Courier Tribune List Nemaha Serial Numbers for the Draft 24 Oct 1940
List Nemaha Serial Numbers for the Draft
Over 1600 names are in the County Roll
A Master List Will Be Chosen in Washington, D.C. Tuesday to Determine Order in Which Local Numbers Will Be Called
The Courier-Tribune prints today a list of names and numbers important to almost every home in Nemaha county. It is the list of men between ages of 21 and 36 who enrolled on Wednesday, October 16th, for possible service to their country, and with each man’s name, the county serial number which has been drawn for him by the local draft board. The arrangement is by number rather than by names because numbers will be the important thing next Tuesday, October 29th, when a master list is to be drawn at Washington, D.C. to determine the order in which local numbers will be called. President Roosevelt will draw the first number.
The local drawing and listing was completed Tuesday except perhaps for a few straggling cards. The board officially posted the list yesterday and sent a copy to state headquarters. The Sabetha Herald and Courier-Tribune joined in setting the large amoung of type necessary and the list is printed in the two papers. TO avoid runing the type to still greater length, a key system is sued to abbreviate names of towns. Where two letters make the name of the town clear, only two are used. Seneca becomes Se; Sabetha Sa; Corning Co; Centralia Ce; Goff GO; Wetmore We; and Baileyville, Bern, Kelly, Havensville, Soldier, Pawnee, Axtell and other points are similarly abbreviated. Oneida and ONaga addresses required the use of Onei and Ona. The Nemaha County list follows:
continued from last Saturday
351 John Maxon Williams Ce 352 Harry Leroy Tryon Sa 353 Francie Leroy Flentie Ce 354 Alcide Albert Charbonneau Ce 355 Howard Emmett O’Conor Ce 356 Lloyd Herbert Flott Sa 357 Virgil William Hartter Be 358 Arthur Theodore Lindeen Se 359 Rolin Baldwin Barrett Ce 360 Frederick Merle Whaner Sa 361 Theodore William Brien Be 362 Edwin Adam Henninger Be 363 Raymond Gerald McKee Se 364 Leo Elnor Bucher Sa 365 Bernice W Bredemeier Se 366 Stephen Dennis Glynn Ax 367 John Fredrick Luginbill Se 368 Arthur Randolph Barrett We 369 James Godfrey Elder Ona 370 William Robert Geren Go 371 Lloyd Earl Jordan Go 372 Walter Earl Lear Be 373 Urbin Charles Holsapple Ce 374 Walter Roland Gabbert Be 375 Herman Nelse Edward Kral Ce 376 Sylvestr Wenzel Nordhus Se 377 Bernard Clement Holthaus Se 378 George Edward Baskett Sa 379 John Menold Sa 380 Carl Louis Hartman Se 381 Ralph Elvin Mayer Go 382 Ray Deaver Sa 383 Edward George Lierz 384 Theodore J Thompson Ce 385 Frank WIlliam Lichter Se 386 LeRoy Ernst Leuze Sa 387 Nicholas Leander Hulsing Ba 388 Francis Oscar Haffner Be 389 Charles Aloysious Nolte Se 390 Wayne Rexford Reinhart Ce 391 Laurence Louis Schmidt Se 392 Russel Eugene Firkins On 393 Maurice Latimer Wheeler Se 394 Phillip Henry Huerter Se 395 William L. Hermesch Go 396 Raymand Paul Fletchall Go 397 Edmund A. Wassenberg Se 398 Cyril Bernard Lackey Se 399 Joby Carl Haynes Sa 400 Lloyd Ronald Allison Se
A Master List Will Be Chosen in Washington, D.C. Tuesday to Determine Order in Which Local Numbers Will Be Called
The Courier-Tribune prints today a list of names and numbers important to almost every home in Nemaha county. It is the list of men between ages of 21 and 36 who enrolled on Wednesday, October 16th, for possible service to their country, and with each man’s name, the county serial number which has been drawn for him by the local draft board. The arrangement is by number rather than by names because numbers will be the important thing next Tuesday, October 29th, when a master list is to be drawn at Washington, D.C. to determine the order in which local numbers will be called. President Roosevelt will draw the first number.
