Above: St. Louis Leader runs an advertisement for help with the 1944 sugar beet harvest; Gratiot County residents were in line to get their next gasoline rationing cards; First Lieutenant Galon Mallory of Seville Township is awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service aboard a B-24 Liberator in Italy.

          The fall harvest was beginning in Gratiot County in September 1944. The county had experienced a significant summer drought but Gratiot was fortunate – more rain fell at the right time and crops were among some of the best in Michigan. Victory Fever continued as people believed that the war in Europe would soon be over, but they did not realize that final victory and the end of the war was a year away.  Hope for a conclusion to the war that fall ran wild as American troops seemed to be moving quickly across France to the western edge of Germany.

    People in Gratiot County were told to think about men who were in enemy concentration camps. Christmas gifts and how to ship them to Europe were some of the ways to show support. Also, the Blue Star Mothers in the county were very active in raising money for Christmas gifts. Conversations and plans about creating a memorial for all of Gratiot County’s servicemen and women who fought in the war was something that the Blue Stars wished to see happen.

         As the crops started to be harvested, the third year of Gratiot County’s involvement in the war continued.

In the Service

       Selective Service reported to Congress that the United States Armed Forces had an estimated 11,417,00 people defending the United States. These numbers remained throughout the rest of 1944 and fewer men over the age of 26 would be drafted. An estimated 83% of those drafted in July consisted of those between the ages of 18 and 26.

       News from Central Europe kept Gratiot County newspaper readers up to date on the status of those in the service. Sergeant Howard Dickinson of Middleton was fighting along the Arno River with the 133^rd Infantry. Dickinson had been in the service for three years, making his way from Tunisia to Italy,  while fighting in Cassino, Anzio, and Rome. The 133^rd Infantry became a highly decorated unit during the war. Private Glenn Mutchler wrote home in early September to his parents in Alma. He said,  “The war sounds good to the fellow listening to the radio, but to the fellows facing the enemy it’s just another day and another battle in which (a soldier) has lost a few more friends.” Mutchler recounted having a nice chicken dinner, with a wing and neck to eat. “I don’t know how a chicken can live without legs but these we get never seem to have any after they’re cooked.” It had been just over one year since Mutchler entered the Army. There were radios available where he was at in Italy.

        Sergeant Marvin Mates of Breckenridge wrote home to his parents. Mates was in the 15^th Army Air Force in Italy and was a ball gunner on an M-24. On one mission his plane was attacked by ten Nazi fighters, but his crew shot down four and damaged more enemy planes. His Liberator made it back to base even though it had one engine out and another one missing. Dale Eckelbarger of Ithaca returned home after 23 months in North Africa and Italy. After 22 days at home, Ecklebarger returned to Florida for another assignment. He had been a mechanic who worked on fighter planes for the British 8^th Army. Private Warren Collison of St. Louis, who was with the 3^rd “Marne” Infantry Division in the Fifth Army in Italy, received the Combat Infantryman’s Badge for fighting the Germans in Italy.

        Private Joseph Zigray also was cited for his service in Italy with the 101^st Military Police Battalion during February. Sergeant Wallace Moore of Middleton was with the 12^th Army Air Force and served as a radio operation gunner on a Marauder crew in the Meditteranean. His group had been bombing rail installations in Florence, Italy. Moore was awarded a medal for meritorious achievement. He entered the service in August 1941 after leaving his studies as a history major at Alma College.

       Servicemen also wrote home from France. Bud Welch wrote to his mother about seeing a dance in a French village, and it was one of the first held there in four years of Nazi occupation. Welch danced a couple of times, “I just hung on, and boy what a whirl.” Welch had recently seen combat at St. Lo. Louis Macha wrote to friends in Ithaca about the invasion of Southern France in late August.  Richard Shoemaker of Alma was also in France, and he wished that he could write more often. However,  his unit’s constant movement meant he had little time to write. Shoemaker heard about those Americans who were defense workers and who worked during strikes back home. Private Gerald Isham of Middleton wrote from France and was interviewed by the Detroit News about having visited Belleau Wood and the World War I cemetery there.

         Wally Moore of Alma was in the news. Sergeant Moore, a radioman in the air corps, was awarded a medal for completing 60 missions over Europe. Moore had been a star athlete at  Alma High School and briefly attended Alma College. Lieutenant Galon Mallory of Elwell had his picture in several of the county newspapers. Mallory flew 50 missions over enemy territory for the 15^th Army Air Corps and received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service. Sergeant Kenneth Bebow of St. Louis was working night and day with the hedgerow busters in France. Young Timothy Long of the same town was one of two Gratiot men to now have served in both the Pacific and European Theaters during the war. He was now somewhere in France or Germany.

         Technician 5^th Grade Stanley Bobit from St. Louis wrote home that he had captured two Nazis while on guard duty – with only one shot. During early morning guard duty in France, Bobit saw movement in a field and shot at moving figures. Although he shot over them, both Germans fell to the ground and quickly surrendered. One was a German Master Sergeant. Bobit received a letter of commendation for his duty. Private Lyle Fillhard was with the 237^th Engineer Combat Battalion which had been at work the northern coast of Normandy just five minutes after H-Hour. His entire battalion made it on shore within twelve minutes. The unit appeared in a recent issue of “Stars and Stripes.”

        News finally arrived in Ithaca about the whereabouts of Don Barden, who now was somewhere in Burma. Always on the move, Barden thought that his current placement “can best be described as one step this side of Hell, and I do mean it. I can’t imagine any place worse, but I suppose if there is one, we’ll find it next.” While serving in the dense jungle, Barden’s unit dealt with heavy rains, which usually occurred several times each day. The ground was always wet. He also wanted people in Ithaca to know that Burma was not free of the Japanese. Private Ralph Cheney wrote to his mother that while mail was slow in New Guinea,  he just received Gratiot County Herald newspapers that were three months old. By early August, Cheney was living in a basement dug out of the clay soil. The area was four and a half feet deep and held space for four cots. Cheney thought it was a comfortable location.

       Sergeant Russell Whitford of Ashley came home after serving two years overseas in China and India. A high-speed radio operator who received a medal for his service, Whitford soon headed back to California for more overseas duty.  Allie Inbody was a Machinist Mate Third Class and had been in New Guinea since February. He wrote home to tell his wife and daughter about life in the Seabees. Don McMullen of Ithaca was promoted to first lieutenant after completing the first officers training course to be conducted in Australia. McMullen graduated from Ithaca High School, attended Central Michigan Teachers College, and had worked in the Fleming Clothing Store in Ithaca. He had been in the service for two and a half years.

      Over in Saipan, Private Stanley Miller of Breckenridge was in a hospital due to malarial fever. This was his second trip to the hospital in two months. Miller had been knocked out by a concussion blast and had to be hospitalized, but he was back on the front lines twelve days later. Sergeant Ned McKee of Alma was also on Saipan. He was one of many men working fifteen hours a day to prepare the island as an airbase. Private Gene Jellison of Alma wrote that he had spent two years serving in the Marianas Islands. Jellison had been a part of the first American landings there, and he lamented that he barely had time to write home on V-mail. If anyone back home wanted to send something to him, Jellison hoped for candy, gum, or fruit cake.

       Out in the Central Pacific, Charles Parkes of Alma wrote home about meeting natives and how he traded with them to obtain grass skirts, shells, and mats. Parkes wanted to make a necklace out of the seashells. He also recalled attending a program put on by Jack Benny and Carol Landis. Aviation Machinist Dale Swan of Arcada Township came home after 21 months in the South Pacific. His job involved working on planes that went out of the combat zone. Lieutenant Harry Doyle of St. Louis wrote to his grandmother and told her that he was safe in a fox hole in New Guinea. He had already survived three Japanese night raids and considered himself as safe as any man in his area. Doyle’s grandmother told the St. Louis Leader that she did not think that the situation sounded so safe.

       Captain Hazel Dill, formerly from Breckenridge, was one of nine Michigan nurses that served in a United States  Army General Hospital in England. Much of her work dealt with treating soldiers who were wounded in France. Another Gratiot woman, Private Margaret Jessup, was stationed at Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania where she worked in the filing department at post headquarters. She was an Alma High School graduate and had been in the service since October 1943. Ensign Esther Grover of Middleton had been in Del Monte, California as a hospital nurse. She just became a Junior Grade Lieutenant. Although the parents of Lieutenant Martha Leyrer had not heard from her for quite some time, a letter arrived in St. Louis that Leyrer was now in India. Corporal Mary Wolford sent a letter home to her parents, telling them that she had been transferred from England to France. Wolford had three brothers in the service: one in San Francisco, another in South America, and one in Belgium.

       In the United States, Private Frank Masarik of St. Johns just completed paratroop training. It was unclear where he would go next.  Lieutenant Lewis Jolls of Ithaca arrived in Florida and awaited a new assignment after completing thirty missions as a pilot on a B-17 in Europe. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal. Calvin Space of Perrinton completed basic training at Submarine School in New London, Connecticut. A 1943 Fulton Township graduate, he also graduated from the only submarine school of its kind in the Navy. Lieutenant Norman Keon spoke to members of the St. Louis Rotary Club regarding his time in New Guinea. Keon, who was seriously injured in a jeep accident, had spent several months in an army hospital and was now home on leave. Keon served with an anti-aircraft battery. Coxswain Gene Gilmore, who formerly worked for the Alma Record and St. Louis Leader, now was home on leave from the United States Coast Guard Station in Philadelphia. He had been there for the past nine months.  Charles Johnson, former professor of religion at Alma College, was now in the Army as a Presbyterian chaplain.  People were reminded that three Rademacher boys from Alma left to serve the county: Paul and Francis to the Army, and Michael to the Navy. Jasper and Donald Stockwell got word back to their family in Alma that the two brothers had met while in Hawaii. They both thought of those back home.

       In other news, Infantryman Hugh Rodenbo of St. Louis had gone to France on D-Day with Headquarters Battery Number 6334 and had not seen his parents in three years. He had no sympathy for American strikers in the workplace. Rodenbo announced the big news that he had married an English lassie on December 18, 1943. She was an ATS in the British Army, and Rodenbo hoped to bring her home when the war ended. Alma College was making plans for its Bon Voyage Dance as a closing function for those men who would be leaving for service through the V-12 Program. It would be held October 14 in the Memorial Gymnasium. There was also a fire drill on camps at 11:30 one Friday night on campus so that members of the V-12 unit could help Alma firefighters. The test was to determine if Wright Hall had adequate fire protection.

Those Awful Acronyms: WIA, MIA, POW, KIA

       More sad news came to Gratiot County regarding the war and those who defended the country. Petty Officer Wayne Parks of Alma survived an attack from a Japanese zero in India. However, he was severely wounded in the back by shrapnel. Robert Sherwood, a Marine from Ithaca, was seriously injured in Guam and was in a hospital in New Caledonia. Donald Wright from St. Louis wrote two letters that appeared in the St. Louis Leader. Wright told how he woke up in a hospital with fifty beds out in the Pacific after being seriously injured. Many of the men who were with him were in worse shape. Yet,  Wright was up and walking for the first time in over two weeks. Private Eugene Jellison suffered wounds in the Pacific on July 21, but he was recovering. Seaman 2^nd Class Ray Willert suffered severe injuries while in the Pacific. He lost his right hand, suffered a severe facial wound that required plastic surgery, and had dropped to 128 pounds. Willert was a 1927 graduate of Middleton High School.

        Lieutenant Royal Klein was in a rehabilitation hospital in England. He had been wounded while flying over Germany. Klein asked readers of the Gratiot County Herald to please send Christmas items to his fellow servicemen who were in the hospital with him. Klein believed that the men there would appreciate anything that readers sent. Others from the county who were wounded in Europe included Ralph Wood of Newark Township, Fred Smejkal of Ashley, and Willard Haag of Elm Hall.

        Mervel Peacock of St. Louis was up and walking again after receiving leg wounds in France on August 8.   The parents of John Freeman of Alma first received news that their son, William, had received an eye wound from a grenade fragment. After returning to duty, the younger Freeman was wounded again on August 13. Freeman recovered and was back with his quartermaster corps. Private Leslie Tanner, who was injured July 3 during the invasion of France, was resting in an English hospital, and would soon be heading home to the United States. Cloyd Heath of Ithaca also was injured during the invasion of France. However, no other news was available. Private Robert Childers of Middleton was also injured in France, but his wounds were considered to be minor. Duane Stockwell of Alma was awarded the Purple Heart in Italy for injuries suffered June 1. On that same day, he received his Alma High School diploma in absentia. Stockwell was a corporal and served in North Africa before being sent to the Anzio Beachhead. On the home front, Private Keith Way from New Haven Township fractured his right arm and had other injuries in an automobile incident during maneuvers at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

       Some of the hardest news in September dealt with those who paid the ultimate price for their service. Sergeant Donald Wood’s wife received his Purple Heart certificate in the mail. Wood was killed July 19 in France. Memorial services took place in Alma for Corporal Ralph Vandemark and Sergeant Edgar Cook. Both men died earlier in the summer. Similar ceremonies took place at the Ithaca Church of God where a candlelight service was held for Myrl Putnam who had been killed in France. Another memorial service was held in the county for Lieutenant Dale Shillinger who died while serving as an airplane pilot in Brazil.

       People continued to hear about those who had been captured as prisoners of war. One of the recurring stories centered around Sergeant Benny Zamarron of Ashley. He had been missing since May 8. However, Zamarron wrote home that he was safe and uninjured. Zamarron was a 1941 graduate of Fulton High School. In another strange twist, Sergeant Vernon Bishop of Bannister, who attended Bannister High School, had been missing since almost the same day that Zamarron was shot down. Word arrived that Bishop was now a German prisoner of war after being captured. Sergeant Bishop had been a top turret gunner on a B-17. No one knew why it took so long for his family to be notified. The Button family in Alma also received news that their son, Dean Button, was in a camp after going missing on a mission over the Ploesti Oil Fields in Romania.

        Other Gratiot County men who were prisoners of war in Germany included three former Alma College students: Fred Hartt, Sol Cicinelli, and Jack Kelly. Hartt had attended the college and was a star athlete; Cicinelli and Kelly were Alma College graduates.   Better news came when Ivan Monroe of Alma wrote home to his parents that he had been captured on August 11. However, Monroe escaped from the Germans just a short time later. Monroe quipped in a letter home that “It was no trick at all to escape from the Germans.”

         More Gratiot men came up missing in action. Denver Welsh from Bethany Township was lost at sea during a hurricane off the coast of the United States. Welsh had been aboard a coast guard cutter at the time and had been back in the service for only five weeks. In early July, Welsh spent seven days aboard a life raft before being rescued and weighed only        115 pounds. A Breckenridge student, Welsh had served one year in the Army in Panama before receiving a medical discharge. After returning to Gratiot County, he joined the Coast Guard in 1941. Sergeant Joseph Thomas of Alma was missing in France since September 1.

Red Cross Activity

       The Red Cross worked to keep the public aware of the needs of those Gratiot men who were POWs, as well as helping POW families. A total of fifteen county men were now prisoners of war, and a special display appeared in different parts of Gratiot County to keep the memories of these men alive. The exhibition started in Red Cross headquarters in Ithaca,  moved to the window of J.L. Barden and Sons, then it went to W.D. Baltz’s store window. After a few days,  it moved to St. Louis. The display featured a capture package, which held essential items to be sent to POWs. Also, the Red Cross display had seven large posters depicting life in a German POW camp, a map of known camps in Europe and the Far East, and the contents of different food kits. For any captured POW to have a Christmas package, items had to leave Gratiot County in early September. Reverend J.C. Thompson from the Edgewood Church of God was in charge of distributing Red Cross boxes to anyone who wanted to send Christmas items to loved ones in a camp.

       The Gratiot County Red Cross Chapter in Ithaca prepared to move to another location in the Cities Service Building. The headquarters sat next to the county rationing office. It operated from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM every day with Sarah Hunsicker in charge. Sarah Rasor of Ithaca served as county chairman in charge of knitting and sewing for all county chapters. Ithaca’s chapter was at work on making 150 hospital garments and 144 kit bags.  The St. Louis branch also had been hard at work and completed almost 30,000 types of hospital dressings. This group of twenty St. Louis women put in over 288 hours to achieve their mission, and Florence Marr led all volunteers with 45 hours of work. Their next assignment involved creating bed shirts and pajamas from newly arrived material.

Rationing in Gratiot County

       Gratiot County continued its journey to preserve the use of items for the war effort. While the rationing office was open six days a week (10:00 AM to 5:45 PM Monday through Friday and for four hours on Saturday), there was still a need for volunteers to help out at the office. The county looked for fifteen people to make a “patriotic contribution” by donating a few hours each month to work in the Ithaca office.

       Tires and gasoline remained closely monitored. Automobile tires, especially Number 1 tires, were becoming increasingly hard to find and supplies were critical. The last time that Gratiot County took applications for new tires, the county turned away requests for 728 tires as they just could not get any more. In 1944, it was not uncommon for the rationing board to be running short on average of 500 tires. While 200 to 300 Gratiot applicants were given permits to buy tires, the applicants often could not find anyone in the county who had tires in stock. In mid-September, the board granted 216 tire certificates and most of them (175) were grade one tires.

      Obtaining gasoline could be another problem. The rationing board issued “A” gas books to motorists over a three day period starting September 19. How were they obtained? Teachers in area schools were called upon to help issue the new books. Anyone wanting a new book had to be registered. Old “A” books had to be turned in and applicants also had to turn in their “Tire Inspection Record.” In Alma, those who wanted the books went to Hillcrest, Lincoln, Republic, or Wright schools. In Ashley, a person had to go to Houserville. Some of the teachers who served as site custodians at Alma’s schools included: Ethel Webb, Melva Giles, Martha Hale, and Reeta Peterson. Over at St. Louis, the schools closed on Monday and less than 700 people showed up for their new books. However, more came during the next two evenings.

        Before the books were handed out, teachers and workers had to attend an afternoon session at the Gratiot County Courthouse. The distribution of the new books meant that schools were closed one day in order to allow teachers to operate the program. Those individuals who lost their old “A” books had to wait until October to reapply for new gas books. These new gas ration coupons were good for four gallons of gasoline starting after midnight on September 21. By the end of September, a total of 6, 583 new “A” books had been issued in Gratiot County,  200 less than those given out one year earlier.

        Some goods remained rationing point free in September such as raw dry beans, fruit butter, and prune juices. Most canned goods also remained point free, such as canned asparagus, lima beans, mixed vegetables, and others. Even though sugar remained in high demand, women were encouraged to can fresh fruit even without it. Women could crush some of the fruit juice and add it with water in place of sugar. However, processed foods still went up in point value. In some cases, canned and bottled fruits doubled in point value or went up even more. Housewives still received up to 50 blue points each month to obtain some of these goods, but they had to use them up by the end of the month or lose them. Surprisingly, many Gratiot women were encouraged to pool their tokens in order to use them up by the end of the month.

       In other rationing news, Victory Gardens in Alma were eligible for cash prizes for their summer work. C.H. Barnes was given the first prize of $10 and second prize of $5 was divided among four Alma teachers. A group of 36 Mennonite ladies in Newark Township met and canned 550 quarts of peaches and sent them to C.P.S. camps. Mennonite men met and canned corn and blackberries, as well as cherries. In 1943, the Mennonites canned over 1,000 quarts of fruit which they sent to C.P.S. camps.

       Not all rationing news was good. The OPA office in Saginaw filed suit against Ida Berman of Berman Iron and Metal in Alma for not maintaining records of their business operations and for not properly invoicing waste paper shipments. A slaughterhouse-five miles south of Ithaca was fined over $1000 for overcharging the sale of meat. Claude Hunt and Fred Frisbee paid the fines. Their sales exceeded the price ceiling of 1/8 a cent to one cent per sale. Preparing to hunt in the fall of 1944, hunters found that bans had been lifted on ammunition sales. Farmers and ranchers had previously had the main access to ammunition; now hunters could obtain more for the fall hunting, but they had to sign for all of the ammunition that they purchased.

Bond Sales

       The United States Treasury announced that people could start cashing in E Bonds beginning October 1. The government was concerned that people needed the money and would want to cash them in as soon as possible. Those who tried to cash in their bonds needed to do so at an incorporated bank or trust company. The biggest drive to raise money would start in October in the county for the National War Fund. Gratiot County’s goal was to raise at least $19,500 and five districts were drawn up to contact people for their support.  These donations helped the USO, War Prisoners Aid, United Seaman’s Service, and nineteen other relief organizations.

       St. Louis schools again encouraged students to help with the sale of war stamps and make weekly purchases. The schools had done so since 1942, and each Wednesday was set aside for war stamps sales.

Farm News in Gratiot County

       Much of the news dealt with the start of the harvest season.  Gratiot County farm agent C.P. Milham told farmers to expect the first killing frost in early September. He urged farmers to beware of poor harvesting methods. Farmers with bean harvests were encouraged to stake their beans, even though it took more time to do so. Also, when they needed to treat their wheat before it was planted as this prevented stinking smut disease. The harvest of corn and beans was expected to be better than in many places in the state because Gratiot County received rainfall at critical times during the summer.

       Interestingly, many farmers hoped for a reduced pheasant population in the county as many believed that too many pheasants ruined their soy crops. The farmers also resented some Gratiot pheasant hunters who hunted in the soybeans. Farmers thought that hunters and their dogs damaged the soybeans and hunters were asked to stay out of Gratiot County soybean fields during pheasant season.

      The 1944 growing season was not as good as 1943; however, the county was fairing much better than other areas in the state. It all came down to getting rain at the right times during the Michigan drought.

       Sugar beets looked like they would yield more per acre than in many other places in the state. The field office and sugar factories hoped for anticipated yields of 8 ½ tons per acre in Gratiot County. However, farmers appeared nervous about one thing – how would they get enough labor to harvest the beets? Mexican workers were then harvesting tomatoes in southern parts of the state. Still, the sugar beet factories encouraged farmers to contact them to obtain help for sugar beet harvesting. The factories in both Alma and St. Louis ran advertisements in newspapers asking for men and women to apply for work during the processing season. The need for workers sounded urgent.  By September 28, the Lake Shore Sugar Company said that beet harvesting had started on local farms. To combat the worker shortage,  Gratiot County was about to get help from a previously unknown source. German prisoners of war who would be coming to Alma and St. Louis.

