Eastern Illinois University
The Keep
1944
With the Colors: Jasper County IL Servicemen
Overseas, 1941-1945
12-15-1944
With the Colors 12-15-1944
Newton Illinois Public Library
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Recommended Citation
Newton Illinois Public Library, "With the Colors 12-15-1944" (1944). 1944. 75.
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A t an A dvanced Ita lia n A irbase.—A num ber of Illinois men, including Staff S erg ean ts P aul B. S tan ley of New ton and Lloyd A. Howe of Oblong’ are am ong th e personnel of th e 350th F ig h te r group, which has ju s t been cited for o u tstanding p erfo rm an ce of d u ty in action ag a in st th e enem y in th e M editerranean T h ea tre of O per ations.
The aw ard of the stre a m e r of a D is tinguished unit w as m ade by M ajor G eneral John K. Cannon. In com pany w ith Group Com m ander, L ie u ten a n t Colonel A riel W. N eilsen of B erkeley, C alifornia, and in the presence of the officers and men of th e group d raw n up in parad e form ation, G eneral C an non advanced to th e g ro u p ’s color gu ard and affixed th e D istinguished u n it stre a m e r to th e g ro u p ’s re g i m ental colors.
The group, which w as form ed in G reat B rita in in 1942, has been over seas for tw o years, and h a s ta k e n p a r t in every m a jo r cam paign in th e M editerranean T h ea tre.
* The citation, rea d a t th e cerem ony by C aptain W a lte r M aciey of F ra c k - ville, P ennsylvania, read in p a r t as follows: “In co n trib u tin g to th e su c cess of the operation stran g le, a vital phase of the Allied effo rt w hich r e sulted in the lib eratio n of Rome, the 350th F ig h te r group perform ed above and beyond the call of d u ty in re n d e r ing unique and heroic services. Of th e ir own volition and in addition to th e ir designated duties, personnel w ithin th e group successfully in te r dicted supply ro u tes a t such stra te g ic points as T arquinia, G resseto, L eg horn and P isa, w hile continuously m ain tain in g th e ir re g u la rly assigned reconnaissance p a tro ls and sea searches covering Corsica, Sardinia, Tunisia, Ita ly and th e T y rre n ian and L igurian seas.
“The o u tstan d in g leadership, tir e less devotion to d u ty and ex tra o rd in a ry heroism displayed by th e officers and men of th e 350th F ig h te r group during com bat o p erations on A pril 6, 1944 have se t th is group above and a p a r t fro m o th e r u n its involved in com parable effo rt durin g th e sam e ■ period and have reflected g r e a t c re d it upon them selves and th e m ilita ry service of th e U nited S ta te s .”
* * ♦ * * *
N avy Seabees, w o rking w ith N aval A ir S ta tio n m echanics a t a m id-P a- cific base, helped solve a technical problem th a t th re a te n e d to ground th e huge M ars, w orld’s la rg e st flying
boat. I - * - A ■ It- ^ TU ^ ^ r n o t e a t a c £ 1 I t 3 ( ( ] < 1 w a
The M ars had arriv ed a t th e base ' w ith a dead m otor and m o to r rep la ce m en t w as found necessary. The m a jo r problem w as th e size of th e flying boat. I t w as too h eavy to ru n up on land and w a te r c u rre n ts and wind m ade the m aneuver too dangerous to nose it close to a pier.
Two Seabee chief p e tty officers and a detail of th ree handled th e problem by bringing the M ars as n e a r the ram p as possible, th en h oisting t h e ! dead m otor w ith a crane by sw inging th e boom out across the broad wing.
Jesse J. Langw ill, chief m a ch in i s t ’s m ate, 524 S outh S a n ta F e av e nue, Chanute, K ansas, and G eorge W. H enderson, chief c a rp e n te r’s m ate, 3fe W aln u t stree t, N ew ton, Illinois, w ere in charge of the project. The o th e r th ree Seabees w ere: Jew ell T. Me-Cinty, boatsw ain ’s m ate, second class, 217 South C en tral avenue, Okm ulgee, O klahom a, Quincy A. McComas, cox swain, 1511 Hillside drive, Reno, N e vada, and R obert C. H aynes, m achin is t’s m ate, th ird class, 7791 R o rre r avenue, D etroit, M ichigan.
M cGinty had to low er a f ifty foot Jooom a t a fla t tw e n ty degree angle, ^clearing the top of th e w ing by only If our inches. Sandbags w ere then jgplaced on the end of the w ing to
I
counterbalance w hen w eight of m otor w as lifted from the nacelle. the The operation w as successful, th e new m otor installed and the re p a ir crew had a te s t hop fo r th e ir trouble.Mrs. Sadie W illiam s of Rose Hill has received w ord from her son, C or poral Glen W illiam s, who is w ith Gen e r a l John S. Wood and his m en on the
fig h tin g line in Germ any. These m en I are all under th e com m and of Gen- le r a l John S. P a tto n . •
These men w ere under intensive m ilita ry tra in in g in Pine Camp, New York, before being sen t overseas. A f te r landing in F ran ce th ey m ade lig h t ning advances across th a t cou n try under G eneral Wood, assisted by G en eral H olm es E. D ag er and Colonel B ruce C. C lark. They repelled some of th e se v erest G erm an a tta c k s and forces in th e crossings of the Somme, Loire, Yvonne, Seine, M arne,
Mer-I
uce, Moselle and Meuse rivers. division w as called by th e G erm ans, The th e A m e ric a i^ l^o u rth A rm ored E litedivision (som e G erm ans called th e m ru th le ss) and th e m en w ere re fe rre d to as superm en.