The local drawing and listing was completed Tuesday except perhaps for a few straggling cards. The board officially posted the list yesterday and sent a copy to state headquarters. The Sabetha Herald and Courier-Tribune joined in setting the large amoung of type necessary and the list is printed in the two papers. TO avoid running the type to still greater length, a key system is sued to abbreviate names of towns. Where two letters make the name of the town clear, only two are used. Seneca becomes Se; Sabetha Sa; Corning Co; Centralia Ce; Goff GO; Wetmore We; and Baileyville, Bern, Kelly, Havensville, Soldier, Pawnee, Axtell and other points are similarly abbreviated. Oneida and ONaga addresses required the use of Onei and Ona. The Nemaha County list follows:
101 George Randell, Jr On 102 Earl Walter Parli Sa 103 Edward Ralph Flaherty Ha 104 Raymond Eldrid Noland Ce 105 Harvey Elmer Hittle Sa 106 William Jennings Knapp Se 107 Melvin Lester Deaver Sa 108 Lloyd W. Frederickson Co 109 Albert Francis Olberding Se 110 Alfred H. Stallbaumer Se 111 Albert John Ronnebaum Se 112 Aloysius August Steinlage Co 113 Reuben Jacob Bauman Be 114 Raymond Hudson Weaver We 115 Lawrence John Haug Ba 116 Alphonse Joseph Holthaus Se 117 Glenn Emmett Miller Ce 118 Lester Eugene Gutknecht Sa 119 William Herbert Dandliker Sa 120 Lawrence Joseph Schmidt Sa 121 Ferdinand Henry Niehues Go 122 Robert John Haug Ve 123 Joseph Andrew Baker Sa 124 Glenn Wilbur Labbe Ona 125 James Patric O’Toole Ax 126 Lee William Henry Sa 127 Charles Herbert Smith We 128 Emmett Thackeray Dodson Se 129 Henry August Runnebaum Go 130 Vincent August Buessing Ax 131 Raymond Lenord Sweet Co 132 Leon John Korber Be 133 Ross Edgar George We 134 Ralph Benjamin Ward Ce 135 Max Elvin Gutknecht Sa 136 Raymond A Ronnebaum Se 137 Albertle Thorne Miller Sa 138 Arthur R Hartter Sa 139 Thomas Morse Reed Ci 140 Lawrence Elvin Watkins So 141 Charles Edward Cummins On 142 Edward John Vogel Se 143 Edward Martin Boeding Se 144 Delbert Anthony Stowell Ve 145 Raymond Clarence Shaffer So 146 Moses Edelman Sa 147 Donald Charles Wood Sa 148 Anthony Aloyoius Deters Ba 149 Frank Gehard Tappehorn Ke 150 Mirl Herman Bontrager Sa
Courier Tribune List Nemaha Serial Numbers for the Draft 24 Oct 1940
List Nemaha Serial Numbers for the Draft
Over 1600 names are in the County Roll
A Master List Will Be Chosen in Washington, D.C. Tuesday to Determine Order in Which Local Numbers Will Be Called
The Courier-Tribune prints today a list of names and numbers important to almost every home in Nemaha county. It is the list of men between ages of 21 and 36 who enrolled on Wednesday, October 16th, for possible service to their country, and with each man’s name, the county serial number which has been drawn for him by the local draft board.
The arrangement is by number rather than by names because numbers will be the important thing next Tuesday, October 29th, when a master list is to be drawn at Washington, D.C. to determine the order in which local numbers will be called. President Roosevelt will draw the first number.
…
The local drawing and listing was completed Tuesday except perhaps for a few straggling cards. The board officially posted the list yesterday and sent a copy to state headquarters. The Sabetha Herald and Courier-Tribune joined in setting the large amoung of type necessary and the list is printed in the two papers. TO avoid runing the type to still greater length, a key system is sued to abbreviate names of towns. Where two letters make the name of the town clear, only two are used. Seneca becomes Se; Sabetha Sa; Corning Co; Centralia Ce; Goff GO; Wetmore We; and Baileyville, Bern, Kelly, Havensville, Soldier, Pawnee, Axtell and other points are similarly abbreviated. Oneida and ONaga addresses required the use of Onei and Ona. The Nemaha County list follows:
51 Virgil Clive Followell Se 52 Ormand LeRoy Comer Sa 53 Otis Kenneth Kooser Sa 54 Russell Winfried Perry Go 55 William James H. Gilbert Sa 56 Forrest Edward Kessler We 57 Archie LeRoy Swogger Be 58 Harry Alvin Strahm Be 59 Amzi Gordon Mosteller Be 60 John Samuel Eby Ce 61 William Homer Avers Go 62 Paul John Altenhofen Se 63 Dallas Wayne Wade We 64 Clayton George Whistler We 65 William James Hopper Ce 66 Marvin Dwight Johnson We 67 Louis LeRoy Dannevik Ce 68 Anthony Philip Ketter Go 69 William Francis Proctor On 70 Fredolin Bernard Niehus Go 71 Eugene Frederick Brown Sa 72 Carl Wendell Evans Sa 73 Melvin Edward Thieman Pa-N 74 Ben Paul Kreutzman Ba 75 Lee Richard Cashman Ce 76 Carl Bernard Holthaus Se 77 Francis John Block Se 78 Floyd Iven Baumgartner On 79 William Kenneth Rucker We 80 Clarence Pratt Wohlford Ce 81 Maurice Earl Hoskins Ce 82 George Arthur Sausser Se 83 Wilbur Louis Roeder Ba 84 Aloysius Henry Dalinghaus Ba 85 Francis Petr Stallbaumer Ke 86 LeRoy Hunzeker Be 87 Paul Earl Noble Ce 88 Raymond Henry Wessel Ce 89 Aloysius John Broxterman Ba 90 Kenneth Joseph Dick Ba 91 Frederick Thomas Bauer Ona 92 Hugh Harold Mize We 93 Lawrence Henry Heiman Ba 94 Norbert Earl Hoffman Ce 95 Floyd Melvin Moore Sa 96 Ignatius F. Rottinghaus Ba 97 Leonard Sylvester Becker Ona 98 Orville Kenneth Burget Go 99 Gale William King Sa 100 Wilbur Gale Baskett Sa
A Master List Will Be Chosen in Washington, D.C. Tuesday to Determine Order in Which Local Numbers Will Be Called
The Courier-Tribune prints today a list of names and numbers important to almost every home in Nemaha county. It is the list of men between ages of 21 and 36 who enrolled on Wednesday, October 16th, for possible service to their country, and with each man’s name, the county serial number which has been drawn for him by the local draft board.