       Milk and cream producers would be paid for their July and August subsidies if they presented all their slips at the right time. AAA paid farmers 35 cents per hundred for milk and 6 cents a pound for cream. The place Breckenridge farmers went for payment included N.J. Roth’s garage.  The county agent also told of a new program that encouraged returning veterans and industrial workers to consider starting their farms in Gratiot County. This plan could be a challenge to some because land prices had returned to World War I levels after a disastrous dip during the Depression.

And Lest We Forget – Daily Life in Gratiot County:

        In late September, the St. Louis junior class planned its “kickoff dance” on a Friday night in the gymnasium…The Alma Commission discussed a plan to return Alma to “Central War Time” for the fall and winter…Hunting stamps for migratory birds were on sale in the Alma Post Office…The Gratiot County Free Fair was off to a good start in Ithaca…The Alma community center building had been cleaned and was ready for use for the public. Wednesday nights were reserved for adult activities. Musical attractions and amateur shows were just some of the things planned…A polio outbreak was feared in Alma when 19-year-old Alice Titus contracted polio. The outbreak led to Alma Schools issuing a statement that they hoped to remain open…Over at the Strand Theatre, “Mr. Winkle Goes to War” starring Edward G. Robinson was playing, and a matinee was 12 cents…The Gratiot County 4-H Beef Club took 39 head of cattle to a club show at Michigan State College. It had 32 members with three leaders. The club was only two years old…A war correspondent from Pearl Harbor wrote that many servicemen in the Pacific were bitter. Americans back home were preparing for Victory Day celebrations for the war in Europe. Fighting in the Pacific remained hot, and the final defeat of Japan was believed to be several years away…The Blue Star Mothers of Alma sponsored a performance at Alma High School. “Victory Vanities” was the name of the show and proceeds were planned to go to the servicemen’s memorial fund…Alma was listening to information from the state regarding reimbursement for post-war projects in the city. The city stood to receive $4,000 for some of this work…St. Louis prepared to go to Central War Time starting November 1 starting the first Saturday night in October…Alma leaders continued to discuss how to celebrate V-Day when it occurred. “What shall we do on Victory Day?” was the topic of discussion…Pastor Jesse Pratt came to the Ithaca Baptist Church to discuss her experiences as a missionary in Swatow, China. Pratt was captured by the Japanese and placed in custody after Pearl Harbor. She later was repatriated from Shanghai, China…Another missionary held captive by the Japanese, Reverend L.C. Osborn, who had been in China for 28 years. He spoke at the St. Louis Nazarene Church about being interned for six months in a concentration camp before being freed…The Ithaca Blue Star Mothers asked for help from the community to make sure that all Ithaca men in the service received a Christmas box. People were asked to bring fresh produce to Muscott’s Hall to raise money for the boxes…The Fulton School Board of Education planned to sell three school houses, outbuildings, desks, and other items at the East Fulton School on September 11…Five servicemen who were home on leave spoke to the Ithaca Rotary Club. These men included Jim Haley, Robert Evans John Hodges, Leonard Wilson, and Lawrence Shively…Michigan Chemical Corporation wanted men for war work. Good wages, security, and safe working conditions were some of the benefits….A large pile of gravel and sand was placed on the property of the Lakeshore Sugar Company in St. Louis. It was for road improvements on M-46 east of town…Eugene McClure left his position as manager of J.J. Newberry’s in Alma, only to take proprietorship of the Wright Hotel. McClure obtained a lease on the hotel…The cost of becoming a citizen in Gratiot County was about to go up. It would now cost $3 for filing a declaration of intention and $8 to file a petition for naturalization…  In Breckenridge, the Blue Star Mothers raised $260 through a chicken supper and bazaar. It drew Blue Star Mothers from across the county, and the funds were used for Christmas boxes…Victor Manzullo, a former chef at Alma College, became the chef at the St. Louis Park Hotel…Alma Schools was up a total of 17 students from one year ago. Alma announced that it had a total enrollment of 1,658…The area around the St. Louis Municipal Light and Power Plant continued to be part of a beautification project. Now the footbridge dam would be painted…Victor Jaeckel and Mrs. Fred Sigourney became the new owners of Paul’s Shoe Market in St. Louis. Jaeckel still kept his job as manager of the Strand Theatre.

And that was Gratiot County’s Finest Hour in September 1944.

Copyright 2019 James M Goodspeed

 

Above: “Japanese Sandman” from August 24, 1944 issue of Gratiot County Herald; the Wymer Brothers were representative of several Gratiot County families who sent several sons (and daughters) off to war; Absent voters ballot sent to Gratiot County men and women let them vote in the 1944 elections; Rationing notice from Alma Record, August 3, 1944.

     People called it “Victory fever.” Many used the phrase, “End the War in ’44.” Still, others would talk of the idea of having the soldiers who were in Europe home for Christmas. Gratiot County, like many other places in the United States in August 1944, followed the news of Allied armies as they moved across France after D-Day. It seemed that Americans would soon be knocking on the door of Hitler’s Germany.

      Similar to the war fever that ran through Gratiot County in the late summer of 1918, Americans began to think that the war in Europe would soon end. Some cities and towns even started to discuss plans for “Victory Day.” However, in reality, the war would not stop as quickly- or as soon- as Americans hoped. As the liberation of Paris approached, a new brand of “Victory fever” was running wild in Gratiot  County in August of 1944.

Rationing Continues

     Taking care of gas and tires remained rationing problems.  In September, a new “A” gas rationing book would be issued to people for three days through the public schools. The current gas books expired on September 21 and teachers and administrators oversaw the distribution of new ration books. Tires were another issue. While the Office of Price Administration cut the number of available casings, it increased the number of heavy truck and bus tires that people could obtain.  Last winter’s supply of passenger car tires was gone. If anyone applied for new tires, they had to have their old tires inspected and provide evidence of prior inspections.

     Every 5,000 miles, or every six months, owners were expected to have their tires inspected. During one week in mid-August, the county rationing board gave out tire certificates for 150 grade 1 tires, 24 grade 3 tires, 20 small truck tires, 4 small implement tires, and 1 large implement tire. To educate people in the county about the importance of conserving rubber, Lamerson’s Shoe Store in Alma put up a window display. In showed a five-person rubber raft, a rubber diving suit, flying boots, and a pair of Alaskan Mukluks. The display emphasized the importance, conservation, and preservation of rubber.

     Other items to be rationed in August included waste paper and rags. In late August, Ithaca held a paper collection, courtesy of Boy Scout Troop Number 113. Anyone in Ithaca who had items to donate needed to tie their paper up into bundles, or place it in cartons. A “Salvage” sign had to appear in the windows of those wanting pick up. A similar drive took place in Alma, and the Boy Scouts picked up paper items, as well as tin.

     Food was another essential item to be rationed. Sugar Stamp 33 remained good for five pounds of sugar starting in September. However, Sugar Stamp 40 was to be used for home canning and remained good until February 1945. Canned corn went back on the ration list and cost three ration points for a twelve-ounce can. In good news, grape jam came off the list and was ration free because of an oversupply that lasted the remainder of 1944. If you lived in Alma, you could enter into a Victory Garden contest. E.L. Mutchler, who served as the Alma Victory Garden campaign manager, offered a prize of $10 for the best garden. Second place would win $5. Anyone interested in entering the contest needed to send him a postcard with the address of their Victory Garden.

War Bonds Results

     Results of the Fifth War Loan Sales in July appeared in the newspapers. Gratiot County raised a total of $1,400,742.50 in bond sales. While individual sales were down, corporate purchases went up. Results from rural areas in the county had Emerson Township leading the way with $22,450 in sales. New Haven Township bought $5,250 worth of bonds.  The government also announced that another War Fund Campaign would start in October to finance the work of the USO and other war-related agencies. The goal was to raise just over $5,000,000.

The Red Cross

     As more talk took place concerning the end of the war, the Red Cross was asked to help with issues facing American servicemen and women  who returned home. In early August, a group of over 40 Red Cross workers met at the St. Louis Park Hotel.  They listened to the head of the Michigan Veterans Administration talk about how to assist these veterans when they returned to Gratiot  County.  The St. Louis Red Cross Chapter also proclaimed that it met its quota of making 19,000 4×4 dressings that summer. The chapter then celebrated their accomplishments by having dinner in the city park. To accomplish their feat, the St. Louis women continued to out of the back end of the St. Louis Leader’s office.

Gratiot’s Men and Women in the Service

     The only men who left Gratiot County through Selective Service in August consisted of a group of 13 men who departed July 27. Some in the group included Durwood Moon from Ithaca, John W. Morrison from Middleton, and John J. Koval of Alma.

     In late August, the Gratiot County Herald featured the stories of the Wymer Brothers: Cutha, Virgil, Lois, Wallace, and Ora. Cutha and Virgil were in the Army; the other brothers all served in the Navy. Ora joined the Navy in April at the age of 17, and one brother remained at home. Another Gratiot County family, the Tomaseks from Bannister, sent their sons and daughter off to war. Brothers August and John, both in the Army, met each other during the drive on Rome, Italy during the summer. They had been in Europe since early 1942. Brother Steve Tomasek, a recent Ashley High School graduate, entered the Army on July 7 and was sent to Camp Hood, Texas. A sister, Lieutenant Caroline Tomasek joined the Army Nurses Corps in February 1943. She graduated from St. Mary’s Nursing School in Saginaw and was somewhere in Europe.

     News came from around the United States and the world about what was happening to Gratiot’s men and women who went to war. Sergeant Marvin Mates of Breckenridge received an Oak Leaf Cluster for flying aboard a B-24 between Vienna and Bucharest. Mates was a ball gunner. Private Quentin Greening from Breckenridge graduated from the Department of the Armament in Colorado. He was trained to help with the maintenance and operation of heavy bombers and fighter planes. Lieutenant George Townsend from Alma completed his 60^th bombing mission as a B-26 Marauder pilot. Townsend was a part of “Nye’s Annihilators” which helped support Allied ground troops in France.

    Staff Sergeant Robert Bebow of St. Louis had seen action in many places since Pearl Harbor. He joined a Flying Fortress unit and was in the first attacks over Nazi Germany in the fall of 1942. Bebow also gained recognition as one of the best radio maintenance mechanics in his squadron. Gene Hetzman from Alma was in aviation school in San Antonio, Texas. Corporal Lyle Hynes of Wheeler was stationed in Northern Ireland and served as an engineer on medium bombers. He had been at his location since July. Major Selby Calkins, an Alma High School graduate, had participated in B-29 raids on July 29 over Mukden, Manchuria. Calkins was squadron leader in the 20^th Bomber Command.  Lieutenant Lewis Jolls, who formerly worked for the Gratiot County Herald, came home from England after flying 30 missions as a pilot on a B-17 over Germany. He flew over Berlin as recently as June 21.

    At Fort Benning, Georgia, Francis Stearns of Alma graduated from parachute rigging and packing school. He was one of those men who had the critical job of preparing and maintaining parachutes for paratroopers. Lieutenant L.D. Huffman of Alma announced that he had been given membership in the “I Bombed Japan” club. Huffman was in the 11^th Army Air Force and had bombed Japanese positions in the Kurile Islands. He had been in that unit for the past eighteen months.

    Emery Bebow served as a seaman-cook and came home to St. Louis on furlough. Bebow had served for six months aboard the USS St. Louis. Private Wallace Humphrey of Elwell was in the United States Marine Corps and fought on Saipan and Tinian. Humphrey suffered no injuries during the fighting, even though he spent several days and nights in the rain without rest or hot food. Ensign Richard Terwilliger, Jr. from St. Louis became a lieutenant and served at the Naval Research Laboratory in Anacostia, D.C.  He had graduated from the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering and went into active service as soon as he graduated in 1943. Private Howard Anderson of Alma came home after 29 ½ months in the Southwest Pacific Theater. Anderson received a well-deserved furlough. Harold Klein of Ithaca also came back to visit his family, along with his wife. Klein had been in the Pacific for the past eighteen months. Second Lieutenant Robert Jackson, who was from Saginaw and an Alma College graduate, was sent to Parris Island for basic training in the United States Marine Corps.

     Technician Glen Shirey of Alma also came home after 26 months in the Southwest Pacific theater. He had been in the chemical warfare branch of the Army. Shirey’s father worked for Crippen Manufacturing. Harold Davis of Riverdale was preparing for amphibious warfare in the Pacific aboard LST landing ships with the Navy. The Executive Officer of Alma College’s V-12 Program, Lieutenant A.B. May, was called for service and was to be sent to San Francisco before heading for the South Pacific. May had been at Alma College in his position since the V-12 Program started in June 1943. Lieutenant Orville Dahl, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, replaced him at Alma College.

     In the Army, Warrant Officer Charles Letson from Alma was a part of 122 men sent to England in June 1942 to set up the largest supply center outside of the United States. Letson witnessed the depot grow as supplies went to fighter and bomber bases all over England. Sergeant Robert Campbell of Alma had been in Egypt and now was transferred to England.  Corporal Bryant Betts of Alma reported to his parents that he had been “slightly injured in action.”  He was serving in New Guinea and had been there since February. His brother, Zane Betts, enlisted in June 1943 while still a student at Alma High School. Zane Betts was also  in New Guinea in the Navy. Private Leland Perry sent souvenirs from his experiences in Italy to his parents in Alma. These items included medals and badges he had been awarded in Africa and the actual pair of socks Perry wore when he marched through Rome when it was liberated. He also sent home a passkey from a hotel in Rome.

    Sergeant Robert Bennett of Ithaca surprised his parents upon arriving  home from Alaska on a 21-day furlough. Unfortunately, he could not visit with his sister and her family because they had gone away to work in the cherry orchards. A photo of Sergeant Harlan Stahl appeared in the Gratiot County Herald. Stahl was “somewhere in Russia” on assignment helping the Russians fight the war from the Eastern Front.  More news coverage described the meeting of brothers Robert and Howard Comstock in England. The two had not seen each other in three years. Robert was serving in the Ninth Service Command trucking company; Howard was a paratrooper in the 82^nd Airborne. A picture of the two men together appeared in the St. Louis Leader Press. Private First Class Johnny Crispin of Alma sent word to his parents that the younger Crispin was within fifteen miles of Alma friends who were stationed in Italy. Among these friends included Private Bill Lippert, Private Louis DeRosia, and Sergeant Lyle Potter. When all four men were in North Africa earlier in the war, they managed to be within a short distance of each other for four weeks. Sergeant Leland Mecomber of Wheeler had his picture in the paper. Mecomber was responsible for refueling aircraft for the Twelfth Air Force B-25 Bombardment Squadron.

     Then there were  women from Gratiot County who also served in the Armed Forces. Lieutenant Penelope Sawkins came home to Alma on leave before being sent to Army Airways Communications system at Grenier Field in Manchester, New Hampshire. Sawkins had previously served for two years with the Army Air Forces in Washington, D.C. Another volunteer,  Ruth Posey of Breckenridge, enlisted in the WAVES and reported to Hunter College in the Bronx, New York, to start her training. Lieutenant Margaret Langdon, a Carson City High School graduate, served as an air evacuation nurse in England. Langdon was frequently the only medical attendant on duty when wounded men arrived at her location. In some cases, she stated that flights taking supplies into France were quickly unloaded and then loaded again with wounded Americans arriving at her base. Miss Edith Dines of St. Louis enlisted in the WAVES on her twentieth birthday. The Alma Record noted that Dines was the first woman from St. Louis to join during the war.

Letters Home Tell of both Good and Bad

    While families waited for word from a family member, the news  could be comforting, humorous, or tragic.

     Corporal John Brzak of Ashley continued to write letters to his sister after he had been wounded in the South Pacific. After being hit by Japanese mortar shells, Brzak was in a hospital where he received the Purple Heart. Brzak said that he had shrapnel removed and bayonet wounds stitched. “Well, Sis, I received your letter,” Brzak wrote. “The Nurse read it to me. I’m still on my back in a nice white bed and it sure does seem good to have a nurse around you all the time…I feel fine aside outside of my pains. Yes, I also get the Gratiot County Herald and does it ever bring memories back up here…” he concluded.  Ted Osborne of Riverdale wrote from Italy to his two grandparents that he had not seen in two years. “It’s been two years since I’ve seen you…Personally I’m getting damn tired of this war business.” He told his grandmother not to worry about any drinking or smoking. “(I) Can’t do it  and last long at this game.” He wrote that he marveled about the olives and grapes that the Italians were raising for wine.

     The family of Private Dale Phelps, who lived in Riverdale, heard that Dale had received as many as ten letters. “That made me feel pretty good, although there wasn’t one in the ten from you (Mom and Dad). I suppose there is one on the way, isn’t there?” Phelps had acquired several Japanese souvenirs (including money, pens and a gun) and planned on sending them home. “Pep talk” letters sometimes found their way back to Gratiot County. Myron Humphrey sent such a one to his parents, asking them not to worry or cry about his safety. “Just say to (yourselves), there’s a job to be done and my son is in there helping to do it’.” Humphrey ended his letter with this assertion: “Did you ever stop to realize what would happen if the (Japanese) ever licked America? We would live in slavery the rest of our lives, and I don’t want my children being brought up to worship some guy on a white horse.”

     Clarence Isles, who recently fought on Saipan, joked about his condition. He had heard American bands, attended a church service late one night, and even saw a show. “I hadn’t seen a civilian in so long that I almost forgot what they looked like.” He went on, “You should see me in the Pacific ocean, bare naked washing clothes. I sure wish I had a little portable washing machine.” After walking through mountains on sweltering days, he other buddies came back on an ox cart, filled with cocoanuts and bananas. “I am just a few hundred miles from Tokyo and 10,000 miles from home.” He closed, “I have sat in a fox hole and read letters from home with bullets and shells whistling all around me.”

     A couple of St. Louis paratroopers also sent mail home. Private Fred Hicks in the 82^nd Airborne commented about his diet in England. He wrote, “I’ll bet you’ll be surprised to hear that I have been eating some hot cereals. They aren’t bad at all, but I still like the cold ones. I am looking forward to a package from you folks because one does get hungry around ten or eleven at night.” Of particular value to Hicks was the presence of the Red Cross; they offered coffee and doughnuts each night. The Red Cross also welcomed Hicks and his fellow paratroopers with doughnuts when they first arrived in England.

     For Howard Comstock, another 82^nd Paratrooper, his letter home told about meeting his older brother, Wayne. It was the first time in two years that the brothers had seen each other, and it was very emotional. Howard described what it was like to see a brother who was nine years older and who seemed to acknowledge that the younger Comstock had grown up during wartime. When Howard found his brother’s unit in Oxford, he contacted the commanding officer for permission to see his brother, which was granted. To Howard, the meeting did not seem real until “it suddenly dawned on me that I was actually going to see my brother in a few minutes. Strange as it may seem, I got scared, stage fright, or something.” When the elder Comstock came down the hallway the first time, Howard did not initially recognize him. But, when Wayne came back toward him, Howard would write,  “Oh, Gosh! What a moment that was. We didn’t quite break down and bawl, but neither of us could talk for a few minutes. I’ll bet everyone wondered what was going on for a minute – two soldiers meeting in the middle of a room, grabbing each other and then reaching for their handkerchiefs. Golly, but you’ve no idea how wonderful it was to see him.” Over the next three days, the two brothers proved to be inseparable. Once they even switched clothes and tried to pass themselves off as the other when around Wayne’s unit. They had a few laughs doing so. Howard’s assessment of the reunion concluded in the letter: “Wayne used me a lot different than he ever did before. He actually treated me as if I were grown up. Something new for him, wasn’t it?”

Those Wounded, Killed, Missing in Action, and Prisoners of War

    There was no end in sight to Gratiot County’s casualties, and the numbers kept climbing as the war went on through 1944. Two months after D-Day, the continual Allied movement across France led to more losses. The same happened on islands in the Pacific.

     Two Wheeler boys, Gordon Batchelder, and Lester Robbins were both wounded and placed in English hospitals. More information came in on Batchelder, who went to France with the D-Day Invasion and was injured on July 18.  His last letters home to his mother described how he wrote to her while lying on his back. An Alma boy, Private Lester Tanner, Jr., was wounded in France on July 3. Private Richard Lover of Bannister was also wounded on July 20 in France. His Colonel wrote to the family and commended Lover for his service. Private Leonard LaBaron of Alma was wounded somewhere in France; he had received the Purple Heart and was back at duty. Private Anson Foster of St. Louis was wounded in Italy and sent his Purple Heart home to his wife. Foster was back serving in the Infantry.

    Out in the Pacific, Ray Willert, who was a Marine, was sent to San Francisco after receiving severe injuries during fighting there. Willert’s brother was Alma Police Chief Earl Willert. Junior Rockefellow of Alma was sent to Percy Jones Hospital in Battle Creek after receiving wounds in Italy. Rockefellow had a foot amputated due to gangrene. He also had  surgery for shrapnel wounds in his thighs.  Corporal Matthew Mikula of Elwell participated in D-Day and was wounded June 18. Because of his injuries, he was sent to Crile General Hospital in Parma Heights, Ohio.  He received the Purple Heart.  Private William Dean of St. Louis was also wounded twice on Saipan and was in a Naval hospital. He was entitled to a Gold Star. Jesse Hanford of Alma had been hit in the foot by a Japanese sniper while in New Guinea. He was in a hospital there. The names of more wounded Gratiot men kept coming. Private George Kipp, Jr. (Wheeler), Corporal Eugene Randall (Breckenridge), Donald Randall (Breckenridge), and Private Leslie Tanner, Jr. (Alma), were all wounded in Europe and were either in English or French hospitals.

     Hard news came to families in Gratiot County with the announcement of those who died. The family of James Kalahar of St. Louis learned that the 23-year-old bomber was killed during the invasion of France. He had been in Europe for about seven months. Sergeant Donald Wood of St. Louis also died in France while serving in the infantry. Wood’s wife also learned that two of her cousins were actually in the same battle as Wood and they had been wounded. Donald Wood was a graduate of Breckenridge High School. Private Stuart Brown of Alma died in France on August 11. He had only been in France for six weeks before being killed. Brown served as a driver in the wire section of his infantry’s communication division. He was married in 1942 and entered the service that same year.  The parents of Lieutenant Howard Barton of Breckenridge received definitive word that their son was killed May 23 in action over England. A 1938 Breckenridge High School graduate, Barton also attended Central Michigan Teachers College in Mt. Pleasant. John Prout, Jr., whose father operated the High Speed Gas Station in Ithaca, was killed May 29. However, details about his death were unclear.

