamed

to Saint-Tropez, another jewel along the French Riviera. German planes attacked a landing ship transport-ing soldiers to the beach. The crew aboard the Marigold scrambled to treat the wounded men.

The doctors and nurses aboard the Marigold also tended to Ger-man prisoners of war captured amid the fighting.

“They were very quiet. They didn’t

say very much,” Lundstrom recalled. “But they had excellent food.”

The experience in World War II deepened Lundstrom’s compas-sion, especially for other veterans and military personnel serving in later conflicts.

“I know the pilots went through hell,” she said, recalling World War II.

In early September, after another stop in Naples, the Marigold sailed again for Charleston. The ship remained in South Carolina for about a week, and then traversed the Panama Canal again en route to New Guinea in the South Pacific.

Lundstrom and the Marigold crew reached the Philippines on Christ-mas 1944. In letters home, Lund-strom could not reveal the ship’s

location, due to wartime censorship and concerns about enemy spying.

The ship arrived amid the Battle of Leyte, a hard-fought battle in the long struggle by Allied forces to liber-ate the Philippines from Japanese control. The crew loaded aboard the full capacity for the hospital — 765 patients — because the Marigold was the only hospital ship in the area.

Lundstrom shuttled between the Philippines and New Guinea aboard the Marigold from January to April. In March, the Marigold was the initial hospital ship to reach Manila Bay as the campaign to wrest the Philippines from the Japanese concluded.

But the cacophony from shell explosions, nighttime black-

outs and the constant stream of wounded left indelible impres-sions on the young nurses.

“Of course, there was a war on,” Lundstrom said. “There was a lot of apprehension.”

Lundstrom also remembers the anxiety and boredom present on the long sea voyages.

“I really thought I was going to go bananas,” she said. “I read every book that I could.”

The ship returned to the United States, to San Pedro, Calif., for a short respite from May to July 1945. In mid-July, the Marigold steamed for Honolulu, Hawaii.

From Europe to the PacificThe ship then returned to the

Philippines in early August, as Allied commanders prepared to deploy the atomic bomb and bring a quick conclusion to the war.

In Manila, crew members heard about the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. World War II only lasted for days more. (The fighting in Europe had stopped in May 1945.)

The ship reached Yokohama, a port city near Tokyo, before Japa-nese officials signed surrender documents on the USS Missouri’s deck on Sept. 2, 1945.

In the aftermath of World War II, the Marigold acted as a hospi-tal for released Allied prisoners of war. Military ambulances and Jeeps deposited the malnourished

soldiers at the ship. Military brass also arrived for health care needs.

Rumors churned aboard the Mari-gold about infamous passengers.

Some said the deposed prime minister, Hideki Tojo, received treatment aboard the ship after a failed suicide attempt. (In 1948, military authorities executed Tojo after a war crimes trial.)

Others said a Tokyo Rose — a name used for female Japanese broadcasters behind wartime propa-ganda — came aboard for treatment.

Allied bombing reduced more than 50 percent of Tokyo to rubble during World War II. Despite the destruction, crew members from the Marigold toured the city, in-cluding the Imperial Palace and the famed Ginza commercial district.

Then, after a stop in the Philip-pines to unload and load patients, the ship then returned to the United States for a final time. Fol-lowing the war, military officials sent the ship to San Francisco to act as a reserve vessel and in 1948, sold the ship for scrap.

The experience in Japan marked the last chapter of military life for most crew members aboard the Marigold. Lundstrom remained in the Army until Feb. 1, 1946, less than six months after the war concluded.

Despite the proximity to major fighting, the Marigold did not come under attack in World War II.

“We were fortunate,” Lund-strom said.

NurseFROM PAGE B1

PHOTO FROM ‘A MEDAL FOR MARIGOLD’

Lucille Lundstrom served aboard the U.S. Army Hospital Ship Marigold in the European and Pacific theaters during World War II.

BY CHRISTINA LORDS

William Bentz achieved the rank of staff sergeant as a member of the U.S. Army after serving in the South Pacific supervising the construction of 10,000-barrel fuel tanks.

FireFROM PAGE B1

BY CHRISTINA LORDS

William Bentz and his wife Onadee communicated largely through V-Mail, such as this one above, while he was overseas during World War II. The announcement below ran in The Seattle Times after the couple had their first child, Judy, in 1944.

“I knew where he was all the time because we had a code set up. He came home for Christmas before he shipped out and we figured out he was to say, ‘It’s a sunny day today,’ and then I knew what he was going to write. Every sentence after that started with the letter tell-ing me where he was … so if he was on Leyte Island, that sentence would begin with l, then e, and so on. Of course the Army probably wouldn’t appreciate that.” — Onadee BentzWilliam Bentz’s wife

World War II veteran recalls ‘Forgotten Battle’

BY GREG FARRAR

Norman Perry served on the destroyer USS Jarvis for a year and a half in the harsh Aleutian Island chain off Alaska during World War II, and continues to serve his fellow veterans at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3436 events in Issaquah. Below, Peery holds his 2009 Veteran of the Year plaque from VFW Albert Larsen Post 3436 in Issaquah for his 30 years of service to the post.

ON THE WEBThe Issaquah Press featured local World War II veteran Eugene Klineburger in the 2011 Lest We Forget section. Read the article at http://bit.ly/lhE2CT.

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Dr. Rosemary Warren DDS, Issaquah Sportsmen’s Club, Hone Landscaping & Excavation, and Earth Pet are proud to honor our community’s veterans.

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