The arrangement is by number rather than by names because numbers will be the important thing next Tuesday, October 29th, when a master list is to be drawn at Washington, D.C. to determine the order in which local numbers will be called. President Roosevelt will draw the first number.
All over the country, local registration boards have shuffled the cards of their registrants, drawn cards from the pile, and given each a local serial number, just as has been done in Nemaha county. It is expected the highest number of cards handled by any one board is approximately 7,500, so that the highest serial number is near that figure.
Numbers reaching to the highest serial number and past will be prepared at Washington and placed in capsules through which they cannot be read. The president, who will start the drawing, will select a capsule from the same goldfish bowl that was used in the World War draft.
If the number first drawn is 999, it will mean that the 999’s in each registration area all over the United States will be the first men to be asked to report for classification. The number is used only as an example. In Nemaha County it is held by Raymond Henry Dague, Wetmore.
Registrants and their families will want to hold onto this issue of the paper. It will be easy, with the list at hand, to check with the master list as it is announced from Washington.
Draftees get the results of a double system of chance: The cards were shuffled for drawing of local numbers. The national drawing will determine the order in which the numbers will be called.
The local drawing and listing was completed Tuesday except perhaps for a few straggling cards. The board officially posted the list yesterday and sent a copy to state headquarters. The Sabetha Herald and Courier-Tribune joined in setting the large amount of type necessary and the list is printed in the two papers. TO avoid running the type to still greater length, a key system is sued to abbreviate names of towns. Where two letters make the name of the town clear, only two are used. Seneca becomes Se; Sabetha Sa; Corning Co; Centralia Ce; Goff GO; Wetmore We; and Baileyville, Bern, Kelly, Havensville, Soldier, Pawnee, Axtell and other points are similarly abbreviated. Oneida and Onaga addresses required the use of Onei and Ona. The Nemaha County list follows:
1 Harold Bishop Ham We 2 Vincent Eugene Haug Ve 3 Sylvester Joseph Kongs Go 4 Wayne Max McCall We 5 Raymond Leonard Mooney Ce 6 Cyril Francis Olberding Ba 7 Maurice Anthony Gudenkauf Co 8 John Kenneth Kenworthy Ax 9 George Darrel Hawley So 10 Ray Elden Creed Be 11 Paul Albertus Johnson Se 12 Lester Eugene Noble On 13 Virgil Henry R Sires Go 14 James Edward Wilcox Ba 15 William Eberhard Rempe Co 16 Willard Bertram Alcorn Ba 17 Home Leland Cox Go 18 Walter Franklin Bryan Ce 19 Paul Raymond Mathewson Se 20 Benton Frank Luse Se 21 Emet Francis Hightower Ce 22 LeRoy Glen Myers Sa 23 John Wendell Tyler Sa 24 Albert Henry Meyer Sa 25 Roy Meyer Be 26 Fridolin August Boeding Se 27 Robert John Mitchell Ax 28 Merrill Orlin Wood Sa 29 Garrett Francis Gulhan, Jr So 30 Wilfred B. Stallbaumer Go 31 Herman Jacob Engel We 32 Wilbern Frances Oenbring Ba 33 Henry Armond Bachand Ba 34 Wilfred Michael Eisenbarth Go 35 Cyril Henry Holthaus Ce 36 Benedict William Schmidt Ba 37 John Jordan Barrett On 38 Harvard Judson Goodrich Se 39 Lawrence Anthony Huerter Ke 40 Howard Clinton Kreitzer Sa 41 Bert Henry Keim Sa 42 Clemenns Carl Sudbeck Se 43 Bernard Charles Oconner Ce 44 Delmer Arnold Fletchall Co 45 Harry Gilmore Whittle, Jr Sa 46 Daniel Frances Mitchell Ax 47 Howard Ignatius Gallagher Se 48 Robert Vincent Vardy Se 49 Peter William Schmits Ce 50 Lawrence August Weyer Ce
Will Call to Training Draft Bill Passes Expect Registration of Those 21 to 36 on or Near October 14
The Congress of the United States has passed the draft bill, and it was expected the President’s signature, only thing necessary which remained to make it the law of the land, would be affixed this morning.
This is the first time in history that America has had a peace time draft. It is the result of the new, fast type of war, raging in Europe. The country must be prepared, cannot wait until it is threatened and then have time to train men.