     Those missing in action and who were captured as prisoners of war also were in the news. Staff Sergeant Dean Button of Alma had been reported missing in a combat mission over the Ploesti Oilfields in Romania. William Jordan of Ithaca and had been missing since February 15, 1943. His family received his Purple Heart.  Jordan was a Seaman First Class in the Merchant Marines.    The War Department added the names of Private William McGill of Alma and Sergeant Benny Zamarron of Ashley to an official list of prisoners of war in Germany. Sergeant Harold Waldron of Breckenridge had his picture appear in the Gratiot County Herald. Waldron became a prisoner of war in Germany on April 13, 1944.

Farmers and Farms in July 1944

    The weather had been rough on crops in the county during July. Arid conditions meant that farmers hoped that more rain would fall. Some rain fell in mid-July, but only in scattered areas of Gratiot County. The extreme heat and high winds took off blossoms of beans; corn leaves were turning a brittle brown color. It seemed that all of the summer rain was hitting Michigan north of the Bay City to Muskegon line. Sugar beets seemed to be holding their own, and with more acreage planted in 1944 than ever before, hopes were high for a record harvest. One of the fears of the lack of corn available to feed animals in the county was that farmers would use new oats, wheat, and barley for their livestock. Farmers were urged to use their oldest grains first because the animals could become sick from eating recently harvested grains.

    When it came to farming help, the State of Michigan School Superintendent, Eugene B. Elliott, urged high school students to return to school in the fall. During the war, an estimated 150,000 high school age students left school to work on the farms.  Elliott stated that two out of every five youths were no longer in school. On the other hand, migrant workers left Gratiot County to follow the crops north. As planting, thinning, and blocking of crops had passed. Farmers were told that migrant help would return for the harvest season.

    When it came to 4-H members in Gratiot County, a total of 38 young farmers raised beef cattle. They had 40 steers and eleven heifers or cows in their projects. Among these included Leo Goodyear and Earl Graham of St. Louis. Both raised Herefords.

     The AAA told farmers that milk and cream payment checks would not be made until September. The payments would take place every two months after that, until March 1945. Gratiot County received a total of $56,831.74 in cash for July. On a side note, farmers were told not to wait until they ran out of gasoline before requesting more for farm work in July.

And So That We Do Not Forget

    Egg breaking at Swift and Company in Alma had ceased. A group of 120 women had been employed there and were not needed…Tin and paper was needed for the war effort. Please help out…A county-wide milkweed pod drive was about to take place. Area school students were expected to help scour the county for milkweed, which was needed to replace Kapok for life vests for pilots and crew members…Citizens who still owed taxes from 1932 had to pay their next installment for the moratorium program…Saginaw was already planning for Victory in Europe day celebration…Corporal Harland Burton shot off his finger while hunting crows on his father’s farm near Alma…A new administration building was going up at the Leonard Refineries. The president and vice-president’s office would be in the west wing. All offices had asphalt tile floors, plastered walls and woodwork. Architect William Edward Kapp of Detroit designed the building…  Sergeant Russell Shaw from Los Angeles, California, a renowned soldier evangelist, was holding meetings at the Alma Church of God. He had fought the Japanese in the Pacific, was seriously injured, and was honorably discharged…All Christmas parcels being sent overseas had to be labeled as such and not weigh more than five pounds…When 30 million school children invest fifty cents each, the result is paying for 33,100 jeeps that have come off of the Willys-Overland assembly lines…Absent voter ballots for 247 Gratiot County members of the armed forces were mailed out at the end of August for 1944 elections. They voted on paper ballots, just like everyone else in the county…Michigan had 124 cases of polio in 1944, 117 of them occurring since July 1. There had been two deaths…W.L. “Doc” Hetzman from Detroit was in the news. Hetzman, a native of Breckenridge, served as War Food Production consultant for Detroit and surrounding areas.  Hetzman had an office on Woodward Avenue and his job was to oversee and encourage the use of Victory Gardens. Hetzman taught at Riverview School system for the last 16 years…Free movies started in mid-August on Saturday evenings in Middleton. They were expected to run every Saturday night for the next few weeks…The Ashley Methodist Church was the location of a patriotic wedding for Miss Evelyn Whitaker and Quentin Coon, who served in the U.S. Army Air Force. Thirty five people attended the wedding… Company C of the Michigan State Troops left the area for chemical warfare training northwest of Midland. Between 250-300 men from companies around mid-Michigan took the training…A display of the Lockheed Ventura sub-buster could be seen at First State Bank in Alma. The Ventura was built to keep America’s coast free from German submarines…Adele Cavanaugh of St. Louis continued to write a column to encourage St. Louis area youth who had left to defend the county at a time of war. Cavanaugh kept the public aware of the names of those who had left and the sacrifice they were making for St. Louis…And Private Walter Hartig of Alma, who was in somewhere in the Pacific, wrote a poem home to his father, Louis Hartig. It read:

“Dad, remember me, I’m your son.

I joined the Army to shoulder a gun.

I’ve done K.P., I’ve marched, I’ve drilled.

Went on bivouacs, learned how to kill.

Now I’ll do my job, we’ll win this war

Democracy is tops, that’s what we’re fighting for.

So you run the farm, don’t fret and stew.

I’ll be home when our job is through.

So long for now, Love –your son, Walt.”

 

And that was August 1944 during Gratiot County’s Finest Hour.

Copyright 2019 James M. Goodspeed

     It was July 1969. A recent poll of Americans stated that over fifty percent of them approved of President Richard Nixon’s policies regarding the Vietnam War. The reigning World Series Champion Detroit Tigers were twelve games behind the rival Baltimore Orioles. The team’s mood was that there was no way that the Tigers could catch the Birds. In the end, they were right. A recent incident at a place called Chappaquiddick, Massachusetts threatened the political future of Senator Ted Kennedy. 

     If people in Gratiot County had not been paying attention that July, American astronauts were about to set foot upon the moon. The goal President Kennedy set earlier in the decade to send a man to the moon and return him safely home, soon would happen.   For almost two weeks, Gratiot County followed television and read the newspapers about this event that marked American history.

     In anticipation of the Apollo 11 mission, on July 11 four St. Louis men boarded a 1966 Cessna Skyhawk and flew to Florida to watch the launch at Cape Canaveral. Sig Chrzanwoski piloted the plane. He was accompanied by his brother, Mike, his co-pilot, along with Lloyd Sutherland and Mike Smith. After a nine-hour flight, the group aimed to land at Tico Field. Upon arrival, the four men slept in their sleeping bags on the ground. Their biggest disappointment before leaving was that they had no room for the television that they wanted to take with them.

    The night before Apollo 11 took off, the three astronauts (Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins) appeared on nationwide television. Four newsmen questioned them about their impending trip.  The program drew a broad audience of viewers on the eve of liftoff. It was the start of a suspenseful week as people watched the astronauts proceed to the moon.

     On a humorous side earlier in that week in Gratiot County, another “air event” took place involving the Red Baron, Orville Lippert, of Riverdale. Lippert was out flying his World War I German fighter plane, practicing takeoffs and landings when his plane went off of his airfield and crashed into the trees.  Lippert luckily only suffered minor bruises, even though he hit the trees at 50 miles per hour. To celebrate his survival, Lippert promptly took out his miniature stuffed dog, Snoopy,  and placed him on the wing of the plane. After assessing the results of the crash, Lippert learned that he only damaged his plane’s landing gear.

     On July 17, two days before the landing on the moon, President Richard Nixon asked that all American workers be given a day off from work.  Nixon requested the holiday “so that as many of our citizens as possible will be able to share in the significant events of (this) day.” Nixon also asked that “all of our people on that historic day … join in prayer for the successful conclusion of Apollo 11’s mission and the safe return of its crew.” None of Gratiot County’s industrial plants planned to close for a holiday. City and county officials, as well as banks, all waited to hear if Governor William Milliken would officially call for a state holiday.  Mayor Jerome Cavanaugh made that Monday a public holiday in Detroit, and that was about as close to a “day off” as Gratiot County received.

     Down in Texas, Gratiot County had a connection to the Houston Space Center. William J. Harris, a St. Louis native, and 1957 St. Louis High School graduate had been at the head of the McDonnell-Douglas flight systems team for Apollo 10. After working as a booster systems engineer and heading up the flight controllers team for Apollo 10, Harris remained in Houston for the Apollo 11 mission.

     One of the topics of conversation in Gratiot County on the eve of the moon landing was guessing what official first words would be spoken on the moon. The Alma Daily Record Leader asked different people what they thought. Area children gave their opinions. Twelve-year-old Steve Holcomb of St. Louis, commented that one of the astronauts would say “Where’s all the moon maidens?”  Danny Paton, age 10 and also from St. Louis, echoed the humor by thinking the men would remark, “Show me to the green cheese. I’m hungry!”

     Adults added their humor about the choice of words. Dick Anderson, from Riverdale, said, “Blast it –no women!” Stan Nesen, chairman of the Gratiot County Board of Supervisors, proclaimed it would be, “I forgot my crackers!”

      Other, more serious comments appeared in the newspaper. “Frankly, I think they will be too awestruck to say a thing,” said Gratiot County Clerk Eva Smith. In the end, Dr. William Knowles of St. Louis ended up being closest to the actual first words when he speculated that the first to walk on the moon would say, “We have arrived.”  The exact words would be “The Eagle has landed.”

    The moon landing happened on Sunday, July 20. Those who could not watch the walk on television listened to their radios. Gratiot County newspapers also kept a tab on the different things happening that day that that involved the United States. American GIs were fighting in Vietnam. Hippies openly romped unclothed in a California stream. At Kennedy International Airport in New York, approximately 3,000 people watched the moon landing on a giant television screen. Screens were also set up at Kitty Hawk, South Carolina, where Orville and Wilbur Wright had the first powered flight.  When an announcement of the landing was made at a baseball game in Seattle between the Pilots and the Twins, the game stopped, fans stood, and sang “America the Beautiful.”  Many baseball fans could not find a game on television or the radio due to coverage of what happened on the moon.

      Similar public amazement and interest in Gratiot County continued on Monday, July 21 when astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon for little over two hours. Gratiot County was again asked to comment about what they thought it meant to see Americans walking on the moon. Most citizens sounded proud, impressed, and optimistic. Maurice Carmany of Ashley responded, “I think it’s inevitable that people climb as high and go as fast as they can. This allows us to take pride in being Americans.”  Nancy Stahl of Ithaca thought, “It’s unbelievable. It’s just like watching an old movie on film, but this time it’s true. Moon adventures have been predicted for years in movies and books, and when it really happened it was so similar.” Father George Serour of St. Louis exclaimed, “The moon landing is a great historical event, the greatest next to the birth of Jesus Christ. Hopefully, this is a means God will use to bring mankind together for the glory of God and the uniting for all mankind.”

     Then there were a few Gratiot residents who did not sound quite so confident about Apollo 11’s landing and what it all meant.  Carl Dodge, bank vice president in Pompeii, uttered that “The moon landing is four billion dollars all gone for nothing. But 20 years ago I wouldn’t have said that.” John Hartman of St. Louis responded, “To me, it is very exciting and thrilling. I’ve tried to evaluate the meaning of it. The government officials may see the importance which isn’t obvious to us – perhaps it’s a stepping stone to the next planet. If there isn’t any long term value, they’re spending millions and billions that could be used to good advantage right here. Fate wise, I’m not sure. I believe in God and the fact this is God’s world, and I feel that it couldn’t have happened if He hadn’t intended it to be that way.”

     Still, area newspapers and writers thought that Apollo 11 had done a tremendous thing. Gratiot County Herald writer Bob MacDonald mused about that time.  “What a weird, mystic feeling it was to step out on the porch Sunday evening and gaze at the moon, knowing a couple of Americans were walking around up there. The moon took on a different aspect at that point.” David C. Martin from the Daily Record Leader wrote in his editorial on the topic. “We regard the Apollo 11 moon mission as one of the most epochal events in man’s long history.” As the crew prepared to head home, Martin added, “Our prayers for a safe, successful return go with astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin and Michael Collins today.”

       I too remember where I was and what I was doing during the Apollo 11 mission. On Sunday, July 20, the day Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon, my father took my brother and me to cool off in the St. Louis swimming pool. On that hot day, I clearly remember my father talking to me poolside about “what those guys are doing  on the moon.”

      As a result of that day in St. Louis,  I would like to think that the Apollo mission had another influence on my life. Two years later, after my parents were intrigued about having a swimming pool,  they purchased an above ground pool and put it up late in the summer of 1971. Maybe the moon landing on that hot July day in 1969 had more of an influence on my family than what I first thought.

Copyright 2019 James M Goodspeed

Above: Union Telephone Company Advertisement; Lt. Lorraine Loesel, from Alma, served as a nurse in New Guinea; Gratiot County worked to fulfill its quota for the Fifth Loan quota in July 1944.

     In July 1944, a walk down a town or village in Gratiot County on a Saturday night seemed quite peaceful. Unlike conditions in England, the soft lights from stores and street lamps made it easy to walk the streets. Cars honked as they went by. Drivers sometimes whistled or yelled at a young lady. People went into drug stores to get a Coke inside or to discuss which movie to see. Children lined up at water fountains to deal with the heat.

     People would gather at corners to talk. Inside a store,  a lady would hear, “Sorry Ma’am, I don’t have any more of that item. It is rationed, but I expect more soon.” She might also be told, “I’m sorry. I can’t give you that cut of meat, but I can give you another one. You don’t have enough points.” Men and women who finished their shopping carried their purchases to their cars in baskets or bags that they brought with them.

      In all of this, it was the July heat that held people’s attention. A prolonged drought had hit the county and farmers desperately needed rain.  Overseas, the invasion of France started its second month. In the Pacific, residents learned about the many islands that became battle sites. It was the third summer that Gratiot County was at war.

 

Rationing Continues

     Food rationing on behalf of the war effort continued in July, although in some cases point values went down a little. Vegetable juices and tomato sauces all dropped in points as canning season started.  Certain cheeses, canned asparagus, peas, and tomatoes all picked up point values even though there had been zero point values on them for a few weeks. Rationing also resumed on specific cuts of lamb so that more people had access to them.  The Gratiot County Rationing Office continued to post notices that meats, butter, and canned milk all had to use  Red Stamps A8 through Z8, all located in Ration Book Number 4. The stamps were worth 10 points each, and there was no restriction on their use.

      Late in the month, the Office of Price Administration increased rationing points on creamery butter. It turned out that people were using too many Red Stamps to buy more butter than the government allowed. Gratiot County residents were encouraged to practice canning for the winter. A canning center opened in Middleton on July 13 and it intended to remain open for the rest of the summer. Although there was no charge to use the canning center, people still needed to make appointments. Free tin cans and sealers were offered to those who did not have them.

     Prices and costs went up on other things as well. Clothing made from cotton textiles increased by over thirty percent. Cotton clothing, underwear, sheets, and work clothes also were affected. This increase was due to the Bankhead Amendment, which just became law.  In some parts of the United States,  women reacted angrily that rubber shortages affected corset sales. Many people just had to make do without things.

     A call continued for people to donate their junk for the war effort. At the end of the month, the Ithaca Boy Scouts held their first pickup of paper, rags and waste fats. Tin cans were also wanted, and donors needed only to cut off both ends of each can, turn the ends inside, and then flatten them. Residents were urged to combine trips into town and to drop off tin at designated collection centers. However, donations appeared to be in decline through the summer.  One of the exciting contributions of “war scrap” took place in St. Louis when Frank Housel, the city manager, received approval from the city council to tear down the city jail and donate the metal doors and sides. The jail had not been used for six years, and the city needed the space at the highway barn.

     An essential area of rationing dealt with automobiles in the county. Starting July 10, the Office of Price Administration set ceiling prices on 23 makes of automobiles. These cars ranged from types made between 1937 through 1942 and had two rates: “as is” and “warranty.” Whenever anyone purchased a vehicle, both the buyer and seller had to fill out a transfer certificate and then submit it to the county rationing board. A 1937 Chevrolet Town Sedan now had a ceiling base price with warranty for $365 and “as is” for $340. A more recent 1942 model would have costs of $940 and $995 respectively.  Those looking to buy used trucks did not face these regulations. Still, in the previous eighteen months prices on used cars rose between twenty to thirty percent.

     Tires and gasoline also remained desirable and essential items for people in Gratiot County. On July 6, the county ration board issued certificates for 348 tires. Almost two weeks later, another 314 certificates were given out; Grade 1 tires made up the most substantial requests.  Farmers saw less and less machinery ending up on rationing lists. The list was almost half the amount that had from the year before.  Among the items included combines, corn pickers, manure spreaders, and mowers.

     Two particular items frequently ended up being in the news as a result of crime: gasoline and tires. An Alma man, Charles Wright, had stolen gas, tires, tubes and wheels for over two months in the Ithaca and Emerson Township areas. He often took the tires and wheels directly off of the vehicles which had been jacked up and left on wooden 4×4’s. Wright was finally caught east of Alma when a dog woke up a farmer, causing the farmer to discover Wright’s abandoned car.  The farmer found that the thief also had drained gasoline from a tractor. After a trial in front of Judge Paul R. Cash, Wright received three to five years in prison.

“Any Bonds Today? Wanna Buy a Bond?”

     Raising money for the Fifth Loan Drive was on, and the county tried to meet its goal. Over in St. Louis, sales reports showed that the city had oversubscribed by $1, 136. At the end of July, St. Louis was over its goal by 20 percent. Few towns in Michigan could say that they had such enthusiastic support. However, Gratiot County, as a whole, was stuck at 45 percent of its goal, or $409,350 of its $906,000 quota. Michigan also had trouble raising money with only about 51 percent of its aim. Thursday, July 6 was proclaimed “Save Michigan’s Honor Day” to try and reach one hundred million dollars in war bonds. Things started to improve slightly in Alma. On July 13 the city announced that it had it exceeded its quota of $179,300 by almost $21,000!

      Out in the countryside, bond sellers went door to door in all townships of the county. By mid-month, another $18,100 in bonds had been sold in Emerson Township, led by the urging of township supervisor Ray Plank.  The bankers’ division also had success in meeting its goal of $754, 800. The Gratiot Board of Supervisors invested county funds with an F.S.U. defense bond for $10,000. Also making the news was the Concordia Society in St. Louis Zion Lutheran Church which bought a $200 bond.  Members donated fifty cents each in place of having a bake sale. In spite of the progress in bond sales, Gratiot County still was short over $160,000 in its total for July. Some people believed some rural areas still had not been visited and asked to subscribe to the drive.

Life, Work, and Crops on Gratiot County’s Farms

     Late on the evening of Tuesday, July 11, the rain started to fall in Gratiot County. The badly needed rain came as the county had been in a long drought for two and a half weeks, and some feared that a significant crop failure was occurring. Beans needed the moisture the most, and they got it. The rain brought with it helped crop values jump several hundred thousand dollars. Sweet corn had been fighting European corn borer, and fire blight attacked apple and pear trees.  Even with the rain, farmers were told to look out for grain weevils, which damaged wheat that would be kept in warm, humid conditions. Farmers fumigated their grain storage, keeping grain in clean and tight bins, especially watching when temperatures in the bins rose above 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

      The Gratiot County AAA told farmers interested in wheat loans to contact the office as soon as possible. Number 2 wheat was worth $1.44 a bushel.   Any farmer who kept his wheat in storage and delivered it in April of 1945 got to keep the seven-cent per bushel storage fee. The loans were offered until December 1944. For any farmer who took out a loan, members of the AAA visited the farm and measured and inspected the bins. The reason that the AAA offered loans was to encourage farmers in the county to keep wheat at home and open more room at elevators for the fall’s bean harvest.  Still, Gratiot farmers continued to take their grain into area elevators as July progressed. Reluctantly, elevators took the wheat – which averaged 35 to 40 bushels per acre in Gratiot County.

    Other situations and problems faced farmers that July. The Farm Security Administration offered loans for farmers who wanted to purchase their first family farm. These farms could be newly constructed, or older ones that needed work done to them. These loans came out of a law passed in 1937, which was known as the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tennant Act. If a farmer wanted to apply for the loan, their application would be reviewed by three farmers who sat on a committee and passed their recommendations on to Secretary of Agriculture. The three committeemen in Gratiot County included Clarence Derby (Ithaca), James Skayrd (Ashley), and H. Bird Clark (Alma).

     Milk and cream subsidy payments went out to farmers in early July. Milk paid 35 cents per hundred and six cents a pound of cream. Anyone in Ashley who wanted their check had to show up at the village hall and bring all slips for the months of May and June.  It was also cherry picking time in Michigan, and although Gratiot County did not grow cherries, over 150 people signed up and volunteered to go to northern Michigan to help harvest cherries. By contacting the Gratiot  County Agricultural Agent at the courthouse, they came into contact with the Women’s Land Army, which offered information and assistance to these workers. Directions, gasoline, and rides were provided as long as people in each car pledged to pick a minimum of 80 hours and fill out reports to cover their gas. By the end of July, 211 people from Gratiot County went north to pick cherries.

     The need for farm labor always remained a problem. Some area farmers tried new inventions to help. Stacy came up with a portable crosscut saw that operated by using a washing machine engine. He put the device on skids and was able to move it wherever he needed to cut wood. Clyde Downs of Newark used a pipe on the back of a spring tooth drag to break up thick chunks of soil.  Sherman Edgar of Beebe equipped both sides of his tractor with an A-frame, which he attached to two cultivators. By doing this, he could cultivate six rows of beans or beets at a time, instead of only two. He also put two umbrellas on top for shelter from the hot sun.

     Farmers were also told that if they could find farm help from men over age thirty, they should hire help as soon as possible. Most 18-26-year-olds with farm deferments were expected to be drafted in the fall if Germany was still in the war. An estimated 15,000 men in this age group had deferments in Michigan. Over 14,000 farmers in Michigan had asked the state for farm help. In Gratiot County, 64 farmers requested assistance, and 52 of them received it.  A total of 44 men and 11 youths made up the requested farm help.

The Draft and the V-12 Program

      A group of 24 Gratiot County men made up the only group who left for the war. On Friday, July 7, a chartered bus left Alma. This announcement did not tell which men were going into the Army or the Navy as the Gratiot County Draft Board had yet to receive an official report.  Among the men who left included Lowell Quidort (St. Louis), Richard Stewart (Breckenridge), Olmer Sims, Jr. (Ithaca), and Kenneth Bishop (Bannister).