G eneral W ood is a v ery b rav e and d arin g general. He w as born in A r kansas, J a n u a r y 11, 1888, b u t n o w ; resides a t M arbrdth, P ennsylvania. !
* * * * * *
The P re ss is in re c eip t of a C hrist- j m as greetin g , se n t V -m ail fro m Chief j Yeom an T hom as S. M arshall, w ho is overseas a t a N av a l base. I t shows th e S ta r of Bethlehem , th e sea, sev- i . era l palm s and some C h ristm as pack- ; ages, w ith th is m essage: “H ere am id | : the d esert sand and lonely p a lm s ,; 4 across g r e a t seas and m ig h ty lands, ; L our C h ristm as com es.”
* * * * * *
W ord h as been received from S er g e a n t D. O. C hapm an th a t he has landed safely som ew here in Italy . He has been a cook a t all tim es since en te rin g th e service, w hich will be two y ea rs in F eb ru ary . He cooked m eals on the b o at going over.
He is a son of Mr. and Mrs. R alph C hapm an of N ew ton vicinity.
* * * * * *
Seam en Second Class E d w ard R ay F o ltz of N ew ton and F ra n c is Bailey of W illow Hill vicinity have been tra n s fe rre d to the N aval P re -F lig h t school a t th e U n iv ersity of N o rth C arolina, C hapel Hill, N o rth C arolina, for fu rth e r train in g . They have been a t Memphis, Tennessee, for th e p a s t m onth, a t the N aval A ir S tation.
* * * * * *
Mrs. Ja so n S m ith of n e a r H u n t C ity h as received a p ac k ag e fro m h er son, P riv a te F ir s t Class Clyde Sm ith, who is in B ougainville. The p ack ag e contained ope snow w hite all wool b lan k et and tw o cream colored wool b lankets. P re su m ab ly th e b la n k ets are a p ro d u ct of A u stralia.
S eam an F irs t Class Russell D. M c Coy h as sen t his p are n ts, Mr. and Mrs. E v e ra tt McCoy of n e a r H u n t City, tw o pieces of Ja p an e se P h ilip pine m oney. One w as a one peso and th e o th e r a fifty centavo note. B oth b ear th e w ords “The Ja p an e se G overnm ent.”
# • V f
Mrs. A rth u r W oods and d a u g h te r B renda have re tu rn e d hom e fro m Centreville, M ississippi, a l te r spend ing the p a s t tw o m onths w ith P riv a te A rth u r Woods, who is sta tio n e d w ith the 144th In fa n tr y Service com pany a t Cam p Van Dorn, n ea r Centreville.
S eam an Second Class E a rl Michl, son of Mr. and Mrs. P au l Michl of Newton, w rites th a t he is being tra n sfe rre d from th e G re at L akes N aval T rain in g S tatio n to the N aval A m phibious T ra in in g S tatio n a t L ittle Creek, V irginia, n e a r N orfolk.
* * * * * *
Technical S erg ea n t C arl E. C hap m an h as retu rn ed to F o rt Bliss, Texas, a fte r spending a tw elve day furlough w ith his w ife and son, and p o th e r relativ es a t Willow Hill. He is f sta tio n e d w ith th e A n tia irc ra ft Com- »f m and a t F o rt Bliss.
m * * * * *
Mr. and Mrs. A lva M. A llen have r received a le tte r from th e ir son, C arl j i C. Allen, s ta tin g he is well and get- i tin g along o. k. H e has been prom ot- 3 ed to chief radio technician. He w as
in the Philippine invasion. ^ ; * * * * * *
a Melvin C hapm an of N ew ton has e I been prom oted to chief yeom an. He e l ______ ___________________ _______
l is on an a irc ra ft c a rrie r in th e A t- 1 lantic. He was on th e U. S. S. Lex
ington, when it was sunk during the I b a ttle of the Coral sea in May, 1942.
* * » * « *
r S e rg ea n t W illiam R. Andrews of Indianapolis is in a hospital in Eng- ’ land recovering from wounds received I ■ N ovem ber 6 in Luxem burg. He is a - grahd-son of C harles Holm, form erly 5 of n ea r W heeler.
» * * * * * *
L ie u ten a n t F re d B. Alcorn of New-■ ton, who h as been w ith an Army I P o stal u n it a t Cam p Lee, Virginia, , has been se n t overseas w ith a postal , u n it to the E u ro p ean T h eatre of Op
erations.
* * * * * *
K enneth Jones, m ach in ist’s m ate i th ird class, sends C hristm as greet- : ings from H aw aii. He is a N aval C onstruction b a tta lio n and h as been » in the South P acific a y ear w ith the i Seabees.
Jam es Lobm ier and H a rry M a g in n ! are hom e on leave from the Navy, v isiting th e ir p are n ts, Mr. and Mrs. ■ John W. L obm ier of n e a r N ew ton and ’ Mr. and Mrs. Jerom e M aginn of Boos . vicinity.
* * * * * *
George Bevis, who has been receiv ing his N aval p re-flig h t train in g a t th e U niv ersity of Iowa, Iow a City, is . spending C h ristm as w ith his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Roy L. Bevis of New ton.
S eam an F irs t C lass Leroy D. Shan- er, son of Mrs. Golda S em psrott of W illow Hill, w rite s home th a t he p a r ticip ated in the invasion of the P h il ippines.
C orporal P au l A dkins has been giv- j en a discharge from the A rm y a n d ! has retu rn ed to be home w ith his wife and baby.
Bill B unton, who is in the Navy, is v isiting his p are n ts, Mr. and Mrs. Ben j B unton of n ea r Newton.