The American system will call for the training of several hundred thousand men each year. They will be in service for one year and when they have completed training, will become a part of the trained reserve. Each six months or year new recruits will be called in for their year of military duty. The present bill extends for five years. By the end of that time, several million men will have had their year of military school.
Those who must register for possible call are those who have reached their 21st birthday on the specific registration day, and have not reached their 36th birthday.
It is expected that the registration day will be October 14 or near the date. The President will set the date.
The machinery set up for the registration will compare to that of an election. There will be registration boards for each precinct. The registration will be followed by selection of men by lot, then by classification, for which responsibility will fall onto local boards. It is expected one board will function for the county.
Class 1 will include those ready for immediate training. Class 2 will be those deferred from immediate service because their removal would cause real and definite damage to the national interest, or who hold some government job in which they cannot be replaced. Class 3 will include those with dependents. Class 4 is to include everyone else, such as aliens, those physically unfit, ministers and theological students and those in certain government positions deferred by law.
Daily newspapers are running series of articles on the draft. They are too long to cover fully in one story, but in brief, it appears that all who register will be given numbers. There will be a national drawing of numbers and acting on this, the local boards will then send questionnaires to men in their areas whose numbers are indicted. The classification above will then be made on the basis of these questionnaires, if this paper understands the plan correctly. In other words, rather than classifying all registrants at first, certain ones will be called by lot and then their eligibility determined.
There will be advisory boards to serve those registering and a system for appeal from classification.
There are some 16 1/2 million men in the United States who will register. It is expected that more than 10 million of this group will be deferred, initially at least, from call. The law will provide for calling of 900,000 men at any one given time. Allowing for the fact that many will be deferred, it is estimated that the chances of the unmarried, unskilled man for being called within the next year are about one out of six. Chances appear strong that he will be called sometime within the five years.
Courier Tribune (Seneca, KS) 16 Sep 1940, page 1
A search of Newspapers.com for draft in 1940 turns up quite a few articles about the national drawing. Below are clippings from some of those articles.
The Mercury (Pottstown, Pennsylvania) 22 Oct 1940, page 1
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) 30 Oct 1940, page 1
Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) 30 Oct 1940, page 4
And then there’s this interesting article about brewery workers being excused from the draft that I just happened to stumble upon while locating these other articles.
The Mercury (Pottstown, Pennsylvania) 22 October 1940, page 1
Country Not Unprepared If This Area is Representative
With th hubbub of war abroad and need for Uncle Sam to carry a good club, extremists have it that the United States now has practically no defense at all. But if this area is representative the country is not unprepared. There are perhaps more young men from this area serving their country’s flag today that at any other time of peace. When one begins to name over those of one’s acquaintance who are in the service or have had training and are in the reserve organization, it is found the list is surprising. Following are some of the men serving from this area. It is not a government list, merely those thought of by persons in this office, and other persons with whom reporters came in contact. No doubt there will be additions. Reuben Bieri and Harry Bieri, sons of Mr. and Mrs. Peta Bieri, Seneca, navy men, both first class petty officers. Reuben is at Lisbon, Portugal on the Dickerson, light cruiser expected to head soon for American waters; Harry is on the Hamman, new destroyer at San Diego. Leo Wichman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Clem Wichman, Seneca. Six years in federal service in the Hawaiian islands. He was at Baltimore, Maryland, two weeks ago, possibility he would be sent to South America. Leo does not discuss his work, leading to belief it is with the secret department of the service. Bennie Koelzer, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Koelzer, north of Seneca. In the navy, Washington state machinist and petty officer, completing four years service next October 20. Sons of Paul Luckeroth and Fred Hunninghake, Baileyville, recently joined the navy. Russell C. Buehler, son of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Buehler, Seneca. A lieutenant in the Reserve Officers Training Corps, commonly called the R.O.T.C., coast artillery, now in actie service at Miller’s field, Staten Island, New York. Dwight Rickman, Seneca, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Rickman, Seneca. Joining the marines at San Diego. Left here last week. Bernard Stein, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. F. Stein and Arthur Sisco, other Seneca young men, have taken steps preliminary to enlistment in the navy. Linus Karnowski, son of Mr.