     Over at Alma College, a group of 213 men enrolled in the V-12 naval training unit program, making it the highest enrollment in the program thus far. The V-12 commander at the college, Lieutenant Julius E. Scott, said that 118 men in the group were new;  the rest returned for further training in the program. Of those who returned, 42 came from the United States fleet and had seen significant sea duty.  Some had even won decorations for their service.

Gratiot’s Servicemen and Servicewomen

     Letters, pictures, and announcements kept people informed about who served Gratiot County during the war, where they were, and what they were doing.

    Roland Leslie of Middleton attended gunnery school at Great Lakes, Illinois, after entering the service in May. Cadet-Midshipman Patrick Goostrey of Ithaca wrote an article for the United States Merchant Marine Cadet Corps’ magazine, Polaris. It told the history of shipping with the American South Africa Line. Goostrey was the magazine’s feature editor.  Private John First of Perrinton received his Wings and Boots after completing training at Fort Benning, Georgia. First would serve as a paratrooper during the war; however, he was allowed to come home for a ten-day furlough before shipping out.

     After serving sixteen months in the South Pacific aboard the USS Chandler, F 1/c Alfred Schaeffer made a surprise visit home to Ithaca to see his parents. He was one of five Schaeffer sons; his brother, David, was killed in France less than a week after D-Day. Alfred Schaeffer was soon headed to New York to attend Naval School.  Technician Fifth Grade Chester H. Saunders of Breckenridge served as a driver with a balloon anti-aircraft battery in Italy. His unit had downed five enemy aircraft during their first year of deployment. Saunders had been part of the Salerno, Italy invasion.

       Melvin J. Thrush of Ithaca was in Australia and had been promoted to supply clerk. Thrush married an Australian girl, and he had been in Australia for 25 months. Joe Hudson of Riverdale survived the D-Day invasion and sounded in a letter like he had made it back to England. Hudson had seen the White Cliffs of Dover and thought they had been a beautiful sight. Private Robert Kerr of Ashley was at Camp Wolters, Texas after entering the service in March. He wished that people would send him letters. Sadly, Kerr would die in Europe during the war. Sergeant Andrew Gager of Middleton had been awarded the Good Conduct Medal while in England. He served as an aircraft instrument specialist and worked on Mustang Fighters.

      Surprising news came from Russia where Staff Sergeant Harlan Stahl served with the United States Eastern Command of Strategic Air Forces in Europe. Stahl’s mission was to help the Russians build air bases in a limited amount of time. He also helped with work on heavy bombers.  Both the Americans and Russians seemed to be getting along. Corporal Delbert Gould told his parents in St. Louis that he was in Panama for the past two months doing clerical work and guard duty. He first joined the Army in March 1941 and had been home three times during this period. Gould served with the 150^th Infantry.

      The family of Lieutenant Galon Mallory of Elwell received the Air Medal while with the 15^th AAF in Italy. Mallory had been a bombardier aboard the Salty Dog, a B-24 Liberator that was involved in missions over Central Europe, northern Italy and southern France. Mallory joined the AAF in March 1943. Private Joseph Deming of Bannister received a transfer to the Infantry. He had served with the 595^th AA Automatic Weapons Battalion. Deming had been in the service since January 1941. Since then, Deming had been sent to California, Alaska, and Fort Bliss. He had already been awarded the Asiatic Pacific Ribbon and American Defense Ribbon. Gordon Peters of Perrinton received his wings and graduated from air pilot’s school in Texas. He awaited assignment either as an instructor or to be sent to the war zone. Sergeant Joseph Jisa’s wife in Bannister received word that her husband had been promoted to Staff Sergeant and that he was stationed at Corsica. Jisa had been in North Africa, Sicily and Sardinia. Sergeant Burton Cronkite of Breckenridge was an airplane and hydraulic specialist with the Ninth Air Force Service Command. He had been inducted in March 1942.

     The Hospodar Brothers from North Shade Township, Michael and Frank, both came home for a short time. Corporal Michael Hospodar had been in the Aleutian Islands for 26 months and served in the Coast Guard Artillery since March 1941. His brother,  Private Frank Hospodar, had been a POW guard at Sidnau, Michigan after being in North Africa. Twin brothers Kieth and Kenneth McDonald, who had previously lived in Ashley, were pictured in the newspaper. Both entered the service in April 1943 and overseas since February 1944. According to the news, they had always been together and “have been granted special permission by the President to always stay together.” Tech Sergeant Roland Reeves of Ithaca was in Northern Ireland, serving with the United States Army Depot.

     Corporal Henry Klein from Ithaca came home on a five-day furlough to Alma. He had completed combat crew training school in Sioux City, Iowa. Klein trained as a gunner in a heavy bomber crew. An Alma High school graduate and former student at Alma College, Klein was just short of his degree when he entered the service in February 1943. Lieutenant A.E. Brenneman of Alma was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve in Pensacola, Florida.  He would be placed on active duty at a training center and then possibly sent to a combat zone. Brenneman would be one of Gratiot’s men to be killed during the Korean War.

     Gratiot County also received news telling about the role of women in the service. “Somewhere in New Guinea,” Lieutenant Lorraine Loesel of Alma was part of a unit of ward nurses who served there. Loesel’s unit arrived in New Guinea in September 1943 at the foothills of the Owen Stanley Mountains. Loesel was one of a group of doctors, nurses, dentists, and clerks who built a hospital on the grounds of an old native mission. An Alma High School graduate, Loessel became a public nurse for the City of Detroit Public Health before embarking for the Pacific in July 1943. Amelia Lapaugh of Elwell enrolled at Naval Training School at Iowa State. She was an Alma High School graduate and hoped to become a petty officer and serve in the United States. Private First Class Linda Thompson of Perrinton served as an Air WAC at Stockton Field, California. She was in charge of enlisted service records. Lieutenant Phil Goodrich from Ithaca became engaged to Margaret Wilkinson, a Yeoman 2^nd Class in the SPARS. Both met while stationed in Seattle, Washington.

      The call for women to serve as WACs and WAVES continued through 1944. The need for women in the WACS was dire as a result of the invasion of Europe. Dr. T.J. Carney, chairman of the Gratiot County Defense Council, shared a letter from the United States Army expressing the need for women in the county to consider becoming a WAC. Interested women could contact Mrs. H.A. Christensen of Alma or go to the Office of Civil Defense, which was located in City Hall in Alma.

     Then there letters, letters and more letters – each telling something about the war. Corporal Earl Emery wrote from Italy that he had been to Rome. The city had been untouched from the fighting and Emery was impressed about how clean Rome was. He spent two days there, however, while at Vatican City he could only visit St. Peter’s Cathedral as it was the only thing open to American troops. Emery thought the Coliseum was in good shape for its age. He also saw the Holy Stairs and the catacombs. Emery wrote, “Sure wish I had studied my Ancient History better when (my teacher) as trying to teach me. But then I never thought I was ever going to see any of it.”

      Captain Ted Osborne wrote his grandparents, the Leo Schaeffers, about what he saw in Italy. Of particular interest was the state of the vineyards. Although the Italians raised wheat and it was harvest season, Osborne thought that they “do things backward here.” The vineyards were plowed by hand, and only a third of the land was cultivated. Volcanic rock made it so that only spots with up to twelve inches of soil could be used at all. “Plowing is done mostly with a jackass and the old pointed stick for a plow, that was used in biblical times.” Big landowners seemed to control almost all of the land and they distributed it to sharecroppers. When wheat was threshed it seemed that a lot of it fell to the ground and was wasted. “My God, these people are poor. (It) seems to be the normal state for them though,” Osborne wrote.

        Corporal Don Bigler also wrote to his parents in Alma that he had located his brother near the Italian front. The two spent two days in a foxhole together – it was the first time they had seen each other in two years. Bigler explained what the Anzio Express was and how they learned to tell which type of shell the Germans fired at them. The men in the other Bigler’s outfit could not understand why anyone would spend a three-day pass in a foxhole on the front.  Still, Don Bigler did it.

     Also in Europe, 2^nd Lieutenant Stanley Bailey of Breckenridge wrote about his involvement with the invasion of France. As a pilot on the 9^th Troop Carrier Command, Bailey said he had “a ring-side seat at the world’s greatest show.” On his first trip across the English Channel, Bailey thought he could have walked across on all of the boats. The next time he flew over it, he could have crossed on a bridge of airplanes. Flying a C-47 on D-Day was his first action in the war.

     Writing from the Pacific, Dale Phelps told his parents that things seemed to be going well for him in New Guinea. Phelps had been in combat but had not even been scratched. He was receiving much mail (sometimes ten letters a day), and he had picked up several Japanese souvenirs such as a rifle, flag and watch. However, he was having trouble sending the gun home. Phelps wrote his letter on captured Japanese stationery.  Private John Brzak wrote to his sister in Ashley and told her that he had received some wounds. “I’ll be okay as I’m going to pay (the Japanese) back for what they did and have done for my brother Tony’s sake.” Tony Brzak was a Japanese prisoner of war. John Brzak believed that the war would soon end and that he aimed to find his brother.

      Finally, Corporal Lee Wright, a United States Marine, wrote from Saipan to his mother in Alma.  Amid the terrible fighting there, Wright wrote that his prayers and faith had pulled him through. “I had a few very close shaves, but I am still kicking. If it hadn’t been for his being beside me, Mom, I don’t know what would have happened.” Before the fighting on Saipan, Wright had been in New Zealand, the Hawaiian Islands, the Marshall Islands, and then Saipan.

The Wounded, POWs, MIA, KIA

     News reached St. Louis that Private Robert Furtaw had been seriously wounded in France on D-Day. Furtaw’s mother received a telegram regarding his status. Then came the news in mid-July that Furtaw had been killed. A message reached the Frank Foster family in Newark that their son had suffered wounds after D-Day and was hospitalized. They had no further information. The same was true for Don Baker of Elwell who had been in France. Lieutenant R.J. Hanson was wounded on Saipan, but his wounds were not serious. Hanson’s father formerly worked for Republic Truck Company. Although he did not mention it in his letter to home, John Brzak of Ashley received the Purple Heart for being wounded in the Pacific. Brzak’s captain wrote a detailed and moving letter of John Brzak’s service after being wounded.  Harold Overmier, formerly of St. Louis, was in a hospital in California after being injured by shrapnel while on his boat somewhere in the Pacific.

     In early July, Sergeant Archie McFarlane of St. Louis was still missing in action. The day before the initial news came to the family in St. Louis about his disappearance, the family buried Archie’s father, who had just died.  Robert L. Parks of Alma remained missing. A radioman, Parks had been missing since February in the Pacific.

      Then came the news of those who paid the ultimate price for Gratiot County. Ralph Vandemark died of typhus in New Guinea. At his funeral, three Alma boys served as pallbearers.  General MacArthur sent the family his condolences. While in India, Private Delbert Stites from Vestaburg died as a result of drowning. Stites had been in the Army. In late July, the mother of Lt. Ronald Nesen learned that her son died when his plane crashed in the English Channel. Nesen, a waist gunner on a B-17, was with a crew returning from a raid over the Friedrichshafen, Germany when it was attacked just off the French coast. In late July, news came that Private Earl Whittum had been killed in action in France on June 25.

      To remember and honor those from Alma who had been killed in the war thus far, the first community-wide memorial service was planned for July 23 at the Tourist Park on East Superior Street. An afternoon vesper service was to take place there earlier that day.  A service also took place in Ithaca on Sunday, July 2 for D.C. Furgason who had been killed in Italy prior in the year.

      Hard news also had to be faced with the growing list of Prisoners of War. Sergeant Benny Zamarron of Ashley was now in a German POW camp. His status was confirmed in late June when the Zamarron’s received news from the International Red Cross. His picture also appeared on the front page of the Gratiot County Herald.  Articles started to appear in county newspapers regarding POW status, what people could and could not send to them, and how the Red Cross planned to help POW families. The Gratiot County POW Committee was made of up of Mrs. Wilbert Hansen, Mrs. M.J. Haley, and Reverend J. C. Thompson.

Life in Gratiot County During July 1944

      Gratiot County’s Congressman, Representative Fred L. Crawford, made a stop in Ithaca to talk to the Gratiot County Republican convention. Crawford stated that he thought the war would be over by the end of the year. Japan should fall by 1946…Loren Nelson of Ashley was one of several local young people who were part of a pen pal correspondence with English children. The connections between the two groups started when Loren Nelson’s older brother asked an English woman to do some stitching for him while stationed in England. When the elder Nelson tried to pay her, the English mother only asked for help in setting up pen pals. Corporal Nelson arranged for his brother  – and other youngsters in Ashley- to write to England. The partnership quickly took off in early 1942…Clare Redman became vice-commander of the Alma George Myers American Legion Post…The Gratiot County Herald wanted more servicemen pictures for the paper…Half year automobile plates started going on sale on July 15…The wife of Seaman Jerry Derry had been shot in a freak accident in Fort Pierce, Florida. Mrs. Derry was hit by a stray bullet while standing near the couple’s window. Seaman Derry was from Eureka.

     The Board of Directors of the St. Louis Co-Operative Creamery published a large advertisement in the St. Louis Leader in defense of Seventh Day Adventists. An article had appeared in the Lansing State Journal suggesting that Adventists were not patriotic because of their choices in limiting how much cream and cheese they ate. The St. Louis Creamery wanted people to know that Adventists were patriotic Americans and that many purchased and used milk and cream products just like other Americans…Maynard Strouse took over the Fleming Shoe Store in St. Louis and now operated it as the Strouse Shoe Store…William Bataan, Assistant County Agricultural Agent, announced that he was leaving his position that he had held for the past year. He was now the Agricultural Agent for Luce and Mackinaw counties…A meeting was planned at the Park Hotel in St. Louis regarding the steps to be taken to purchase land for a proposed new county airport…Five thousand pairs of black market nylon hoses that had been confiscated by authorities went on sale in Greensboro, North Carolina. The cost? $1.65 and the line was four blocks long…The St. Louis First Methodist Church prepared to hang a new service flag with 70 stars on it. Included were two recently killed St. Louis servicemen: Murvel Peacock and Gaylord Hanley…It was time to think about planning for Christmas packages for members of the armed forces. They needed to be mailed by October 15…Leonard Refineries started construction on a new administration building on the recently acquired Fred E. Burt farm…A Social Security representative would be in Alma on July 19 at the U.S. District Employment Office in Alma. Anyone needing help or having questions could see the representative.

A recent poll said that seventy percent of Americans favored a peacetime draft to support and maintain the armed forces. Most believed that a one year term of service was appropriate…Gratiot County had more sugar beet growers than any other county in the state…Teacher Adele Cavanaugh of St. Louis published a weekly column reminding the public of those young men and women who had left to defend the county during a time of war. Cavanaugh referred to them by their first names and what she remembered about each of them. Each week ended with a  wish that each would return home to Gratiot County safely…”Double Indemnity” starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edwin G. Robinson played at the Strand Theatre…The Red Cross rooms over the Ithaca Post Office were open every afternoon except on Saturdays. A new quota had been sent to Ithaca for July…The Sailors Quartet of the  V-12 Program from Mt. Pleasant played and led the services at the St. Louis Baptist Church when the pastor was absent.

And that was July 1944 during Gratiot’s Finest Hour of World War II.

Copyright 2019 James M Goodspeed

Above: Front page June 8, 1944 issue of the Gratiot County Herald; Fifth War Loan announcement for Gratiot County; News about John L. Barden, POW in Germany; Strand Theatre playbill from the week of June 22, 1944.

       It was finally here: the Allies started the invasion of Hitler’s Fortress Europe. It was D-Day, the invasion of Normandy, the greatest invasion force ever assembled in world history. So now, Gratiot County played its part in this part of World War II.

D-Day Arrives in Gratiot County

       Actual news of the Invasion hit Gratiot County at ten o’clock in the morning of June 6, 1944. The Gratiot Defense Council, located in Sheriff Nestle’s office in Ithaca, released the news that they received from Lansing. Sirens went off, bells rang, and factory whistles sounded.  Across Gratiot County, people ceased activity for one minute of silence. Factories stopped working, schools stopped, as did all traffic. County newspapers described the event as solemn, serious, and even prayerful. Several churches in Ithaca opened for services at 8:00 PM that evening and these services were more important than anything else taking place. People prayed for divine guidance for the times that were ahead.

        Almost two weeks before D-Day, places like St. Louis had already prepared citizens for the event. City Manager Frank Housel asked people to be prepared to offer a silent prayer and go to church if it was possible. Churches across the county had been asked to open their doors to the public on the day of the invasion.

Our Men on D-Day

      It would be at least one week after D-Day before the first news arrived concerning what Gratiot men were in the Normandy Invasion. For some Gratiot County families, it would be weeks before they heard anything. The first letter to reach the county came from Private Leland Lytle of Alma who wrote to his family just before he took off for France. Lytle, in only two short paragraphs, summarized the angst and challenges ahead for Gratiot’s men, “Today is a day which will go down in history, a day that millions of people have been waiting for.” Another letter came from Dick Fishbeck who made it to the beach and told of how he was dealing with German snipers. “Right now, I am thanking God for pulling me out of some of the jams I got into the first day.”

       Others, like Donald Shurr from Breckenridge, flew beachhead missions with a C-47. Because he dodged enemy fire and was forced to seek cloud cover when he came out of the clouds his paratroopers were dropped well off of their drop zones – something that was a common occurrence on D-Day.

       The saddest and most gripping news of those who died on “the longest day” revolved around Sergeants Archie McFarlane of St. Louis and Marvin Fenner of Alma. What was most startling about them was that two local men ended up on the same B-17, “Pack of Trouble.”  Then came the news:  the plane had been hit over the English Channel on June 12 (“D plus 6”) and had suffered a mid-air breakup, causing it to crash into the Channel. Only one member of the crew survived and made it to shore.  Neither McFarlane or Fenner’s bodies were ever recovered.  Adding to the tragedy of the deaths of the men was the news that McFarlane’s father died only three days before the news arrived about the younger McFarlane’s death.

      As weeks went on, more news arrived concerning Gratiot’s men in France. Private Lyle Remboski (Alma) was seriously wounded and in an English hospital. Sergeant Raymond Grachek (Alma), Private Robert Furtaw (Ithaca),  and Gordon Batchelder (St. Louis) were all wounded. The first MIA on Normandy, Paratrooper Marshall Mockridge of Breckenridge, soon became a prisoner of war. News of more deaths came in weeks later. Killed in action were Private Earl Whittum (who had ties to Alma) and Private David Schaeffer (Ithaca).

       There were those like the family of Miles Arner Douglas from Emerson Township who felt lucky about what news they received. Douglas had been shot down over France and was miraculously rescued and helped by the French Underground. Douglas made it back to England and flew more missions over France until early December 1944 when his P-47, “Miss Isabelle,”  flew into a hill while he was trying to land in the fog. Douglas and his two wingmen all perished.

Others Killed, Wounded, Missing

      Other men died. Lieutenant Kenneth Barton of Breckenridge died over England on May 23. Barton had been a Breckenridge High School graduate, as well as graduating from Central Michigan College. Corporal Ralph Vandemark died from scrub typhus disease while in New Guinea. He had been in an infantry company. Mrs. Herbert Abbey of Ithaca received a letter from her son’s chaplain. Captain Abbey died in an airplane crash in South America. The chaplain wrote a Mothers Day letter to Mrs. Abbey, telling her what the chaplain thought her son would say to her to help cope with her grief. Captain Clay Bullis had been declared MIA since April 18. However, his family was notified that he had been killed while on a mission over Italy.  Another Gratiot man, Lieutenant Russell W. Criswell died in an airplane accident on March 30 in California. A funeral for Private Laurel Evans took place June 10 in Indiana. Evans, whose parents lived in Alma, died in a drowning accident at Camp Campbell, Kentucky.

      The wounded included Private Junior Rockefellow from Perrinton. Rockefellow had been wounded at Anzio. So was Private Alfred Donnly from Riverdale and he was on his way home after being seriously injured.  Kenneth Kirkey of Breckenridge suffered injuries to his hand and arm while in New Guinea. He was in a hospital there. Fireman Frank Chapman from Alma had just returned home from the Philadelphia Naval Hospital after suffering injuries while aboard a ship in the Solomon Islands on July 5, 1943. Chapman’s ship had been torpedoed and then sank.

      Lois Barden of Ithaca received a message through the International Red Cross that her husband, Lieutenant  John Barden, was captured as a prisoner of war by the Germans at Stalag Luft III prison camp. It was Barden’s second mission, and he was only twenty years old.  Sergeant George Mahin of Alma also was a POW in Germany. Mahin had been shot down over France. The family of Sergeant Benny Zamarron of Ashley also received a letter from the Adjutant General in Washington, D.C. about the fate of their son.  Zamarron’s B-17 had gone down over Perleberg, Germany after suffering a mid-air collision. However, names and detailed information about the others on board could not be shared with the Zamarron family. Sergeant John Prout, who had operated the Hi-Speed Gas Station in Ithaca before entering the service, had been missing since May 29 over Austria. Prout had been on a B-24 and was flying missions out of Italy. Staff Sergeant Vernon Bishop of Bannister was announced as missing over France since May 4. He had been in Europe for only a month when it happened. Finally, Lieutenant Tommy Roberts had a brother living in Newark Township. Roberts had been missing over New Guinea since early January. He was serving with the Photo-Reconnaissance Squadron in a P-38.  His last letter to the family described bitter fights with the Japanese. Roberts sent Japanese souvenirs home such as Japanese boots, a silk scarf, and a silk flag.

June Mailbag From Our Men and Women Abroad

       Local newspapers carried the letters of many Gratiot men and women who were fighting and serving abroad. Writing from India, Orval Shaw described how he and others were eating their usual dinner of Spam as there was no beef to eat. The temperature never fell below 75 degrees. While on guard duty one night, Shaw heard a noise and shot at a snake measuring seven feet long. He also wrote that shaves and haircuts were very cheap. Corporal Thomas Horn II also was in the CBI (China-Burma-India) Theater. To see a movie he and the others in his group flew into India once a week. Usually, the men got to see a film two or three times after they arrived. Mail was appreciated, a “haner” swept the living area, made the beds and put down the mosquito nets. Horn’s men were also setting up a softball league.