page 2 and Mrs. Joe Karnowski, is with the 18th Coast Artillery, at Ft. Stevens, Oregon. David Mitchell, son of Mr. and Mrs. M. J. Mitchell. Joined the navy from Seneca a year or so ago when his parents lived here, his father an SCS foreman. Leroy Armstrong, son of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Armstrong, Seneca. Preparing to be a navy flier. Has had his first training at Fairfax airport, Kansas City. Soon to be called to the naval air base at Pensacola, Florida to report. Wilfred Fienhage, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Fienhage, Baileyville, army service, stationed at Ft. Leavenworth according to last information here. Wilbert Schmits, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ben Schmits, Seneca. First class private, U.S. Army, Ft. Lewis, Wash.; two years service. Cyril Kohake, son of Tony Kohake, Goff, three months in the navy. Cyril Fleming, son of Joe Fleming, Kelly is in the navy. Ralph V. Anderson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jake Anderson, Oneida. Naval communications reserve active service a the present time, recruiting. Harold Wiseman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Wiseman, Axtell, formerly of Centralia, is a navy youth who wrote home interestingly several months ago when he was in South American waters and viewed the Grai Spee, packet battleship scuttled by the Germans after a sharp encounter with English ships. Bern Joins the Navy Information was available on a number of Bern youths who have joined the service Bern has gone to the navy. The town claims Rueben and Harry Bieri, who formerly lived there, and these additional. Donald Croffot, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Croffoot. In the navy about four months, on the Hammann, same destroyer Harry Bieri is on. Alvin “Bud” Gugelman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Gugelman, Also joined four months, on the Hammann. George Brett, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Bern, on the USS Detroit at Honolulu. Paul Wittwer, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jake Wittwer, served a four year enlistment earlier, rejoined the nay recently on the west coast or in Pacific waters, with the fleet, location of which is now secret. Bob Baugh, son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Baugh. Three years service, submarine duty, was in San Diego two weeks ago. Dustin and James Simon, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Simon, who recently moved to Belleville. James has been in the navy approximately four years; Duane since last August. Both on same ship, name know known. Ready to go Ira Bieri, another son of Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Bieri; Galen Haffner, son of Mrs. Alice Haffner. Another Bern naval youth James [Bryant] Reserves Civilian Training Scattered in various places are men who are not in active duty but have had recent training and are members of the reserves. There comes to mind Major Geo Springer, Seneca, Vincent Rethman, Seneca, leaving for employment in the east, whose R.O.T.C. work has been coupled with additional summer encampments in the chemical branch of the service; Arlie Higgins, Florence school superintendent, former Seneca young man, a reserve lieutenant with R.O.T.C. service and training in command of CCC; Rex Molineux, Seneca, reserve lieutenant and CCC administration; Charles Pence, Seneca, reserve lieutenants; Marvin Funk, Dallas, advanced R.O.T.C. training. Civilian air training, sponsored by the government is adding to pilots with at least basic training who would be available in case of need. Lester Haug, Seneca, K.U. graduate, at Ft. Sheridan, near Chicago, has such training. Another Seneca connection is the Austin family, Mrs. Judd Austin Topeka, taking the CAA training. Women pilots may in time become instructors. As indicated at the beginning of this article, this is probably but a part of those in this newspaper’s area who are in service or reserve. It will not be surprising if correspondents add many names.
Courier Tribune (Seneca, KS) 1 July 1940, page 1 and 2
The list of those in the service was continued in the next issue.
Also Serve Their Country
Mentioned as serving Uncle Sam since the list was published in the last paper are Harlan Becker, son of the late Roy Becker, navy; Richard Heideman, son of Fred Heideman, navy; Moses Tate, son of Charles Tate, just joined the army. Paul Gerber, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Gerber, is in the navy at present on U.S.S. Enterprise, Airplane carrier stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He enlisted last October.
Courier Tribune (Seneca, Kansas) 4 July 1940, page 5
The Pilots Commit Suicide Fred Koelzer’s Letter Confident
It brings the Jap raid at Pearl Harbor even closer home to learn that a Senecan, Fred, Koelzer, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Koelzer, was an eye-witness to this momentous event that marked America’s entrance into the Second Word war. Fred say the Jap planes come over — saw the Japs bomb American ships – saw Jap planes reel and fall under the fire of American guns — saw or learned that downed Jap pilots committed suicide.
But let the letter be recounted in order. It was written on Monday, day after the raid. It arrived here Saturday, fine time, considering the conditions.
Fred is working near Pearl Harbor as an electrician.
From his letter:
It is the second day of the ‘big wind’ but all is very calm and quiet. It is dark all of the time except when the sun shines. Then we have electricity but not at night. It is a bit tough for refrigeration and the like. I am working from 6:00 to 6:00 and will be, seven days per week, for some time. Wasn’t hurt — just scared a bit.
I was on duty at the docks and had a close-up of it all. Saw one Jap plane go down in flames and another fall with one wing sawed off. Also saw the ships that were hit, just when they were hit. It made a person pretty — mad to know that our planes had been grounded on the first few shots. But believe me, the ground batteries and ships got into action. The Japs knew plenty well they were in a hot spot. I don’t know how many were shot down but they went back with quite a few less than the 200 they brought here.
Sunday night a very few came over but as the boys were ready they kept them so high they couldn’t do anything and we got two more. It’s quiet today except for reinforcements that are coming up from the states, and that’s no small number. We are safer out here than in town, as we are close to a water pumping station.
One Jap plane that was disabled landed near the soldiers. When they went to take it, the officer shot himself and in the other officer cut his belly wide open.
It’s no use to tell you not to worry, but we’re safe and our boys will have those yellow-bellies cared for in a short time.”
Co-operating with the administration’s request to withhold information about damage and casualties at Pearl Harbor and let the Japs guess, little can be printed about that. But no one who reads Fred’s letter will suffer a loss of morale.
Today is the day that was established to honor those who died while serving our country. Can you identify your ancestors or cousins whom we would honor today? Although I am aware of some of my cousins, I cannot readily name them.
However, my genealogy program is a database. Thus, I should be able to use the program and create a list. Unfortunately, searching for this type of information in a database requires that data be entered accurately. And I can attest to the fact incomplete or missing data in my file will impact my ability to pull this information.
Knowing that my mom has a couple of 2nd cousins who died during World War II, I started trying to create a list of those who died during that war. My first step was to create a group. This feature is located under the command palette, whose icon is located in the upper right corner of RootsMagic 8.
Opening the list of commands, I scroll down to GROUPS. Since I want to create a group, I’m looking for the command to ‘Add, delete or modify the list of gorups’.
Clicking that choice opens the GROUPS window. This window shows my existing groups and has buttons to add (new), edit, delete or rename a group.
To create my group, I click on the NEW button. A window opens prompting me to enter a name for this group. For this example, I’m going to name my group ‘WWII Deaths’.
That opens a window titled RootsMagic Explorer that shows a list of everyone in my file with boxes for checkmarks to indicate group membership. Since I’m creating this group from scratch, I want to use the MARK button.
Clicking the MARK button opens a pull-down menu showing my choices. Since I’m wanting to create a list based on the death date and place, I want to use the ‘By Data Fields’ choice.
This opens a window that allows me to select data fields and create a ‘sentence’ defining my search. Sometimes figuring out this ‘sentence’ is trial and error. This is also where incomplete data can impact the results. For my first ‘trial’, I’m going to search for those people with a military fact who died between 7 Dec 1941 and 2 Sept 1945. I am using 7 Dec 1941 as my start date since that is the date in which the United States was attacked.
When I click the OK button, the software searches my file and finds 9 people that have a military fact who died during the specified time period.
To finish creating the group, I have to click on the OK button and then click on the SELECT button in the lower right corner of the window. If I forget to click SELECT, my group is not created. That closes the selection window and returns me to the group window, where I have to again click OK to close the window.
The easiest way to review my group is to use the INDEX on the side of the PEOPLE screen. The default for the Index is to SHOW EVERYONE.
When I click on the ‘Show Everyone’ box, a menu opens showing the groups I have created.
If I scroll down the list, I can locate my newly created WWII DEATHS group.
Selecting the WWII DEATHS group causes the index to display the members of this group.
Looking at that list, I have several people born before 1900 who were included on the list. I have two options to ‘clean up’ this list. One option is to look at each person in question, evaluate their information and then remove them from the list if they don’t meet my criteria.
For example, Lloyd William Barnes is on my list with a death date of 14 Dec 1941. He also has a military fact, but it is dated 1918.
Below his parents is the GROUP information. When I click on the word GROUPS, it opens a list of all of my groups on the right side of the person window.
Scrolling down, I can locate the WWII Deaths group and remove the check mark by that group and then close the person window. That removes him from the list of people in the group under the index.
I can continue working my way thru the group one person at a time, or I could edit my group and add a statement to help narrow the selection. In this case, I might add a statement requiring the birth date to be after 1900. To do this, I follow the same procedure used to open the GROUPS menu. Then I scroll down to locate my group, WWI Deaths.
This time, I want to click on the EDIT button. This opens the RootsMagic Explorer window where I can mark/unmark members in this group. Since I’m editing an existing group, I usually check UNMARK and select prior to going back in and editing my selection. This makes sure that those I don’t want in the group are removed. Once I’m back in the RootsMagic Explorer window, I select MARK and pick BY DATA FIELDs as before. My previous ‘sentence’ is still there. I only need to ADD to it. Thus, I’m gong to add a 4th line for the Birth Date is after 31 Dec 1899.
Clicking OK causes the program to search using my new criteria. Five people are now marked. This is where I need to remember to click SELECT after clicking the OK button.
Working my way thru these 5 people, I can verify that I have information entered for each of them about their death during World War II.
Using this process, I created groups for the Korean War, World War II, World War I and the Civil War.
While creating these groups is the easiest way I know of to identify these cousins deserving to be honored this Memorial Day. However, this method is not perfect. (Remember, it depends on the completeness and accuracy of my data.) Since I remembered writing about a service member who died when his plane crashed, I expected him to be on my list. And, he is NOT.
My blog post, Plane Down, identifies him as 2nd Lieutenant Gene Marion Ashmore.
Checking what information I have for Gene Marion Ashmore, I can verify that he has a military fact. However, his death date is outside of the dates I used for my search. It is a few days AFTER the official end of World War II. Thus, the computer did not add his name to my group of WWII Deaths.
Since I would like to be able to include him in my list of WWII veterans to be honored on Memorial Day, I can manually add him to the list. If I click on GROUPS (below his parents) and then scroll down my list of groups, I can locate the ‘WWII Deaths’ group.