      In the Pacific, Private Norris Morse wrote that he had first seen combat in the Marshall Islands and he urged readers of the Gratiot County Herald to buy more war bonds. Because of air attacks from “Washington Machine Charlie” (Japanese bombers), Morse could out dig a groundhog by how fast he could dig a trench. He added, “The fear that fills your mind from the first sound of the siren until the all-clear signal is something that I cannot express in words.” Private Kenneth Gross sent a letter indicating that he had been a chauffeur for General Hap Arnold and Admiral King. Gross confessed his nervousness, “Frankly, I was scared to death. When I saw so many stars (on their uniforms), I thought the sky was falling. They’re both good guys too.”

      Private Johnnie Trefil from Fulton Center surprised his mother by having a dozen roses sent to her on Mothers Day. Trefil ordered the flowers by telegraph from somewhere in England.   Private Fred E. Guild sent word home that he was somewhere in England. Guild was a paratrooper. Sergeant Dale Glazier from Middleton was somewhere in Europe with the Manufacturing and Repair Section that worked on planes. His work helped to keep bombers and flyers maintained and up to date. Glazier received a special commendation from General Spaatz for the job done for improving his depot production.  At the Anzio Beachhead in Italy, Private Rollin Adams from Elm Hall wrote from “West Main Street-East Main Street”  which was in a small valley. At that location, the men washed their clothes and took a bath. Private Warren Collison’s family in Ithaca held a 22^nd birthday party for him even though Collison was stationed in Italy. Private Leland Perry’s family in Alma received a letter from him. Perry received a package from home and was disappointed that it only consisted of candles. Still, he considered the candles to be useful. Perry had not heard a radio for two months and wanted to take a real bath. He had not washed his head in over one month.

      Margie Street, a Pharmacists Mate, Second Class and stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, detailed her work in the WAVES. While at a Naval Air Station, Street’s task involved working with a Low-Pressure Chamber Technique where up to twenty men entered a chamber and wore oxygen masks. As the controls raised the pressure inside, the effects simulated high altitude flying. Dorothy Doepker, a Pharmacists Mate, Third Class had to come home to Alma due to the death of her sister. Doepker had been a former beauty operator.

      Three Peterson brothers from Newark Township (Ray, Roberts, and Larry) had their pictures in “With the Colors” in the Gratiot County Herald. Ray was with the Marines, Robert was in New Guinea with the Army, and Larry served as an instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.  Ray Helman, also from Newark Township, had been home on leave from Italy. Fifty relatives attended a gathering in his parents’ home before Helman left for a camp in North Carolina. Helman had been in North Africa and Italy for sixteen months. David Swigart from Alma continued Marine Corps training. Men in his platoon ranged from the ages of 18 to 30.

     Captain Donald Brice from Alma received a promotion and was home visiting family after spending 21 months in the Aleutian Islands. Sergeant Andrew Gager of Middleton was in England, and his assignment was with a ground crew for planes. His wife was living in Lansing.

The Draft Continues

      On June 8, a group of 31 men left Gratiot County for Fort Sheridan, Illinois to enter the Army. Almost all of them were under the age of 26 unless they volunteered. Also, at least 25 in the group were fathers. Some of these men included Merlyn Lewis of Breckenridge and Harry Penington from Wheeler. One week later, six men left for the Navy. Albert Knapp and Orville Kirkby were among them.  At the end of June, ten more men left for the Army with James Deardorff of Riverdale, Clyde Wiseman of Ithaca, and Floyd Thompson from Alma in that group.

      Over at Alma College, 48 apprenticed seamen completed their work on June 24 for the V-12 Program. Another group of 37 would transfer to other schools to complete the program at those colleges. Lieutenant Julius Scott expected another quota of 205 to enter the program starting July 1.

The Gratiot County Red Cross

       The Red Cross continued to call upon people to help with its work. Mrs. Frank Iseman of Ithaca told readers of the Gratiot County Herald that there was now an urgent need for more surgical dressings. “Every wound must be dressed – not just some wounds, or certain wounds, but all wounds, large or small, must be dressed and dressed often.” In Alma, the maximum number of volunteers working there reached a high of six. More surgical dressings were needed, as were more volunteers. The headquarters opened every Monday evening for two hours, and four days each week with morning and afternoon hours. Ithaca also called for volunteers and opened their room, located over the post office, every afternoon except on weekends.

     The Red Cross also worked in other ways. On June 22, a group of service trainees visited Fort Custer and got an up-close view of the work at the camp. They visited the station hospital where they learned that the cookie baskets for patients there never remained full. The cookies made great prizes for the men who played bingo during their recovery. After lunch at the Service Club, they saw men training on the Infiltration Course, navigating a simulated minefield, and then observed how men reacted in “Hitlerville.” Young officers here prepared for how to enter an enemy village and how to take it house by house. The Gratiot Red Cross group also witnessed men operating K-9 dogs as well as those soldiers training in ju-jitsu.

       An essential function of the Red Cross in Gratiot County continued to be helping prisoner of war families. A select committee made up of members Mrs. Wilbert Hansen, Mrs. M.J. Haley, and Reverend J.C. Thompson helped to prepare articles and communications about Gratiot men who were in enemy territory. The Red Cross remained the place where POW families could turn when asking for help and encouragement during this time.

Loans, Bonds and Doing Your Part in Gratiot County

      Early in June, the start of the Fifth War Loan Campaign began. Michigan moved up the date of this drive to coincide with the D-Day Invasion in France. This loan drive also called a “second front invasion,” told Gratiot County that it needed to raise $1,382,000. On top of this, all of this money was supposed to be raised between June 6-9! Local chairpersons were chosen to lead the drives in their respective communities.  Fred Leiter in Riverdale and Louis Federspiel in Breckenridge took on their duties. Each township had its quota for each type of bonds that were being sold. For example,  Fulton Township had to raise $32,900 worth of E Bonds and $18,700 value of F, G, and other notes.  “Buy Yourself Some Khaki!” was the slogan people heard.

     However, over two weeks later, the county was short $906,000 in sales. The government and press resorted to a tactic used in World War I: publishing facts, and even names, of organizations or people who had given their share.  References to the Normandy Invasion and the plight of men in the invasion force also occurred regularly. Another means of stirring people to buy bonds included printing statistics about how much money each bank in the county had in savings accounts. Since savings accounts had increased substantially since before Pearl Harbor – and the economy allowed more Gratiot people to work – shouldn’t there be more money to invest in the current bond campaign? People were asked to stop farming, working, and traveling to take time and buy bonds.

     To do its part, Michigan Chemical went on the record at the end of the month as saying that the company had taken in half of its $15,000 quota from its workers. Franklin Curtis then stated that Michigan Chemical promised to meet its goal by July 1.

      Even the Strand Theatre urged patrons to buy bonds. “Invest in Invasion- Buy More Bonds Than Before” ran with its movie advertisements.  Movies during the week  where the ad appeared included “Tampico,” “Four Jills in a Jeep,” and “The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek.”

Rationing Goes On

      Gratiot County continued to face the issue of rationing and conserving things on behalf of the war effort.  The Office of Price Administration sent out news that Sugar  37 had been canceled as many housewives incorrectly tried to use it to obtain sugar for canning.  However, Sugar Stamp 37 would be good starting June 16 for five pounds of sugar. Best of all, the stamp remained good in the future.  A pound of waste fat also was good for two meat ration points or four cents.

      Victory gardeners received instructions about how to protect their gardens with poison bait for cutworms, white grubs, and crickets – as well as root maggots. Those who planted that spring could expect that two pounds of asparagus could yield one canned quart. One bushel of peas equaled about five canned quarts, but a bushel of tomatoes produced twelve quarts. Fulton Township School offered a community canning project for the summer. It started June 28 and operated five days a week, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Lillian McKinney conducted the program in the home economics room in Middleton. All of this was done at no cost to the public – if ladies brought their jars. Those who used tin cans for canning paid a small charge. In other news, the War Labor Board had not yet decided what to do about reservations people made for the new Alma Frozen Food Locker. The reservations had been submitted May 31.

      People continued to be asked to take care of their tin. When a collection amounted to a carload, it would be shipped off to a detinning mill. Anyone in Alma could call City Hall for instructions about where to place their tin, or place the tin at a small building which was located near the river on East Superior Street. In St. Louis, the highway barn on Saginaw Street also accepted tin.  When it came to automobiles, the county would issue up to 192 tire and tube permits in mid-July. According to the OPA, the status of used car rationing would be announced once they were placed below price ceilings.

Farming, Farmers and the Upcoming Growing Season

      Farmers who had potatoes for sale were to contact the AAA office in Ithaca. The Lake Shore Sugar Beet  Company could turn the potatoes into animal feed for the war effort. Calls for more egg production went out in the county. The egg quota was raised due to the fear that farmers would butcher their chickens instead of using them to produce eggs. A severe shortage of eggs was feared.

      Certain men worked to place youth farm labor in the county. The upcoming pickle crop and work in the muck fields would need help. However, farmers were reminded that these youth were not skilled workers. L.A.Schroeder of Breckenridge and Graydon Blank from Alma were in charge of organizing farm laborers there.

       On a lighter side, the phrase “Corncobs Help to Win” appeared in the newspapers as they were needed for the war effort. Corncobs helped to keep airplanes free from carbon, and they could also be ground up and used for air blasting equipment. The East Coast and Mississippi Valley areas had high demands for these corncobs. The AAA continued to ask homemakers to use oleomargarine over butter due to the war. Using butter substitutes seemed to be a challenge for families that wanted their butter.

      Another issue dealing with the war that Gratiot County dealt with was migrant field labor.  An estimated 30,000 Mexican workers would be coming into the United States to work in the fields in the summer of 1944.  In early June, a special train with 200 Mexican Nationals arrived in Alma. The workers were spread out around the county, wherever farmers had housing and work for them. Another 60 workers headed for Isabella County. With the influx of migrant workers came the birth of migrant schools. Starting June 26, the East Minister Chapel in Alma opened. In Alma and Breckenridge, centers there offered lunches for the migrants that were furnished by people in the community. A Vacation Bible School took place in Breckenridge. At the Beebe Township Hall, two ladies were in charge and offered craft work and recreation. Daycare was also provided for those migrant women who worked in the fields.  Evening activities for migrants also took place in the evenings at these locations. An estimated $400 was spent in 1943 on summer projects like these in Gratiot County.

And So That We Do Not Forget….

       A war bond display at the First State Bank of Alma showed that your bond purchase went toward the new truck-trailer capable of carrying huge boilers to ships for sailing overseas…Company C  from the Michigan State Troops of Alma prepared to leave for field maneuvers at Church’s ranch one weekend…The Orin Riker American Legion Post in Ithaca raised almost $400 with 2000 poppy sales…Negro singers in Wheeler held the attention of a Wheeler church on one Sunday night, courtesy of Bay City’s Second Baptist Church…Gratiot County farmers learned that they could have dust layer to put in front of their homes. However, they had to spread it themselves…The St. Louis Sugar Beet Factory faced charges from a state official that the factory was killing fish in the Pine River because of discharge from potato processing…Dwellers in Middleton were fascinated by an opossum on Main Street that carried five young…Claude Watson from California and 1944 Nominee for President appeared at Alma College. He was a candidate on the Prohibition ticket. His message was “God’s Program for a Clean Government”…News about the fighting near Rome, Italy appeared on front pages. The breakout from the Anzio Beachhead was taking place…Elmer E.West, a World War I veteran in the county, died from complications of tuberculosis at a sanitarium in Howell, Michigan…Blue Star Mothers in Gratiot County urged people to turn in names of their family members who were serving in the war. The building of a county memorial remained a goal and people would soon be urged to donate to the construction of a memorial with the names of all of Gratiot County’s men and women on it. Pictures of these men and women could be placed in the window of the J.C. Penney Store in  Alma…Leonard Refineries showed free movies at Alma High School about safety and fire prevention. Also, two war films would be shown, including fighting on Guadalcanal…Women’s Land Camps (WLA) would be operating this summer in Michigan. Women who joined up worked to help with the summer fruit harvest. Each worker had to commit to work a minimum of three days in a row and earn their board…The first softball game played under the lights in Ithaca at the fairgrounds took place when Croziers Rascals faced the Newark All-Stars. Newark won by the score of 16-15. The games generated  a lot of community interest…Ordnance plants needed women workers. Interested women needed only to apply at City Hall in Alma. Please bring your birth certificate and statement of when you would be available…”The On Wheels Parade and Free Show” in mid-June in Ithaca drew 250 children on 150 bicycles. Over 1,000 spectators showed up to watch the parade. It was an excellent opportunity to make War Stamp sales…It was already time to start thinking about Christmas mail to men and women abroad. September 15 to October 15 would be the time that the post office accepted packages, but they had to be under five pounds and meet specific size requirements…Finally, farmers on both sides of the Maple River continued to fight over drainage issues. A new drain survey was called for.

       And that was June 1944 in Gratiot County during World War II.

Copyright 2019 James M Goodspeed

Above: May 1944 Consumers Power Company advertisement from Gratiot County Herald; May 25, 1944, St. Louis Leader advertisement Michigan Chemical Corporation; June and Jean Knapp from Alma served Gratiot County as a WAC and WAVES respectively; Family War Bond advertisement Gratiot County Herald.

          It was May, it was warm, and yet life was not entirely right in Gratiot County. There was a war going on.

          While some rationing improved for people in the county,  people could not get all of the kinds of food that they had before Pearl Harbor. Gratiot County servicemen – and servicewomen – went to and reported from all parts of the United States and the world. Letters and pictures from these men and women regularly appeared in local newspapers. Bad news arrived in the form of those missing, wounded, and killed. The numbers of casualties and deaths also kept growing.

          In the midst of all of this, Allied successes on the war fronts promoted speculation among civilians that the war could end in 1944. However, no one knew that the war would go on longer than hoped. Many of those who did the fighting thought the war would be long before peace ever came.

          And then there was “invasion talk” as a new front on the European continent was soon to be launched by the Western Allies.

Soldiers and Servicewomen in the News

         There was no shortage of reports from those in the service. Corporal Leslie D. Romine of Alma helped supply the front in the Mediterranean as a convoy commando. Romine drove trucks with supplies over mountains and deserts to help keep the Army moving.  He had been in the war for 19 months.  In service for exactly one year, Privates June and Jean Knapp of Alma had their pictures appear together in the Alma Record. June was a WAC, and Jean served as Aviation Machinist’s Mate Second Class in the WAVES. June served as a telephone operator at Sedalia Air Force Base in Missouri, while her sister was stationed at Ellyson field in Pensacola, Florida.

        Fordson Essex, age 17 and from Alma, started naval indoctrination training at Great Lakes Naval Training Center.  Lieutenant Lewis Jolls of Ithaca received recognition for being a pilot of a B-17. Jolls had been on several missions already and sent a picture of his plane and crew of the “Hell’s Belle” back to Ithaca. Jolls worked for the Gratiot County Herald before the war. Private Maynard Dodge of Middleton made it safely to North Africa. He had trained as a dental technician at Camp Grant, Illinois.

        Some families received news regarding men injured in action. Lieutenant Norman Keon had been in New Guinea since October. In early April, he was driving a jeep through the mountains when it went off the road, fracturing his collarbone and causing serious facial injuries.  After being rescued from his overturned jeep, Keon was unconscious for two days due to the shock from the incident.  Another former Gratiot County man, Dr. Earl S. Oldham, served in the Navy Medical Corps. He wrote that he failed to miss any of the invasions that had occurred in New Guinea since Christmas. Sergeant Leo Coonrod was stationed in Panama with a bomb squadron, but he had been transferred to the Galapagos Islands. He graduated from Alma High School in 1939.

        Once and awhile news came home to Gratiot County when men made it safely to the war theater. Howard and Robert Comstock of St. Louis were featured in the Gratiot County Herald. Howard Comstock was a Paratrooper with the 82^nd Airborne and had seen action in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy.  Robert, who had been attached to the Army Air Forces while in the United States, arrived safely in England.  Another pair of brothers in the Army, James and Peter Surdennik of Fulton Township, both arrived in England. They hoped to meet each other before “The Big Push” into Europe got started. Their father worked as a barber in Ithaca, and their mother had recently been ill during the winter. However, she was doing better.

       Some men who came home from the war did so as a result of an injury. Kenneth Langin was one who had spent two years overseas, including the North African invasion. Langin suffered from shell shock and now worked in a hospital. Marine Sergeant Jack Horr returned as a result of wounds incurred at Tarawa. Wounded on the first day of action, Horr continued fighting until again being wounded the second day. Two days later, Horr received a concussion from a Japanese shell that led to him being hospitalized. He had been in the Marines since 1936 and had fought on Guadalcanal. Horr’s family was originally from Ithaca. Corporal Hubert Eicher of Ithaca suffered a broken neck in Ireland. He was in a neck and upper body cast, but Eicher was up and moving in a Red Cross hospital. Private Russell Shepard suffered face and hand wounds while on the Anzio Beachhead. Somewhere in the Southwest Pacific  Private Russell Augustine of St. Louis had been wounded. No other details had been released about him.

       One of the developing themes in Gratiot County war news involved those servicemen who married overseas. The term “war bride” was yet to be used.  Mr. and Mrs. G.V. Wright of Alma received a letter that their son, Lt. Norman S. Wright, married an English girl in March. The new Mrs. Wright served as a Red Cross organizer and fire warden. They now lived in London.  In Northern Ireland, Lieutenant Commander Gordon Lamb, whose parents lived in Alma, was going to marry Miss Florence Walker in June. Lamb was a medical officer, and he had been in Northern Ireland for over two years.

       The urgency of the war could now be seen in how young high school students were called, even before some officially graduated. Adolf Faust of St. Louis was unable to attend Commencement because he had enlisted as a cadet in the United States Corps and had to report for duty on May 24. Faust had a perfect All-A record and was co-valedictorian of the Class of 1944. Of the seventeen graduates at Ashley High School, three of the boys were absent as they were in the Navy. Their fathers received diplomas for them. The song “Anchors Away” was also played in their honor at the start of the service. These students included: Charles Probst, Jr., George Shaw, and Glenn Reeb. Edwin Mumby was in attendance, but he would soon be inducted. Over in Breckenridge, William C. Newsom received a newspaper as a birthday gift. He had been a member of the Breckenridge Class of 1943 and he missed graduation because he had been inducted into the Navy.

Letters Tell of War

       Private William K. Stoffs wrote to his mother in Carson City that he was in the Marshall Islands. What he had encountered had been front page news, such as fighting in places like Tarawa. Stoffs saw the raising of the flag there and remarked that “it’s a mighty feeling to see Old Glory” raised on Tarawa. Private Jay Stahl of Ithaca also wrote home to tell his parents that he did not think that he would be home for Christmas in 1944. Writing from somewhere in the South Pacific, his current location was wet and muddy. He was standing at times in mud up to his hips, and sand steadily blew into his face.  A short distance away, a mass of tangled vines and underbrush showed him how dense the jungle could be. With no place to go or nothing to do, he and others had to make up their entertainment. Still, the coconut trees were beautiful as were the evening stars.

        Private Bill Allen also wrote from New Guinea and asked readers of the Gratiot County Herald to send him newspapers. He could not write much about his location due to censorship rules. However, he wrote that he learned to talk to the natives in pigeon English. They often asked him, “How about a cigarette, Joe?” regardless of where he went. New Guinea was beautiful, but it could also be an awful place due to its climate and setting. Still, Allen valued the work of the Red Cross there. He and other men were always glad to see a Red Cross girl. After being overseas for nine months, he and other men had a new slogan to inspire hope for returning home:  “Golden Gate in ’48.’”  Private Ronald Vining added to the descriptions of life on New Guinea. He wrote that “In comparison with the United States, there is the likeness and  comparison as there is between a thorn and a beautiful  red Irish rose.” He and other men lamented their first days there. However, he added, “It is only natural that we should have a bad impression of this land, as we are new here and have not come to know the different angles that we shall have to know to live in ease.”

        Out in Australia, Private Wendell T. Fairchild told his mother in Elwell that he received the gum that she mailed to him. He was writing from a table that he had obtained and kept a radio on it. The song that he was currently listening to was “When the Lights Go on Again All Over the World.” Life was monotonous for him and he could not tell his mother much, except for the 19-day furlough that was soon approaching. Ensign O.L. Lippert, a Navy pilot aboard the PBM Mariner, typed a letter to his mother on V-Mail stationery because he thought he could get more words on it. He desired to receive more mail as he had nothing but time on his hands. Lippert spent his time swimming and climbing mountains. Aside from “a beautiful sunburn,” he had walked five miles of beach line and watched fifteen-foot waves approach him. Yes, there were native girls around, but “personally they aren’t so hot, although they are friendly enough. I think too much of Lillian to even think about them.” He now sported a mustache, and he wanted his mother to know that he had arrived okay. Lippert was from Alma.

Missing in Action, Killed in Action, Prisoner of War

        News concerning the number of men missing, killed in action, or those who became prisoners of war came as the spring of 1944 continued.

      Sergeant Harold Waldron of Breckenridge was aboard a B-17 when his plane went missing over Germany on April 13. Soon it was announced that Waldron was a POW.  One week later, Sergeant George Mahin also was reported missing in a similar incident. Mahin was recently married, and he was a 1942 Alma High School graduate. Also missing was Private William McGill of Elwell. McGill was listed as missing in action in the Mediterranean area.

       Newspapers found much to write about regarding two local men who had been shot down over Germany. Lieutenant Ronald Nesen of St. Louis was missing in action on April 24. He was a 1934 St. Louis High School graduate and he had worked at Lockheed Aircraft in California. His wife also was a teacher in the St. Louis Schools. Nesen had been overseas barely one month when his B-17 went down.

       Another story that newspapers followed with interest centered around Ithaca’s John L. Barden.  On April 29, Lieutenant Barden’s P-51 Mustang was hit after he strafed an airport southwest of Berlin. In Ithaca on the next day, April 30, Barden’s father listened to the radio concerning a report that 2,000 American planes had taken part in a raid over Germany. Only 5 Mustangs and 4 B-17s had been lost in the raid. The father wondered if his son had been one of the Mustangs that was lost. He was correct. Lois Barden was at work when she received a telegram stating that her husband was missing. As she and her family grieved the uncertainty of the situation, Lois Barden soon received a letter from the wife of one of the men who were on the same mission. Sammy Hewatt sent a letter to Lois Barden regarding a message she had received from her husband. Sergeant Hewatt went on the same mission as John Barden and saw Barden parachute out of his plane and make it safely to the ground. Lois was told to be encouraged because Sergeant Barden most certainly had survived and was now a prisoner of war.

      Other Gratiot County men also became associated with the acronym “POW.” Lieutenant Dale Beery from St. Louis had been one since mid-March.  Another story that Gratiot residents would follow for the rest of the war dealt with the status of Benny Zamarron of Ashley. He would be reported as missing in action. However, soon Zamarron was also a POW. Bits of  Zamarron’s story appeared through the remainder of the war in Europe.

The Draft Continues

        On May 12, 39 selective service registrants left for Detroit to join the Army. Among the names of those aged 18 through 25, including Stanley Worden and Robert Richardson of St. Louis, Orland Keefer and Charles Greenway of Alma,  Harry Schaub and Arlo Gould of Ithaca, and Virgil Barton of North Star. Six days later, another 48 men left on May 18 – 22 for the Navy and 26 for the Army.  A few of the men in the second group included Lewis Joley of Wheeler, Steve Plesko of Ashley, and Oliver Smith of Bannister.

       The Gratiot County Selective Service Board published an announcement that all boys who reached the age of 18 had to register with the draft board in Alma. They needed to bring a birth certificate or proof of their birth with them to register.

Conserving, Saving, Rationing – Some Good News but  Continued Sacrifice Expected

       With the spring planting season approaching, Alma Victory Garden Chairman E.L. Mutchler told residents without gardens that they could have a victory garden plot for one dollar. Various places in Alma offered five-acre gardens such as College Street near the football field, and on Rockingham Avenue. Eight lots were ready on Williams Street and another eight at the entrance of Conservation Park. Gardeners were told to plant early vegetables on one side of their gardens and place radishes, carrots, beets, and lettuce in between hills of corn. A continuous supply of fresh vegetables could be expected – and canned and saved for the winter.

       Good news on May 1 arrived in the county when all meat except beef steaks and beef roasts became ration free.  While people could not take previous red points and put them toward obtaining bigger sirloin steaks, a person could purchase all the hamburger, pork, and other non-rationed meats that one wanted. The reason for the relaxation on red points came as more hogs and beef entered the markets nationwide. Also, current Lend-Lease requirements for meat had been filled and stocks for the armed forces increased. Best of all, a person could buy all the hamburger that they wanted! Butter points were cut and vegetables stopped. Even creamery butter dropped from 16 to 12 points a pound.  For a “Recipe of the Week” in early May, housewives read that Swiss, American, and Muenster cheeses could all be eaten even if the cheese dried out. They could grate them and place on spaghetti, soup or with vegetables.

        Other non-edible things still had to be rationed. Gasoline stamps 11A  was good for three gallons of gas over the next six weeks. Stamps B2, B3, C2, and C3 all could get five gallons of gas. Tires also continued to be rationed. Those with “B” and “C” rations cold get new Grade I tires. “A” book stamps now allowed for the purchase of Grade 3 tires. While local rationing boards still had to screen applicants as there would not be enough tires for everyone who wanted them. Recapped tires were not eligible for replacement. Despite all of this, 590 tires and tubes had been issued by the county ration board; 27 of them were truck tires.

       Paper salvage also continued, and Gratiot County asked people to save every scrap of their newspapers, magazines, and scraps of paper for pickup. A.O. Ensign led the Ithaca Boy Scouts on May 12 for their pickup. Ithaca housewives were asked to place “Stop Sign” posts in their windows if they had things to donate. On May 27, Boy Scouts wearing the Civilian Defense badges “Volunteers on Duty”  (also called the OCD insignia) helped housewives and others in Alma with picking up their paper items. Alma residents were also asked to contribute clean tin cans.   While the collection of Gratiot fats fell over 45 percent from April, “thrifty people” were called upon in newspapers to make up for this in May.  After all, the Gratiot County Herald recorded, “The enemy chuckles with glee in the gurgles of water through grease-clogged drains, cheers in the crackle of burning paper; and the rattle of tin cans on the dump is the ‘death rattle’ of a good ‘soldier’ cheated of its right to go to war.”  Finally, if you had nothing to help with rationing and salvage pickups, a person could always pray for local men at war.

       Gratiot County also received news about the Fifth War Loan quota that it was expected to rise. Chairman Victor A. (Doc) Jaeckel of Alma announced that $1,382,000 would be the goal and the drive would run June 12 through July 8. This goal was an increase of $209,000 from the previous drive. Each township would have a quota to raise, and residents could expect the house to house canvassers to make contact with them. “Buy More than Before” would be the theme of the Fifth War Loan Drive.

Farming in Gratiot County

       Farmers throughout the county were urged to contract for sugar beets. Area companies believed that almost every farm near them had some acreage that could raise beets. Any farmer who had not been contacted by a company field man and who was interested needed only to call the sugar company.  Even the smallest acreage of sugar beets in 1944 would be important to the nation’s need for sugar.

         The St. Louis Lakeshore Sugar Company started a new process of drying potatoes and using the pulp for livestock feed. After going through a slicer, a drying machine dried the pulp. It then went onto a boxcar for delivery. The War Food Administration and AAA provided the equipment.

        Other problems appeared on the horizon, even though it had been great weather for planting.  Oats and barley, along with sugar beets and soybeans, had been planted in the county. However, shortages of corn made it difficult for farmers to feed their hogs and cattle as they could not get large loads of their stock to market due to embargoes. Because they had to hang onto the livestock, they also had to feed them. Help on the farms also remained in short supply, to the extent that many farmers worked seven days a week in the fields.

       Michigan Governor Harry F. Kelly designated May as “More Michigan Food Month.” Conferences took place in different parts of the state to focus public attention on the need to see food production as a battle to be won in 1944. Farmers were urged to grow as much food as possible, sell more, and to find more uses of Michigan foods.

 

And So We Do Not Forget…

                Swift and Company in Alma still needed 55 women to work at egg breaking so that powdered eggs could be shipped to the armed forces. Women who were hired would be expected to work six nine-hour days each week and they but make over $30 in wages…The first call went out for milkweed floss pickers who to help out later in the summer. Gratiot County had may children who were asked to pitch in, pick up the floss, and help send it to Petoskey for processing…The American Legion prepared for its May 27 Poppy Sale. The Legion needed volunteer workers…The Michigan State Health Department started a project to get penicillin and larger blood supply to all people in the state…Alma Blue Star Mothers decided to promote the county-wide drive to establish a memorial for all of Gratiot County’s servicemen…J. C. Penney’s in Alma displayed pictures of area servicemen in their front store window. They asked for pictures and welcomed donations for the county memorial. Their goal was $2000…The Alma Rotary showed the movie “Our Enemies, the Japs” to Rotarians. The movie depicted how the Japanese were trained from childhood to hate and fight their enemies. Also, it described the Japanese value of thriftiness with land use…Lieutenants Martha Foster and Joan King appeared at Alma City Hall in their WAC uniforms. Their goal was to recruit more women…The William Fields American Legion Post in Ithaca prepared for the Memorial Day parade and services. All veterans from the current war were urged to wear their uniforms. .. A memorial service was scheduled in Breckenridge to start at the village hall with a parade of veterans from World War I and World War II veterans…St. Louis played Fulton for the Valley C Conference baseball championship. To get to the championship, St. Louis defeated St. Charles.  Oren Sebring drove in three runs for the Crimson Tide…The Alma Frozen Food Locker Plant claimed to be having a brisk business. It looked like more space would have to be added to the existing locker because people wanted to rent their freezers…The Gratiot County Red Cross created a Prisoner of War committee to help families of Gratiot’s POWs…Alma College drama club students staged the play “Janie” in the Alma High School auditorium. ..The Seaver Hotel in Ithaca reopened for business, offering meals every day…Harry Schaeffer, age 79 from Elm Hall, narrowly escaped being dragged to death by a pet steer. The animal was blind, and Schaeffer got a rope entangled around his feet while the steer dragged him…The Automobile Club of Michigan awarded a $25 war bond to Alfred Dubay. Dubay served as captain of the Alma safety patrol team…Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox died in Washington, D.C. Knox had been an Alma College student. A memorial service took place at the college…Thirty Blue Star Mothers met in Ithaca at the Thompson Home Library. They planned on decorating graves on the evening of May 27…Michigan Chemical Corporation wanted men for war work…The Ideal Theatre in Ithaca was playing “This is the Army Now” and “Sahara”…Labor troubles continued at the Alma Trailer Company. An estimated 100 men had walked off the job. The group made up about one-third of the labor force. One of the reported parts of contention involved the difference of pay for men at Alma Trailer compared to those in city plants doing the same work…Students at Fulton Township Schools presented the play “Who Killed Aunt Caroline” in the school gymnasium…Alma’s City Newsstand was now under new management. Bert and Sadie Colburn were the original owners…Baccalaureate Service for Ashley High School took place at the Methodist Church. Ashley graduated seventeen students with the Class of 1944…The WCTU wanted all sale of liquor in Gratiot County to be stopped. It met at the Sowers Methodist Church for its annual convention…The Ithaca Church of God held its State Convention for two days for its Home and Foreign Missionary Society…The Czechoslovak National Alliance Branch of St. Louis sponsored a movie in Czechoslovak language on May 7…Leonard Refineries purchased 73 acres of land by buying the Fred Burt farm…and General Douglas MacArthur requested that his name not be nominated for President in 1944. MacArthur for President Clubs across the country stopped all efforts to promote a nomination of the General.

       And that was Gratiot County during World War II in May 1944.

Copyright 2019 James M Goodspeed

Above: H.B. Thompson and the Bannister ZCBJ follows the call to do all they can in the war effort; Gratiot men like Marshall Lumsden came home on leave after seeing action on the war front; the ominous news of those who would not come back included those like Jim Cermak of Bannister.

      Well into the third full year of the war, more and more men and women left Gratiot County to serve the country during World War II. With these departures came the sad news of those killed, missing, or prisoners of war. Still, the United States continued to call men and women to support the war effort in their neighborhoods, on their farms, and within their towns. The year 1944 would be the biggest challenge yet. How would Gratiot County respond? People seemed to understand that a war was yet to be won and that they had to live up to the responsibilities to help Gratiot County do its part.

 

News Continues to Arrive Concerning Gratiot’s Servicemen

     Probably the main item of news in April 1944 dealt with Gratiot County’s men in the service, where they were and what they were doing.  Letters from overseas reached families who then shared them with county newspapers. In some cases, men came home on leave and shared their experiences of being in the war.

    Edson Farnsworth of Pleasant Valley came home on furlough after 22 months in Alaska and Kodiak Island. A resident of Bailey Corners, Fred Pietscher, also spent two years in Alaska and had two weeks at home before heading to Fort Sheridan, Illinois for reassignment.  George Fuller, an Alma High School graduate who also attended Alma College, joined the Army Air Force in April 1942 and had flown on three of the first four American daylight bombing raids over Berlin. While at home, Fuller got the news that he had received the Distinguished Flying Cross.

    Staff Sergeant Russell Whitford of Ashley returned to Gratiot County after spending three years in China. He first joined the National Guard in 1939 and entered the Army in April 1941. In March 1942, Whitford headed for India and over four months flew many missions to China as a radio operator on transport planes.  He met General Chenault and remarked that he had lived for over a year on buffalo meat, rice, water, toast, and gravy. According to his mother, eating at the Whitford home was hard for him to get used to again, but he did it.  Another Gratiot Airman, Lieutenant Marshall Lumsden of Ithaca, also was home in Gratiot County after completing 97 missions as a fighter and bomber pilot for the 12^th Army Air Force Fighter Group in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. Lumsden hoped to return to action in England in anticipation of the impending invasion of Europe.

     Letters and photographs gave glimpses of some of the things that members of the armed forces encountered that spring at various places. Merle Brauher wrote from somewhere in the Pacific that he was only steps from the Pacific Ocean. However, there was not a place he had not been that did not have ants. Lizards varied from a few inches to two feet long and scared him because they lived in coconut trees. He also thought that 1944 would be the year that the war would end. Staff Sergeant Richard Goostrey of Ithaca sent a picture home which showed him cradling a Chinese child. Goostrey served with the Army Air Corps as an aerial photographer and liaison pilot. He had been in both India and China for a year.

     Private Bill Gallagher of Alma told his parents that he had lost all of his personal belongings and pictures while on the move from North Africa to Italy.  He did have time to take a cruise over Italy in a B-24, taking photographs from the waist gunner’s position.  His group purchased a small sheep from natives and had a barbecue, but a bombing alert took place, and they had to head for cover.  After two hours, the men returned and finished their meal.  Gallagher also found Italians to be very friendly, but he wanted his parents to send him basketball trunks and shoes for his spare time. Another Alma boy, Private Leland Perry, told about doing guard duty over a military cemetery in Italy, close to the front. Perry had been behind German lines while on patrol duty. Nolan MacLaren, “somewhere in Italy,” received two Gratiot County newspapers per month and hoped that the others would eventually catch up with him. “It’s nice to have something to read while being in your fox hole,” he stated.  News also came to Ithaca that Miss Georgiana Peet, who served as a WAC in North Africa, had been promoted to corporal.

     Other letters, like the one from Atlantic Seaman Myron Humphrey of Alma, told about his experiences in British territory. While he made $78 a month, Humphrey thought of taking out $37.50 bond each time he was paid. Natives sold wire bracelets, streets were made of brick and were dirty, and palm trees were everywhere. The stores where he was at had doors where only the top half opened. He thought the food to be unsanitary, but he could pay a native to climb up and get a cocoanut for six pennies. Swimming and drinking cocoa became his favorite pastimes.

    Lighter news came when the Isham brothers from Fulton Township, Charles and Gerald, met up in England. They had not seen each other in almost two years. At the age of 19, William Lanshaw of Alma graduated from Turner Field in Albany, Georgia and he received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Army Air Force. Lanshaw was a 1942 Alma High School graduate who did one year at Central Michigan College of Education before joining the Air Force.

Then there were the Wounded, KIA, MIA, POW

    The Iler Family in Newark Township received the news that their son, Elton, had been seriously wounded in New Guinea and had to be hospitalized in Australia. The Ilers received a letter from Elton’s superior office telling them of his dedication and courage during battle.

    Tragic stories of young men who died while defending the country came in spurts that April. Two deaths at the start of the month came when Lt. Russell Criswell of North Star died in a plane crash in California. Criswell was aboard a transport plane that started across the ocean and had to return when something went wrong. The plane went down, and seven of the nine crew members perished.  Lieutenant Benjamin Fricke also was killed when he and six other crew members who were aboard a B-24 Liberator crashed into the side of a mountain at El Paso, Texas.

    Other deaths also occurred. Sergeant Carleton Madar, who had been raised by his grandparents in Ithaca, drowned accidentally off of Guadalcanal. Madar had been with the 40^th Infantry Division. Floyd Carlson, who had family in St. Louis, also died in a drowning in the Pacific theater.  Private Jim Cermak of Ashley was killed in action in Bougainville in March.  However, the news was just now reaching the Cermak family. The family of D.C.Furgason of Ithaca received their son’s Purple Heart Award. Furgason had been killed in Italy in January.

     Families had to deal with other disheartening news. Sergeant David Somerville, whose grandparents were in Ithaca, had been declared missing in action over Germany. Sommerville served as a machine gunner on a bomber. Lieutenant Dale Beery of Alma also was reported missing as of March 16. His wife, who was living at Sault St. Marie, had just received the news. Beery graduated from St. Louis High School in 1934, was a Michigan State College graduate, and had been a high school coach Swartz Creek and Rockford.  The Alma Record also reported that Staff Sergeant Alfred Grosskopf, a former resident, had been missing in action since December 11. Grosskopf worked for the Alma Trailer Company before enlisting in September 1941.

 

Men Continually Called to the Draft

     Early that April, 175 Gratiot County men planned to leave for Detroit for their pre-induction physical examinations. A list of 300 men who passed exams in late March appeared later in the newspapers. Among the names included: Emiel Robbe of Ashley, Floyd Conner from Sumner; Robert Riedel of Ithaca; and Keelan Nixon of Bannister.  These departures took place in the wake of a nationwide moratorium on drafting men over 26 years of age, although this age group still had to report for their examinations. Approximately 300 men in Michigan in this group ended up being told to go home and wait, but they were informed that this pause would only last 30 days. Selective Service in Michigan also planned to review the status of 12,000 more deferred men in the state in industry and agriculture. The government also expected a total rejection rate of approximately thirty percent of all younger men who could not pass their physicals.

     Still, Gratiot County moved forward with pre-induction meetings for potential draftees. David Gearhart of Alma acted as county coordinator to set up the program which took place April 19 at the Gratiot County courthouse. Men who passed their pre-induction physicals and who could be called to the service were urged to attend, along with their families. The program answered questions such as what do with insurance policies, what to take after being inducted, the role of the Red Cross, and how to create personal wills. Representatives from the Red Cross, American Legion, Selective Service, area schools, County Board of Supervisors, and the county clerk all attended to help answer inductee’s questions.

     On another note, Selective Service continued to deal with the question of what to do with farm deferments.  The local draft board heard that a plan was coming that scrapped the current way of assigning values to different types of farm work. Now the draft board would have the authority to grant a deferment if a man was “regularly engaged” in essential farm work and if he could not be replaced.  Approximately 1,500 men in Gratiot County had farm deferments in April 1944.  Individual farmers could still appeal to the local draft board if their hired man became reclassified in 1-A and eligible for the draft.

The Work and Role of the Red Cross Continues

     County Chairman Dr. Stanley C. Brown from Ithaca announced that the recent Red Cross countywide fund drive totaled $26,014. In many townships, groups in March and April planned activities to raise funds. The Riverdale Ladies’ Aid Society held a pot luck supper at the high school gymnasium, took up a free will offering, and auctioned off a nice quilt. Their efforts raised $126.19 for the Red Cross.  The commitment of people in the county ultimately showed itself by going over the expected quota by more than $5,500. While Alma led the drive with a total of $7668.03, districts like Breckenridge ($1,293.80), St.Louis ($5,199.51), and Ithaca ($5,059.33) all contributed. A district made up of southern and southeast Gratiot County townships gave $4,055.06 for the drive. Perrinton’s Red Cross drive aimed for $350, but it brought in $416 in funds.  All over Gratiot County, citizens oversubscribed and willingly gave when they were asked to support the Red Cross during a time of war.

     The Gratiot County Red Cross continued to help people in a variety of ways, especially by families informed about the status of mail from overseas. Receiving correspondence from a son or loved one was one of the most important things that families wanted that spring. Not hearing from someone was considered to be “good news” according to the Red Cross. When it came to “bad news,” official notifications of casualties always went to families first via the War or Navy Department. When people asked the Red Cross for help regarding why they had not heard from their loved one, the Red Cross reminded them that war conditions, transfers, special duty, and the lack of facilities to write home could all play a role with the issue of not receiving mail. If a family had not heard from a serviceman after four months, then they were encouraged to contact the local Home Service Officer from the Red Cross. While an investigation would be made into this situation, families would have to wait another sixty days after that before any more would take place as to why they had not heard from their serviceman. Starting in late 1943, the Adjutant General issued a regular report of the status of all MIAs to their families. The issue of POWs became even more relevant in the county as more men slowly were added to the ranks of those captured by the enemy.

Farming for the War Effort – Are You Doing Your Part?

     The need for farm labor remained significant in the spring of 1944. Those men who wanted to be farm registrants (those who were needed to work on the farm) had to attend a series of meetings in April. Initially, the sessions were to be monthly during the war and occurred during the evening at different high schools in the county. These meetings dealt with the issues of drafting farm laborers, ways to improve farm production, and how to fill out agricultural questionnaires. While draft registrants were expected to attend these meetings, the meetings were open to the public, and anyone could attend. One of the essential requirements for any man who wanted deferred draft status was that they had to be “regularly engaged” in farm labor to be classified as A-1 deferred. However, there were individuals in the county who thought that too many farm registrants acted “footloose and fancy-free” the moment that the draft board granted them a deferment. Also, some complained that some of the workers later tried to find jobs away from farms because they did not like the work or they were not committed to working in the first place.

      In other farm news, WKAR radio offered daily instructions about how farmers could keep up with spray practices for fruit farmers for those in the county who grew apples, pears, and plums. The Lake Shore Sugar Company announced that its last beet payment for 1943 would take place on May 1, 1944.  First payment in December had been $9.05 per ton of beets. To encourage Gratiot farmers to grow beets for the upcoming summer, the Farmers and Merchants Beet Sugar Association announced that farmers who contracted for beets would have trucking available at a reasonable price through the use of price controls on trucking costs.

     In addition to price controls and contracts, news came that more farm labor would be available in the upcoming summer. Mexican labor would be possible for blocking and thinning beets, hauling manure, and spring seeding. If farmers contacted local sugar companies, they would locate help.

      Another source of help in 1944 would be the presence of 5,000 German Prisoners of War. Local prison camps would have 300 German POWs, armed guards and workers were available for any farmer who lived within 35 miles of a camp. In early April, an estimated 75,000 German POWs were in the United States. Also, Jamaican workers were present in Gratiot County starting June 1. With only 500 Jamaicans available, any farmer who wanted help on the farm needed to contact William Battan, Assistant Agricultural Agent, at the courthouse. The state expected 7,000 Mexicans from Texas also to be present for working with sugar beets and field work for truck crops.

     With all of this potential help available, the government tried to put patriotic pressure on more farmers to grow sugar beets. A late April notice in the newspapers stated “FOOD IS A WEAPON!” and even though Gratiot County had such rich soil, it had barely contracted half the amount acres the government wanted to grow sugar beets in 1944.  With good prices, trucks and farm labor, farmers were confronted with the question “Are you doing YOUR part?”

Rationing and Bond Sales are a Part of Life in the County

     When it came to rationing, people in Gratiot County could use Stamp 18, good for one pair of shoes during the month of April. If they used Stamp 1 in Book 3 (with an airplane on it), it was suitable for a pair of shoes beyond April. Anyone wanting a stove still had to obtain a certificate from the ration board in order purchase one.

     Waste paper and tin drives took place in different places, usually under the direction of the Boy Scouts. Galo Chew led the Alma group with their pickup of things. Tin, even in short supply, was desperately needed for syrettes, also called “angels of mercy.”  Syrettes contained morphine, and every soldier carried them during combat. Motors, guns, ships, tanks, and planes all needed tin. However, used tin had to be cleaned, or it would be useless. Donors were told to rinse all tin cans, empty all food particles, remove labels and cut the ends off of each one, then flatten them. The call for “Waste to Salvage to War” program went on,  which picked up household fats. Every 40,000 pounds of fat from animals could grease a runway. Donated rags kept the machinery running smoothly in the Army, Navy and war plants.  Collections also took place for burlap bags, roofing felt, old wood-felt hats, or rope and twine, all for the war effort. “Tins – Fats – Rags” was the headline in newspapers that urged Gratiot County residents to make donations.