When I return to the index and select the WWI Deaths group, I can verify that he has been added.
As my database grows, I will either need to remember to update these lists as I identify a veteran or use the GROUPS menu to edit the group.
How about you? Can you identify people in your tree to be honored on Memorial Day?
Have you ever celebrated when you find an obituary that details a military career? Well, I’m celebrating today! As I’m researching cousins, I’ve finally found an obituary that provides quite a few details about the military career of my second cousin twice removed, Everett Wayne Stoops.
Obituaries Wayne Stoops
Feb. 19, 1919 — July 7, 2006 Retired Chief Master Sgt. Everett Wayne Stoops, U.S. Air Force, of Albany died Friday, July 7, after a valiant fight against complications of heart and lung disease. He was 87. Born in Hamilton County, Ind., to Ernest and Edith (Christy) Stoops, he was one of eight children. Graduating from high school at 16, he worked in the family grocery store. Enlisting in the Army Air Corps in 1940, he attended aircraft maintenance schools and participated in submarine patrol missions until crashing in a B-26 aircraft on Dec. 18, 1941. He served 34 months in Australia, New Guinea, Dutch Ne Guinea and Owi Island, maintaining and, in some cases, rebuilding planes before returning to the United States. He then married Wilma Ridenour of Indiana, whom he had met on a blind date before he went overseas and ask to marry him on their third date. He left the service in 1945 as a master sergeant, but after three years re-enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, where he remained for 30 years of active service. He was stationed all over the world from England to Labrador, Canada, to Vietnam and the Philippines, and traveled to Scotland, Bermuda, Guam, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, Greenland and points in between. As often as possible, his family and their dogs accompanied him. He was one of the first men to attain the rank of chief master sergeant, the highest a non-commissioned office can hold. Upon retirement, the family moved to Albany, where Wayne worked as parts manager for Dorsey Bus Company and then for J and J Electric until his final retirement in 1984. He continued to work part time until 1998. He enjoyed camping neighborhood and family get-togethers, and taking his friends flying. He was a voracious reader, enjoying mysteries, westerns, war novels, nonfiction and the occasional Danielle Steel. An avid dog lover, he also discovered the joy of being owned by cats during the last 30 years of his life. He was preceded in death by his parents, stepmother Lydia and siblings. Survivors include Wilma, his wife of 61 years; his daughter, Elizabeth “Libby” Stoops, her husband, Vernon Smith, and Grandson Connor Stoops-Smith; niece Nancy Gressler of Springfield; several nieces and nephews east of the Rockies; and many many friends. Wayne will be remembered as a quiet man who valued his family and friends, loved animals, and was always available to lend a hand. He is missed. A celebration of life will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, at the American Legion, 1215 Pacific Blvd. S.E. Albany. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Safe-Haven Humane Society or Heartland Humane Society.
“Obituaries,” Corvallis Gazette-Times (Corvallis, Oregon), 21 July 2006, page 4; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 31 December 2021).
Although I haven’t found another source to corroborate the airplane crash, I have been able to find items in the local Indiana newspapers that provide details about where Wayne Stoops was stationed during his military career.
Everett Wayne Stoops1 was born on 19 Feb 1919 in Clarksville, Indiana.1–5 He was the child of Edith Ethel Christy and Ernest Evert Stoops.1,6–7 He lived in Wayne Township, Hamilton, Indiana, United States in 1920.8 Everett lived in Owen Township, Clinton County, Indiana in 1930.9 He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on 5 Jan 1940.4,7,10 He served in the military in May 1940 in Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, United States.11–12 Everett served in the military in Staten Island, New York.12 He served in the military in Dec 1942 at Lincoln Air Base in Lincoln, Lancaster, Nebraska, United States.13 He served in the military in Jun 1944 at Lowry Field in Denver, Colorado, United States.14 Everett served in the military in Greensboro, Guilford, North Carolina.14 He was discharged from the military on 20 Sep 1945 at Camp Atterbury.4,7,12 He registered for the military draft on 26 Sep 1945 in Frankfort, Clinton, Indiana, United States.5 Everett enlisted in the Air Force on 24 Dec 1948.4,7 He served in the military witha a rank of Technical Sergeant in 1951 in Merced, California, United States.15 He lived in Salina, Saline, Kansas, United States in 1953.16 Everett served in the military in 1963 in Goose Bay, Alaska.17–18 He was discharged from the military on 30 Jun 1973.4 He lived in Albany, Linn, Oregon, United States in 1988.6–7 Everett lived in Eugene, Lane, Oregon, United States in 1999.19 He lived in Albany, Linn, Oregon, United States in 2002.20 He died on 7 Jul 2006 at the age of 87.1–4,7 The funeral of Everett was held on 2 Aug 2006 in Albany, Linn, Oregon, United States.7
ENDNOTES:
1. Social Security Administration, “Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007,” database on-line, Ancestry, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60901/ : viewed online 21 November 2020), Everett Wayne Stoops.
2. Oregon, Death Index 1898-2008, Everett Wayne Stoops, 7 July 2006; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 31 December 2021).