    The Office of Price Administration dropped tire inspections at the end of the month. The government believed that most drivers understood how to take care of their tires. Still, every owner was expected to keep updated records on their tires, especially if they ever wanted to apply for new ones. During one week in April, permits were issued for 149 tires and tubes in the county. Among the types available included Grade 1, Grade 3, Truck tires, Farm implement tires, and an assortment of tire tubes.

      With all of the rationing going on –and the enforcement that had gone with it up to this point of the war-  leadership in the county changed. Charles L. Hicks resigned his post on the Rationing Board because people with competitive public offices could not serve on the boards. He had been with the Rationing Board since 1942. Often the Saginaw District Office of Price Administration made appointments. Sometimes members of the Gratiot County OPA Board made surprise inspections of stores across the county. On one day, three OPA board members visited fourteen stores to see if stores had corrected prior violations concerning rationing sales. They found that most of the violations dealt with not correctly posting ceiling prices, beef and pork prices, soap lists, and incorrect grading of cut beef and pork. After their inspections, the OPA determined that 23 stores in the county were in complete compliance, and only four were in violation.

     Regarding bond sales, the Ithaca seventh grade class purchased $146.90 worth of defense bonds and stamps in one week. Every single student in the room contributed to the purchase. The government announced that the Fifth War Bond Loan would start June 12. The United States Treasury planned to raise sixteen million dollars for the war effort with this drive.

 Then There was Life in Gratiot County –  Unless We Forget:

Nearly 300 Alma children were immunized against diphtheria at the junior high, Republic and Hillcrest schools…the Gratiot Conservation League discussed improving the park entrance on Ely Highway south of Alma as a memorial for the men at war… Gratiot County Democrats met at the Ithaca courthouse to choose delegates for the state convention. They strongly supported the idea of a fourth term for FDR…J.L. Barden in Ithaca asked owners of World War I pictures, relics, and souvenirs to come to the store and pick them up. They had been on display in Barden’s window…”With the Colors” ran weekly front page pictures in the Gratiot County Herald of Gratiot County men and women who were either at war or who were going off to war…the Sowers WSCS group met at the Sowers Church to view an exhibit about China and India. Richard Goostrey’s mother-in-law attended the church. Goostrey had been stationed in India and China as an aerial photographer…the Strand Theatre in Alma ran the headline “BUY MORE WAR BONDS”. “The Bridge of San Luis Rey” was one of the key movie features…One of the debates in the county was “Should Gratiot Pay a Bounty on Fox?”…Among marriage licenses in early April was that of Maurice Judd Paine, 19, of Fulton Township and Lucille Marion Abbot, 20, of Maple Rapids…Professor Richter of Alma College gave a talk to the Ithaca Rotary Club about his escape from Nazi Germany in 1938…Fulton High School held a community athletic banquet to honor its championship basketball team in the school gymnasium. The featured speaker was Dr. E.C. Beck from Central Michigan College of Education. Beck taught in the English Department…Alva Cook, a World War I hero and disabled veteran, received the Silver Star for Gallantry in Action. Cook had been seriously wounded on the fields of France…A crowd estimated between 400 and 500 parents and teachers head Donald W. Hunter speak at Alma High School auditorium on the topic of “American Youth at the Crossroads.” Hunter warned listeners about the rising tide of juvenile delinquency…the Maple Grove school in North Star burned to the ground. It was insured for $2,000 and the contents for $300. All 22 children went to Ashley for the remainder of their school year…plans for a new Food Locker Plant in Alma were announced…on Saturday, April 15, Middleton lost all power due to an ice storm. Telephone lines were down in several places…talk of a cross channel invasion of Europe started to circulate in the press. Possibly the invasion would take place between April and June as air attacks alone would not defeat Nazi Germany…Mrs. Walter Dietrich was collecting names of service men and women for the Honor Roll in Ithaca…William Troub of Middleton said he would look after the names of those who served in the Army and Navy. Parents needed only mail him the names…the Emmanuel Episcopal Diocese officially deeded the Episcopal Church of St. Louis to the city…the Gratiot Red Cross Chapter received a certificate signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt “for distinguished achievement in the 1944 war fund.”…a rehabilitation program in Alma for returning war veterans was in the news…finally, businessmen in Bannister placed a notice in the post office requesting the names of all its men and women who were in the war… and that was April 1944 in Gratiot County.

Copyright 2019 James M Goodspeed

 

 

 

 

 

Above: Girls from Alma High School dehydrate eggs for the Armed Forces while working after school at Swift & Company in Alma; a group of farmers in Lafayette Township basks in the milder than usual March 1944 weather; notices of servicemen from the March 9, 1944 issue of the Gratiot County Herald. 

 

     It was March 1944, and an early spring reached Gratiot County, Michigan. Farmers were at work in their fields, and they heard the government’s call to grow more crops in 1944 for the war effort.  Still, many wondered if they could harvest all that they were being asked to plant.

     Amidst the stories of those Gratiot County men and women abroad was the reality that some would not be coming back home. There seemed to be the seeds of growing optimism that the United States and its Allies had turned a corner against the Axis. However, the war was far from being home, and people in Gratiot County again realized that it would be a long road to victory.

 

Farming

     As March began, the need for more farm laborers for the upcoming summer was very much on the minds of area farmers. Leaders of the Gratiot County Youth Labor Committee were called to the courthouse in Ithaca to prepare for the 1944 crop season. Discussions took place about getting more youths to work on farms. Superintendents of area schools and agriculture teachers made up lists of boys and girls who would be asked to volunteer their time to work.

    Gratiot County’s farm commodities had been making a difference in the war effort and had been shipped to different parts of the world. Creamery butter,  dried whole eggs, cheese, dried pea, and navy beans made up the list. St. Louis shipped over 223,000 pounds of creamery butter in 1943. Breckenridge had sent over 2.1 million pounds of navy beans. Alma led the county with its 80,000 pounds of American cheese. The War Food Administration pushed the importance of raising more food in 1944 as the Lend-Lease Program needed it. Even in places like Alma, which raised 11,300 bags of dry beans, the government wanted more.

    To encourage Gratiot County farmers to raise more food, the AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Administration) held a farmer’s rally at the Ithaca High School gymnasium. A special guest speaker, Duncan Moore, a well-known radio announcer, spoke to the farmers about the need for more massive crop production in 1944. The rally took place following a concert by the Ithaca High School band, poetry readings and vocals by high school students.

     Victory Gardeners in St. Louis were asked to combine orders for seeds, but to only order what would be used.  The Strand Theatre was the location for the annual meeting of the Alma Beet Growers Association, following a dinner and election of officers.  The government repeatedly encouraged county farmers to sign up for more sugar beets. Because of the need for home use, as well as making alcohol for explosive and synthetic rubber, Gratiot County was asked to grow double the 1943 amount, which had been 64,232 acres. Still, many county farmers could never remember a more uncertain time to raise beets. Because the progress of the war had been slow,  and that there had been a lack of labor, they feared that the increased crops would go to waste. Also, gasoline for tractors was a concern, as well as getting machinery repair parts, overall shortages of machinery, and most of all there was  Gratiot County’s weather.

      As an incentive to persuade the farmers, new contracts offered $13 per ton of beets. However, the farmers remained wary of the lack of farm help to work the beet fields. The government countered by saying that migratory labor would be available and these workers would stay in the county until all work was completed and the crops harvested. Beet farmers could also receive more significant consideration in obtaining draft deferments for needed farm workers for corn, beans, and the sugar beets.

Men and Women in the Service

     A total of 38 men passed pre-induction exams and had to leave the county in March. The Army called men on March 16, and a total of 22 made up the group. The Navy took another 16 men on the next day. Among the Navy men inducted included Leo Aumaugher of Wheeler and Ernest Rozen of Ashley. Some of the Army inductees included Randal Stafford of St. Louis and Jack Lowry of Alma. The Gratiot County Draft Board had been told to speed up inductions in response to Michigan’s call for 300,000 more men for the service, as well as creating a significant reserve pool.

     The news abounded with announcements and updates of Gratiot County’s men and women who had gone off to war and of those who served stateside.  Miss Nola Blair of Middleton completed her work as a registered nurse and was being sent to Kentucky. Anne Ackles, whose husband was from Ashley and who served in the Army Air Corps in Europe, now served as a SPAR and teletype operator in New York City. Private James J. Mills of North Star had been shipped to North Africa, moved to Sicily and now was in Italy. Private Milton Rozen of Ashley entered the service in January 1943 and now trained at William Northern Field in Tullahoma, Tennessee. Lieutenant Robert H. Reed of Alma became a combat pilot after completing advanced flying school training. Major Frank W. Iseman became Lieutenant Colonel Iseman and was now the Director of Ground Training at Sioux City Army Air Base.

     Word arrived that Lieutenant John W. Shong returned from combat missions as a torpedo bomber at Guadalcanal. After flying missions almost every other day early in that campaign, Shong now served as a flight instructor at Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  He received a medal for meritorious achievement in fighting the Japanese. Lieutenant Frederick Rearick also was home after serving as a Marine at Guadalcanal and New Caledonia. Rearick spoke to groups in the county about what he had experienced in the Pacific war while in combat. Royal F. David, whose father was from Lafayette Township, had served for 21 months in New Guinea and had fought in the Battle of Buna with the 32^nd Infantry Division. David spent several months in the hospital with malaria fever and then was discharged. Private Fred Hicks from St. Louis won the right to wear the Wings and boots of the 82^nd Airborne after completing his fifth jump of the war at Sicily. Hicks would be involved with many decisive battles in the 82^nd Airborne during the war. Brothers Russell and Glenn Sipe from Alma reunited in the Hawaiian Islands after not having seen each other in almost two years.  Russell had been in the Navy since August 1942, and his brother served in the Army since March 1943. Other Gratiot County men like Captain Stewart McFadden, an Alma High School, and Alma College graduate, defended the United States in places like Panama. McFadden had been there for nineteen months he received a promotion in the Army Air Force.

     Several of these servicemen and women wrote home about the war from Africa, Italy, and the Pacific. Charles Barden from Ithaca wrote to his parents, telling them of his challenges of traveling in India to find another Ithaca native, Frank Klein. Barden remarked that a few other servicemen tried to buy and resell fire opals in hopes of making money back home. Barden mailed a few of them back home for his parents to see. John Hoyt, a chaplain from St. Louis, told of his experiences from Africa. The poverty and inability to converse in different languages challenged him. Still, Hoyt remarked that “…I heard someone say that a soldier will get out of the army just what he puts into it.”

      Across the county, stories regularly came in about how Gratiot County treated its sons and daughters at home. The Wheeler Methodist Church held a service where 200 people gathered to honor them. Reverend Kenneth McBryde presided over the ceremony in which he read the name of every man from the Wheeler area who was in the service.  Of a total of 69 names, 63 of them had a family member present for this service.  Twenty-seven of the men served overseas. The minister also lit four gold candles to represent the men who had died. These included:  Donald Hartenburg, D.C. Furgason, and Gerald Steward, and a Lt. Lapino. Over at Elwell, a church added two stars to the fifty-two that already existed on the community service flag. The new stars represented Ramon Fink (Army Air Corps) and Wallace Humphrey (Marines). The George Myers American Legion Post in Alma initiated a large class of new members, including twenty men who now would be considered World War II veterans, all honorably discharged.

      The hardest news in the county involved the growing list of those who died in the war.  In early March, Ithaca and Ashley experienced shock with what they heard. Private D.C. Furgason was killed in Italy on the Anzio Beachhead on January 27 during the invasion. Furgason would be Ithaca’s first son to die in the war, and he was only nineteen years old. John Paksi of Ashley and Robert Parks from Alma both appeared in the news at the same time as Furgason’s death. Paksi and Parks had been reported as missing in action. Private Edgar Hitchcock of Pleasant Valley also died in Italy in early February.  Arnold Riedel, a Breckenridge High School graduate, also died there while serving in the Infantry. Special services for  Reidel took place at the Breckenridge Methodist Church soon after news of his death was confirmed. Gratiot families also were struck with the announcement of those deemed as missing in action. Mrs. George Lanshaw of Alma was told that her brother, Robert Wellman, had become missing in action on March 9 during a mission over Germany. In early February, Mrs. Lanshaw had just received a letter from Robert that he had completed fifteen missions over Germany and that he hoped to reach the lucky number of twenty-five so that he could come back home. Robert Wellman served as radio operator on a B-24 Liberator on a B-24, and he had been missing since a flight over Germany on March 9.

Red Cross Action

     The Gratiot County Red Cross continued to serve and ask for the county’s support during March 1944. The organization proclaimed in the Gratiot County Herald, “THE RED CROSS IS HERE!” and that was in Gratiot County “ALL THE TIME.” A long list of achievements by volunteers educated the public about what the county unit had accomplished.  Turtle neck sweaters, gloves, helmets, rifle mitts, socks, sweaters, navy scarfs, pieced lap covers, as well as civilian garments and surgical dressings – members of the Red Cross had done all of this.  The upcoming War Fund Campaign was planned for the end of March, and a workers meeting took place in the courthouse in Ithaca.  Mrs. Cecil Marr headed the St. Louis unit, and she reminded volunteers that they were entitled to wear their service pins if they had served enough time. She hoped that more eligible volunteers would wear the badges in public. The St. Louis chapter sought to raise its share of the $19,500 needed for the countywide drive. The chapter held a special dinner at the CSA Hall to do its part, which drew 250 people and aimed to raise money for the St. Louis quota of $2,600. Frank Housel, city chairman, announced that St. Louis also planned to hold two more benefit parties. One of them at the St. Joseph church raised $100 and then a Tag Dale sale on a Saturday brought in almost the same amount.

     The three-day county campaign late that month succeeded beyond expectations. Every district reported raising more than their higher expected quota. People county wide gave more than $4,000 over the initial goal of $19,500. Gratiot County again proved that it cared about and supported the work and efforts of the Red Cross.

Rationing

    Gratiot County residents continued to conserve resources for the war effort. The Gratiot County Road Commission in Ithaca became the location of a central truck tire inspection station. This site existed to make sure that drivers got the maximum mileage on their tires. A dealer committee made up of six men, headed by James Giles of Alma, re-inspected trucks and commercial vehicles of owners that wanted new tires. Those in  Gratiot County who had gasoline ration books felt the pinch when they learned that they would experience a cut from their allowance of three gallons to two gallons of gas per week.  The government continued to crack down on black market sales and coupon counterfeiters, who drained off an estimated 2.5 million gallons of gasoline every day in America. Smaller things that Gratiot people could do to help with the war included saving tin cans in St. Louis and taking them to the city highway garage and placing them in a particular bin.

     When it came to food rationing, certain foods could only be purchased with Green Stamps, K, L, and M in Book Four through March 20. However, selected blue stamps would be good for processed foods through the end of May. Point reductions for pork and beef products took the public by surprise because the government believed that more would be available for the public in 1944. Good news also came with the announcement that homemakers would again be able to have 35 pounds of sugar for each of their family members. Any family that canned and preserved food could apply for a maximum of 250 pounds of sugar to use for canning. All that a person had to do was pick up an application form at the county rationing office in Ithaca and mail it to the Office of Price Administration.  To entice farmers to grow sugar beets, they would receive another 25 pounds of sugar that came from their crops. The company with whom the farmer signed a contract would be the place that provided the sugar. No ration stamps would be required.

And so that we do not forget…

     Postage rates would jump at the end of the month from six to eight cents for airmail…St. Louis played Fulton in the regional basketball tournament at Mt. Pleasant…The Bank of Ithaca warned residents that they needed to build their savings accounts with war bonds…Swift and Company needed fifty women for egg candling and breaking. No experience was necessary…The unusually mild winter allowed farmers to get into the fields very early in March. Men from the Tom Londry farm in Lafayette Township had their picture in the paper while preparing their fields…A diphtheria clinic took place for Alma children for treatment. An estimated 300 school children under the age of ten were believed to be at risk…St. Louis announced that it would move its clocks ahead one hour starting April 2. Other Gratiot communities were expected to follow; however, Saginaw had tried earlier in March to move the time forward but changed its minds and went back to War Time until April 2…St.Louis became the site of two different hitchhiking stations, one along the intersection of US-27 and M-46 at the Hi-Speed Service Station. A motorist saw signs that said that soldiers waiting there needed a ride. The other station would sit on the south side of the city near the city limits. Talk continued of placing a third station on the east side of town for soldiers who wanted to travel to Saginaw…Finally, there would be no liquor bonus during the April rationing period. However, rum, wine, and Vermouth remained unrationed.

    So, that was March 1944 during World War II in Gratiot County.

Copyright 2019 James M Goodspeed

Above: Advertisements from the Alma Record-Alma Journal and Gratiot County Herald during February 1944; “The Spirit of Gratiot County,” the result of successful war bond drives in the county in 1943.

     It was February 1944, and if you had lived in Gratiot County at the time, it was late winter. People were speculating on who would be the next President of the United States. Wendell Willkie, a Republican candidate, boasted that he was best able to lead the country during the war. It was now the Republicans time to lead the country. After all, FDR had served an unprecedented three terms as President – he was done, or was he?

     War news continued to focus on places like the invasion in Italy near the Anzio Beach Head, as well as places like New Guinea and Guadalcanal.   Gratiot County continued to hear that…

It Was About Paper, Blood, and Bonds

     “Are you ready for the pickup?” That was the question that residents in Gratiot County faced in early February 1944. In St. Louis, Breckenridge, Ithaca and Alma, Boy Scouts prepared to canvass the communities to pick up paper for their second wastepaper drive of 1944. The need for paper containers for overseas shipments of supplies made paper drives an essential part of the war effort in Gratiot County. Every type of paper, including envelopes, tissue, corrugated paper, and cardboard, were among the targets of the drive. Gratiot residents were asked to wrap their bundles and place them near the street. People were urged to perform a patriotic duty by carrying large packages and not asking for paper sacks. Paper bags in the county became harder to locate as supplies had been cut by one third. In some places, the youngest Gratiot County residents helped to do their part.

      One story from Middleton told how two small girls walked out into the country before school started in order pick up papers from a farm home. When asked why they wanted  paper, a little boy stated, “To smash the Axis.”  Still, in other places like Alma, school children caused problems because they opened bundles of waste paper that residents set out by the curb. Why? The children were looking for “colored comics” (comic books), and then the wind scattered papers along many streets. The Boy Scouts still managed to pick up an estimated 8 tons of salvage with help from drivers and trucks from the Little Rock Lumber and Coal Company, the Home Lumber& Fuel Company and the Masonic Home.

     Another call went out in Gratiot County for people to volunteer and donate blood. The Red Cross called for a total of 360 people to give blood at the Presbyterian Church, where a doctor and four nurses waited. People were urged to donate a pint of blood as stocks of blood plasma were very low at hospitals, such as those in Lansing, had been depleted.  For county needs, a portion of the donations would be sent back to Gratiot County for its standing supply.  “Your blood may save the life of your neighbor” was a motto used by the Red Cross to encourage Gratiot residents to donate blood.

     When it came to their money, Gratiot County residents heard the call to support the Fourth War Loan. The county had only about two weeks to reach its goal. To motivate people to buy more bonds, a picture of a B17 Bomber appeared in the Gratiot County Herald to show bond subscribers where their money was going. The “Spirit of Gratiot” came off the line in January and was on its way to the front to fight the enemy.  While it was not clear which plant the plane came from (either Seattle or Renton, Washington; Wichita, Kansas; or Vancouver, British Columbia), the image of the aircraft demonstrated what Gratiot County could contribute if it continued to buy war bonds.

        St. Louis quickly raised $42,000 worth of bonds with Michigan Chemical raising $15,075. Both Ernest Ode and Percy Medd purchased $500 worth of bonds to get the company over its goal of raising $15,000. Within a short time, 44 workers at the St. Louis Cooperative Creamery raised $1023.25, which was over its $1000 goal. To celebrate their giving, the workers and their families then held a progressive Pedro party, with the help of Mayor Schnepp.  Schnepp gave away two $25 war bonds in a raffle to the workers.  The St. Louis school system also pitched in to help. During the previous semester, students raised $3933.70 worth of bonds, half of it purchased by the grade school alone. Also, the sophomore class raised $387.45 by itself, the most of any grade.

     Over at Alma, the city was barely halfway toward its goal with less than five days left to its deadline. However, reports of sales from the countryside around Alma had not yet been tallied. Canvassers sought to cover every mile around Alma to get the sales going. Once Alma’s corporations announced their sales, the county raised another $83, 851.75, well over its goal of 1.173 million dollars. Among the most significant purchases came from industrial plants, the public schools, Rotary Club, Lions Club, Odd Fellows, Masons, and the Elks. Still, sales of E Bonds lagged, and the Gratiot County Herald published a notice with the headline, “HAVE YOU DONE YOUR SHARE?”

Rationing – We Have to Do It

     A monthly “Ration Calendar” reminded everyone in Gratiot County about the need to ration items such as processed fruits and vegetables, meats and cheeses, sugar, shoes, gasoline, tires, fuel oil, and even stoves. Green stamps G, H, and J were good through late February, but green stamps K, L, and M would be good throughout the month. Stamps 10 in A book were good for three gallons of gasoline over the next six weeks. However, those buying gas had to have their state and license numbers written on the face or top of each coupon upon receiving the ration book. A new food rationing system using tokens went into effect in late March. No one could use more than nine tokens at a time on any one purchase. Anyone with a question or problem could visit the ration office in Ithaca, which was open each weekday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

     The government anticipated that the supply of canned foods would be smaller in 1944 than the previous two years of the war, which meant that victory gardening remained an essential job in Gratiot County. O.I. Gregg, state extension officer, came to the county and gave lectures at Breckenridge High School, Alma High School, and the Gratiot County Court House. Basil McKenzie, Breckenridge  Schools Superintendent, invited the Breckenridge public to come to the high school to hear Gregg’s presentation. The overall goal was to get people in Gratiot County to increase the sizes of their victory gardens, as well as how to get their plots started earlier. Although 720,000 Victory Gardens existed in Michigan in 1943, a goal of 792,000 gardens had bee set in 1944.