3. Social Security Administration, “U.S. Social Security Death Index,” database, Ancestry, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 31 December 2021), Everett W Stoops, 307-16-3375, before 1951.
4. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010,” database, Ancestry, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed online 31 December 2021), Everett W Stoops.
5. “U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 31 December 2021), Everett W. Stoops.
6. “Ernest Stoops,” The Kokomo Tribune (Kokomo, Indiana), 2 October 1988, page 6; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 21 November 2020).
7. “Obituaries,” Corvallis Gazette-Times (Corvallis, Oregon), 21 July 2006, page 4; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 31 December 2021).
8. 1920 U.S. Census, Hamilton County, Indiana, population schedule, Wayne Township, Hamilton County, Indiana, ED 114, Sheet 5A Image 9 of 11, family 109, Earnest Stoops; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 21 November 2020); NARA microfilm publication T625
9. 1930 U.S. Census, Clinton County, Indiana, population schedule, Owen Township, Clinton County, Indiana, enumeration district (ED) ED 12-17, Sheet 1B, family 19, Ernest Stoops; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 22 November 2020); NARA microfilm publication T626.
10. “Local News,” The Tipton Daily Tribune (Tipton, IN), 11 July 1942, page 5; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 31 December 2021).
11. “Local News,” The Tipton Daily Tribune (Tipton, IN), 30 May 1940, page 4; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 31 December 2021).
12. “Burlington,” The Kokomo Tribune (Kokomo, Indiana), 20 September 1945, page 12; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 31 December 2021).
14. “Local News,” Palladium-Item (Richmond, IN), 21 July 1944, page 9; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 31 December 2021).
15. “Local News,” The Tipton Daily Tribune (Tipton, IN), 30 May 1951, page 5; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 31 December 2021).
16. “Local News,” The Kokomo Tribune (Kokomo, Indiana), 1 January 1953, page 17; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 31 December 2021).
17. Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online 30 December 2021), memorial for Sylvester Eugene Stoops (1913-1963), Find a Grave Memorial no. #8528622, created by Judy, citing Geetingsville Cemetery, Geetingsville, Clinton County, Indiana; accompanying photograph by Judy, Sylvester Eugene Stoops.
18. “Christy Family Has 17th Reunion,” The Tipton Daily Tribune (Tipton, IN), 17 August 1963, page 3; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 31 December 2021).
19. “Lois E Click, 81,” Journal and Courier (Lafayette, Indiana), 30 April 1999, page 22; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 22 November 2020).
20. “Juanita Eleanor Zook,” Journal and Courier (Lafayette, Indiana), 21 October 2002, page 18; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 31 December 2021).
Can you imagine spending the winter in the snow in Belgium during the winter of 1944-1945? Then can you imagine that when the war ended in Europe, you weren’t going home, but going to the Pacific theater instead?
Well, that was the case for many – but not all of the soldiers who survived the Battle of the Bulge. The Army established a point system to determine who got to go home versus who was sent to the Pacific. This process was discussed in an article in The Birmingham News.
The Birmingham News (Birmingham, Alabama) 22 Aug 1945 page 1
Army Bans Overseas Shipment for Enlisted Men with 75 Points Washington, Aug. 22 (AP) The Army is banning overseas shipment of enlisted men with 75 or more discharge points. At the same time, it was learned that the War Department soon will direct all branches of the Army to cut below 37 the age limit for overseas duty. At present, the ground forces are screening out of divisions slated for Japanese occupation duties all men 37 or older. The ground forces embrace all troops, including the infantry, except those in the service of supply or air forces. The later two now are weeding out of redeployment units all men 38 or older. Just how far the age limit may be reduced has not been determined. One problem is that men in the service forces, chiefly supply troops, are older on the average than those in the ground and air forces. Enlisted men now can get out of the Army upon request if they are 38 or have a point discharge score of 85, based on a rating system that grants credit for combat, service and dependency. The announcement that men with 75 or more points are not being sent overseas indicates that the discharge score may be reduced to that figure. However, this may be done in two separate cuts, because the Army says the score must be geared to available shipping. The department said the 95th and 85th Divisions, the first two redeployed from Europe for service in the Pacific, were screened to eliminate all men with 75 or more points. The 37-year age limit also was used in screening the 95th, but not the 86th, the department reported, because there was not sufficient time to make the necessary personnel changes after the discharge age was lowered from 40 to 38. The age limit in the 86th was 38. Some men in both the 95th and 8th Divisions have protested against being sent to Japan after having served in Europe. The 95th is now at Camp Shelby, Miss., and the 86th is on the West Coast awaiting shipment to Japan.
Soldiers were given one point for each month of military service and one additional point was given for each month of overseas service. Each battle star or decoration earned a soldier 5 points. Soldiers were awarded 12 points per dependent child up to a maximum of three children. A total of 85 points was needed for eligibility. Soldiers who had earned that number of points were to be demobilized as soon as transport back to the United States was available.
Heartland Genealogy 