Life on Gratiot’s Farms

     Gratiot County’s farmers continued to support the war effort.  Even though it was only February, farmers were encouraged to sign beet contracts for 1944. They would receive $12.50 per ton of sugar beets and meetings in St. Louis and Alma urged farmers to sign up to grow bigger crops. The Office of War Information told farmers that losses that they suffered while operating their farms were deductible on their income tax.

    The County AAA met to try and find ways to grow more food in 1944. Farmers heard that they would receive more gas to grow more crops. A setback occurred when the Chairman of the AAA in Gratiot County, Harold Mouser, suddenly and tragically died from a heart attack while attending a basketball game at Alma High School. Mouser had several duties in the county, and he had served four terms as chairman.

The Draft – Gratiot Men Go to War

     One of the most significant issues with the draft in Gratiot County in February 1944 concerning the status of men who were supposed to be involved in agricultural work. These men carried what was called 2C and 3C classifications. However, they could be called into meetings to fill out agricultural questionnaires. Some of the questions that these men had to answer involved how many acres and types of crops that they planned to be working on, and how much livestock they produced. The Gratiot County USDA war board and country draft board then looked over the questionnaires.

     Some people in Gratiot County questioned why some men held 2C and 3C status. If they left their occupation or changed their address, even for a temporary time without telling the draft board, these men could be immediately eligible for the draft. They also had to notify authorities if they looked for winter work and other jobs. Warnings went out that they would keep their status only as long as replacements in Gratiot County could be found for them regarding the draft.

      However, some citizens questioned the 2C and 3C status because their sons served in the war. “A Disgusted Farmer,” wrote a letter to the Gratiot County Herald that explained their view of things: “It is not right to take fathers when many single men are left, and many of them are playing or pretending to work…(There is) Also the milk racket. A farmer buys a milk truck, usually a worn out affair at a high price, and then proceeds to get son deferred. There are too many on the road, driving unnecessary miles. You can count from three to five going past many a corner. One way to stop this is to draft some of the drivers.”

     In the midst of this issue men still went off to war. The draft took twelve Gratiot County registrants in February. Six went to the Army and six to the Navy. Paul J. Hrncharik of Bannister was one of those entering the Army; Maynard D. Peacock from St.Louis entered the Navy. Over at Alma College, 75 apprentice seamen in the V-12 Program left the program for other assignments. A farewell for the group took place in the college chapel. Alma College did not give out diplomas because those engaged in civilian programs would return in June for the regular commencement services. The Navy and Alma College both wanted the V-12 Program to continue in March.

    For others, the third Army-Navy College Qualifying Test for the Army Specialized Training Program and the Navy’s V-12 Program took place at Fulton Township Schools.  Students between the ages 17 and 21 received the tests at the Perrinton school building. They either were graduates or would graduate from high school by July 1, 1944. Similar examinations were scheduled for March at St. Louis High School.

Letters to Home

     Letters from members of the armed forces that February described life in their respective theatres of the war. Brothers Raymond and Lyle Meyers made it to England. Lyle Meyers enjoyed the warmer weather there, and he was appreciative of the five letters he received the day before. Meyers received nineteen on mail call on that day. During his trip to England, Meyers wrote a letter home on his birthday, although he did not think it was terrific because he was seasick. At his current location, his unit was able to get passes to visit a nearby town, but regarding the use of English money, he said that “I have a feeling I am going to get all mixed up on this English money. Guess  I’ll just give them what they want of it. Ha.” Lyle had already been to the local Red Cross station to ask for help in finding his brother.

     Richard Fishbeck had also found a Red Cross Canteen. It had great sandwiches and occasionally a bottled Coke. He also discovered what the English called the “Pub,” which is “more like pleasant meeting places where men can drink and talk over the events of the day.”  The two essential beverages served there were beer and cider. Russell Howe wrote that there were no buildings higher than 100 feet tall in the area he was stationed in England. Also, the mud was terrible, and people rode bicycles everywhere they went.

     Howard Comstock of St. Louis wrote from Italy. Just before New Years, he had his picture taken, and he hoped to mail one home. He commented that “you will probably agree that whatever else, I’m not exactly anemic.” Comstock was also looking for news about where his brother. He joked that while he had been in the hospital, he was in good shape.  “When you are in the hospital you get A BATH,” Comstock laughed.  Soon, he would be near Mt. Vesuvius, although it was frigid there. Buildings were damp and most had no heat. He told his parents that “You would not believe the way these people live. They are a thousand years behind the times. We found a great many people living in caves in Sicily. However, I guess a good cave is as good as most of their houses.” Toward the end of January, he still had not received any Christmas packages.

      Captain John C. Baxter from Breckenridge also shared similar feelings about what he saw in North Africa. At Djelfa, 200 miles south of Algiers, the oddities of the new cultures that he encountered amused him. An Arab in full sheik dress ran toward him while Baxter was trekking through some dunes. Baxter and friends discovered what a curiosity he was to the twenty-five year old North African. Cigarettes were excellent trading items while he encountered different tribes. Camel caravans moved along the roads that Baxter traveled. However, many Arabs disliked having their pictures taken. Women were especially reluctant to speak to Americans and avoided them.  Commenting about what he witnessed, Baxter wrote that “Civilization in this area, I would say, has not advanced any during the last 1000 years and the methods used were as primitive as those mentioned in the Bible.”

     Seaman Duane Sartor of Alma wrote that he had been a part of the force that took the Marshall Islands. He was very close and saw the heaving bombings. “The islands are low and covered with palm trees. We saw pictures of them after the bombardment, and they were covered with bomb pits.” At that point of the war, he stated that the operation was the largest in Naval history. Sartor lamented that he would be glad to get back home and again attend church regularly. He had not been in church since he was in Alma. Sartor missed church services that were held on his ship for Christmas because he had to do fire watch.

Men and Women in the Service

     Pictures and news articles reminded Gratiot County of the many young men and women who served the county. Austin E. Brenneman was at a Naval air station at Pensacola, Florida and he had just completed flight training in the Marine Corps Reserve. Brenneman would yearn to fight for the United States during the war, but he would not see as much action as he wanted. Brenneman would be among the first men to die for Gratiot County during the Korean War. Corporal Carl E. Bard of Emerson Township was recovering from wounds suffered in Italy when a German airplane strafed his position.  A bomb missed him by twenty feet, covering  Bard in nearly three feet of dirt and rocks. The news reached Gratiot County that this had happened on December 11, 1943 – exactly one year after Bard joined the service. Sergeant Paul Hanning was home from Alaska on furlough, and he was visiting his family in Alma. After a year in Alaska, Hanning was on his way to California.

     The Hospodar Family who resided in North Shade Township was featured on WJR Radio in Detroit during the 4^th War Loan Drive. The Hospodars received a $50 war bond from the USDA War Board. They had six sons and one daughter, and four of the boys were in the service. The youngest of the four just returned from North Africa where he guarded German Prisoners of War. The Hospodars continued to operate their 420-acre farm even though they were without help from several of their sons.

     Swift & Company of Alma reported that it was honored to say that 27 of its men were workers and now served to defend the United States.  Among some of these names of employees who served the country included Corporal Earl Oberst of Breckenridge, Corporal Marvin Fenner of Alma, and Private Bernard Marrin of Alma. Fenner would die in a bombing attack over Germany. Marrin had joined the 82^nd Airborne, and he would be captured and became a prisoner of war in Germany. Another news item reported that Wayne Garrett of Breckenridge was in the Navy and he had received a Purple Heart for battle wounds incurred while fighting against both the Germans and the Japanese.

     Women from Gratiot County also served and were in the news. Mrs. Roberta Joslen, from Pompeii, served as a WAC since entering the service in May 1943. She was driving jeeps for the Army. Her husband, Gerald, was serving somewhere in New Guinea. Miss Hazel Dill, from Breckenridge, was now a Captain and served with the nurses’ corps overseas. Dill had graduated from nurses training school from the Ford Hospital in Detroit. A V-Mail from Private Melvin Thursh of Ithaca announced that he had married Joan Hanley, who was from Australia. Their wedding reception featured both American and Australian flags. Thrush was serving in the Army “down under.”

Those Who Paid the Ultimate Price

      More names and stories reached Gratiot County of those men who died defending the nation.  Seaman Gaylord Hanley,  a former St. Louis boy who was not yet eighteen years old, died on January 26 from injuries suffered from a fall while on duty. He had been on duty aboard the SS Hutchins. Staff Sergeant Carlton Madar, formerly of Alma, drowned off Guadalcanal. Madar had lived with and was raised by his grandparents in Ithaca before joining the Army. Madar had quickly become a Staff Sergeant.   More information trickled in about the death of Donald Curtis of Alma. He died in late November during a bombing mission over Germany.

     The list of Gratiot men who became prisoners of war also slowly continued to grow. Staff Sergeant J. Alfred Grosskopf, formerly of Alma, was captured after his B-17 went down during a raid over Emden, Germany. The family received a telegram that read, “Report just received that your son, Staff Sgt. James A. Grosskopf is a prisoner of war of the German government. Letter of information from Provost Marshal General follows.”

And Unless We Forget….

       Ira Wood and Clark Howland received national attention for their turkey farms that they operated in Newark Township…St. Louis High School had a meeting on “Post War Trends and Control for Agriculture”…The St. Louis Park Hotel showed motion pictures from the United States Navy to a group of 100 persons for a Ladies Night Party. The scenes taken at Pearl Harbor were especially moving….The IRS was coming to Breckenridge and was at the Farmers State Bank if anyone needed help…Swift & Company needed 50 women at once to help with egg candling and egg breaking – no experience was necessary…North Star Chapter No. 108 of the Blue Star Mothers had an all-day meeting at the home of Mabel Ecklebarger…another Blue Stars Chapter met in St. Louis… the Ithaca Blue Star Mothers continued to push for a countywide public memorial for all of Gratiot County’s men and women who were serving in the war. This same group asked people to bring pictures of every member of the armed forces to Beebe Furniture Store in Ithaca for display while the Blue Stars started to raise money for this project…

     February 29 was the last day that automobile license plates could be used from 1943. It was also the last day to pay dog taxes without a penalty. After this, the cost would be an additional $2 per dog…It was thought that upward of 20 people would appear February 16 to become naturalized citizens at the Gratiot County  Clerk’s Office. In the end, 18 of them did – each with their witnesses. Among the new citizens were: Anna Chapko, Middleton; Joseph Sourek and Frank Hanus of Ashley; Kate Hospodar of Perrinton…the American Legion in Alma offered to help veterans with their mustering out pay, as long as they had an honorable discharge since December 6, 1941…Boy Scout Troop No. 109 had a nice display in the window of the Community Hardware in St.Louis. The William Fields Post sponsored them…In St. Louis, City Manager Frank Housel reminded the St. Louis City Council that “Eastern War Time” would soon be resuming. Housel hoped that more communities would also move to adhere to it…the Gratiot County Herald joined in with the call for the creation of a county airport…and a March of Dimes card party at St. Louis High School on one Wednesday night raised over $150 for infantile paralysis…

And that was Gratiot County at war during February 1944.

Copyright 2019 James M Goodspeed

Above: Maps like this one kept Gratiot County readers informed about the geography of the war; paper drives called for people to donate for the war effort; Clara Wolford, from St. Louis, served as a WAC; Lt. Donald Curtis of Alma was KIA on a bombing mission over Germany. Images from January 1944 issues of the St. Louis Leader, Alma Record and Gratiot County Herald.

       It had been 25 months since Pearl Harbor. Gratiot County had already been at war – twice the amount of time that it had been at war in  World War I. This time the demands, commitment and support for this war proved to be much higher. There seemed to be no questions about loyalty. Almost everywhere in Gratiot County, people found a way to be involved in the war effort.

       The enemy in this world war seemed to be much more easily defined. The Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. Hitler, Hirohito, Tojo, Mussolini – all were the faces of the enemy. However, this time, unlike 1917-1918, far more Gratiot County men would die before this war ended.

        Many citizens did not ask what they could do to help Gratiot County in January 1944. They just asked how much. It was a different time.

       By January 1944 the war seemed to be taking a turn in favor of the Allies and Gratiot County would start hearing the word “invasion.” The war fronts were moving. One of the places that people read about in January 1944 was a place called Italy.

       If you had lived in Gratiot County in January 1944 you would have read about, heard about, or talked about:

Bonds, Rationing and Drives

        Gratiot County heard the call to support the war effort by buying bonds in the Fourth War Loan Drive. Between January 18 and February 15, the nation planned to raise $14 billion for the war. Gratiot County’s quota was $1,173,000.    In St. Louis, a kickoff breakfast took place at the Park Hotel, and Chairman John D. Kelley led the meeting where block leaders and workers heard about the goal of raising $67,000. Every township in the county had a goal, and every home could expect a visitor at their home asking for contributions. Under a column entitled, “YOUR RESPONSIBILITY,”  The St. Louis Leader told readers that “Government bonds are the safest investment in the world. If they were to lose their value, there would be nothing left of value in this country…What are you going to do …while more than 1,500 Gratiot fighting men are risking their lives?” By the end of the first week, the drive raised $118,000. Ithaca Township purchased $14,512.50 worth of bonds or about 41 percent of its goal.

       There were other ways to show support for the war. The Lansing State Board of Health planned on being in Alma in February with its mobile unit to collect blood from 360 residents. Those who wanted to donate only had to contact Dr. C.E. Burt of Ithaca, who chaired the blood plasma committee of the Red Cross. The Ithaca Boy Scouts collected over 8,000 pounds of scrap paper consisting of brown paper bags, cartons, newspapers, and items from wastebaskets. Even radio tubes were wanted. By the time they finished their drive, the troop had collected a total of nearly five tons worth of items.  Ithaca read in the newspaper that “This is not a one-week or one-month campaign, but the saving of wastepaper must continue for the duration.” Another notice encouraged people to help with paper drives because one hundred pounds of waste paper made 50 .75 millimeter shell containers.

        The Office of Price Administration (OPA) gave out 482 War Service Certificates to people in the Saginaw region who donated 100 or more hours to the War Price and Rationing Boards. Many of these recipients were from Gratiot County.  These volunteers often served after their workday ended by answering phones, filing cards, and helping to issue gas ration cards. The OPA did announce that ration stamps could be used in advance for meat. One provision under this announcement meant that farmers could sell half hogs or quarters of beef if buyers planned on freezing or canning the meat. Still, a person needed brown or red stamps to obtain meat.

        Other people in Gratiot County also heard about the President’s Ball to be held in Alma on January 28. This event coincided with President Roosevelt’s birthday. The ball, as well as March of Dimes parties in various parts of the county, raised money to buy wheelchairs, braces, shoes and other articles for residents who had contracted infantile paralysis. Alma’s Booster Club Hall, St. Louis High School’s gymnasium and the St. Louis Masonic Hall were a few of the places to host these parties.

The Red Cross

       During the war, the Gratiot County Red Cross proved to be very active. The Red Cross chapter in Ashley commemorated its first anniversary on January 7 by publishing a report of its work. In the past year, a total of 96 workers had contributed 3468 hours, had made approximately 50,000 dressings, including pads and sponges. The chapter operated Wednesday and Thursday afternoons and evenings and was chaired by Mrs. F.E. Robbennolt.  Ralph Tweedie kept and maintained fires in the building throughout 1943 for these meetings.

      A countywide call for more Red Cross workers came from Mrs. Charles Bloss, who served as the County Production Chairman of Sewing and Knitting. A notice in the Gratiot County Herald read, “There is a need for Red Cross sewing and knitting to be done. Now that the holidays are over, can we not get this work ready for our men in service at an early date?”

      An essential function of the Gratiot County Red Cross involved supporting families whose men became Prisoners of War. Private Bruce Mead of Riverdale was captured and sent to Stalag 2-B in Germany. Mead had been a captive for over a year, and a letter he wrote in late August 1943 appeared in the newspapers. Mead said that he continued to serve as a medic in the camp, had just received some reading material, and he had met many other POWS from various countries.  In the letter, he asked for toiletries, candy, things to read and peanuts “if it isn’t too much trouble.”

The Draft – Off to War

       Selective Service announced that it would provide at least a three-week notice to men for induction to the military. It also hoped to drastically curb the issue of occupational deferments for 18 to 21-year-old men, making another 115,000 non-fathers available to the nation. The over 400,000 farm workers in that age group remained unaffected, as well as those who came under industrial deferments. However, occupational deferments would no longer be granted to men under the age of 22. In February, all men listed as 2C and 3C draft registrants would be under review. This group consisted of men classified as necessary for agriculture. C.P. Milham, Gratiot County Agricultural Agent, oversaw the issue of these classifications. The USDA War Board then would make recommendations to the Gratiot County draft board whether each essential registrant was to remain on the farm.

       From Gratiot County, 15 men entered the service by January 20. The group made up of seven in the Army, four in the Navy, and four in the Marines. The Marines consisted of Bohus Chovanec (St.Louis), Dwayne Ancel (Wheeler), Wallace Humphrey (Elwell), and Gerald Knapp (Alma).

      In other news, 33 high school boys from across the county, age 17 or older,  took the Army Air Corps aviation cadet mental examination at Alma High School. A total of 29 passed the test and could go to Detroit for preliminary physical tests in February. If they passed the tests there, the boys would go to Kellogg Field in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Men and Women in the Service

      The newspapers regularly published the names of men and women who left the county to serve in the various arms of the military. Tom Nurnberger, Jr., sent a cable to his parents in St. Louis about his promotion to the rank of major. Nurnberger entered the army three years earlier and served in England with 5^th Corps of Engineers, Headquarters Division.  Hugh Rodenbo from St. Louis, who was driving a truck for the army in England,  also wrote to his parents that he had married Phyllis Franks, who was a Corporal in the English Army.  Other county men like Seaman Myron Humphrey and Private Elmer Lint, both from Alma, ran into each other at the Stage Door Canteen in New York City.  Humphrey wrote that he met movie star Wendy Barrie there. The USO offered the men tickets for a good meal at a café. The two also saw Tommy Dorsey play the Paramount Theater. The former pastor of the Alma Presbyterian Church, Albert J. Anthony, re-entered the service and reported for duty in September 1942. Anthony, a   World War I veteran, served as a chaplain at Camp Fanning in Tyler, Texas.

        Then there was news of men who were in combat. Corporal Jarold C. Brown of Ithaca served as a paratrooper in the New Guinea campaign and had recently seen action in the Markham Valley. Lieutenant Royal Klein, also of Ithaca, maintained his gun position aboard a B-17 even after being severely wounded by 20 mm shells from a German Focke-Wulf during a raid over the Ruhr Valley in Germany. The B-17,  heavily hit with flak, limped back home with several injured crewmen. The plane was met and escorted by two British Spitfires back to England.

      WAC Corporal Clara A. Wolford,  St. Louis High School Class of 1938, served as a telephone operator at a switchboard handling war calls somewhere in England. Wolford entered the service at Daytona Beach, Florida on her twenty-second birthday in 1943. Marjorie Street, Phm 2/c, sent a letter home to her mother in Ithaca with grave news. Street wrote from a Charleston, South Carolina hospital that she was there with second-degree burns on her legs as a resulting from an accident when scalding liquid had accidentally spilled on her. She said that her status was improving, and she expected to recover. Mary Finette Marzolf, a WAVE from Ithaca, had been commissioned as an Ensign upon completion from officers training at the Naval Reserve Midshipman’s School at Northampton, Massachusetts. Marzolf was a former teacher before entering the service.

       Here in Gratiot County, Seaman First Class Jon Slavik was home on leave after seeing action in the Mediterranean Theater. On one landing operation, his ship was torpedoed and Slavik was knocked unconscious by shrapnel.  He managed to reawaken long enough to evacuate and spent an hour in the water before he was picked up. Slavik spent almost three months in tent hospitals in North Africa, as well as being hospitalized in St. Albans in Long Island, New York. For this, Slavik received the Purple Heart. He was one of three sons from an Ashley family, all who were in the war. Seaman First Class Joseph F. Divish of Perrinton also came home after seeing two years of fighting in Africa and Sicily. Divish had been at the Casablanca invasion, and his ship did patrol duty off of Gela, Licata and Palermo, Italy. He enlisted in the Navy two days before the attack upon Pearl Harbor.

 

Making the Ultimate Sacrifice

      The saddest news from the war dealt with those Gratiot County families who heard that they had lost someone in the war. This news frequently came weeks after their deaths, primarily as a result of the length of time it took to get communications home from the front. Sergeant Paul Gay of  St. Louis was killed in action over Germany on November 26, 1943. Gay had been aboard a B-17 over Germany. The family received notice that their son was missing in action on December 8, but it was over a month before confirmation of his death. Sergeant Gay’s last letters home, written in late November, made it back before Christmas. Gay entered the service in May 1942, and he was almost 30 years old.

      Lieutenant Donald Curtis had been missing since November 29, 1944, over Germany. An Alma High School graduate, he worked at the Gibson Hardware Store.  Many in Alma had hoped that he was still alive and the news of his death shook the community. Curtis had trained as a bombardier aboard a B-17 and entered the service on June 19, 1942, went overseas in May 1943 and was based in England.

      People in Wheeler received tragic news in mid-January that Private Don Hartenberg, a Breckenridge High School graduate, had been killed while serving in the Fifth Army in Italy.  Hartenberg, age 22, died December 8, 1944 – which was the first anniversary of his entry into the service. Before his service, Hartenberg worked for the Stork Oil Service.

And Let Us Not Forget That:

      Blue Star Mothers Chapter No. 1 of North Star met at the township hall. It planned a chili dinner to raise money. The chapter was grateful for the comic books that students from North Star District No.1 school donated for soldiers to read at the Fort Custer hospital…The Ideal Theatre in Ithaca featured Betty Grable in “Coney Island”…”With the Colors” was a regular front page feature with the Gratiot County Herald. It highlighted where young men and women were stationed and how readers could send cards and letters. Frequently stories dealt with families with more than one son who was at war. During this month,  Ithaca’s Jack and Dale Ecklebarger appeared in the feature…Farmers were told to ask for their ACP pay for plowing under clover, harvesting hayseed or signing their farm plan for 1944. They all had to sign a document SB-702 to get their money…The Gratiot County AAA announced that milk subsidy payments would be paid for those who qualified for October, November, December 1943. In Middleton, payments would be available at Maynard Dodge’s store…and, a new liquor law requirement in Gratiot County meant that purchasers and consumers of liquor between the ages of 21-25 had to carry a liquor purchase license. The license had to shown upon demand, and only the county clerk issued them.

     These events, people, places and things all made up Gratiot’s finest hour in January 1944.

Copyright 2019 James M Goodspeed