Bits from the Boys- Union City World War II Veterans
Monday, January 4, 1943
Corporal Park Wolfe, Fort Meade, Md. is home for a ten day furlough. He is spending it with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Wolfe, of West High Street.
Thursday, January 7, 1943
Sgt. Clair Pier has successfully completed the basic glider training course at the 27th Army Air Force Glider Training Detachment at Vinita, Oklahoma. Sgt. Pier will now report to an advanced glider training field to complete his training and receive his glider "wings."
Thursday, January 7, 1943
Clinton Morehouse, U.S.N., of Union City, is home on furlough before reporting for duty at the Aviation Radiomen's School at Jacksonville, Florida.
Monday, January 18, 1943
Union City girl, Marjorie Eldred, left New York City Saturday morning for Smith College, North Hampton, Massachusetts. She will begin her WAVES training there.
Monday, January 25, 1943
John R. Tyndall, Jr. and Paul Gregor, both of Union City, enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. They left Erie Sunday afternoon for training.
Monday, February 15, 1943
Corporal Lawrence Hamilton has been spending a few days with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Hamilton of Perry Street in Union City. He will return to Great lakes Naval Training Station on Wednesday.
Monday, February 22, 1943
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Parrish entertained at a family dinner in their home Sunday, honoring their grandson, Raymond Parrish. Raymond is leaving today for Buffalo, New York, where he has enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Tomorrow he will leave Buffalo for the Great Lakes Naval Training Station.
Monday, February 22, 1943
Francis Geinett, former commercial teacher at Union City High School, has been commissioned an ensign in the U.S. Navy Reserves and reports to Harvard University for basic training on March 1st.
Thursday, November 11, 1943
Sgt. Mike Glancy, Camp Forest, South Carolina, is enjoying a brief furlough with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. S.P. Glancy of Putnam Street in Union City,.
Thursday, November 11, 1943
Edmund A. Crowe, of the U.S. navy, has finished his hospital training course at Portsmouth, Virginia, and is now located in Charleston, South Carolina.
Pfc. William J. Nelson
Union City Times
Thursday, August 19, 1944
Pfc. William J. Nelson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Nelson of North Main Street, Union City, is serving with a medical unit in Italy. He has been awarded the bronze medal for action on May 28, 1944.
Wojtecki Brothers
Thursday, May 16, 1944
Wojtecki Brothers in Action
On December 12, 1941, just four days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, John and George Wojtecki, sons of Mr. and Mrs. John Wojtecki, of RD 4, Union City, marched into the Army Recruiting Office at Union City and enlisted.
They went through thirteen weeks of basic training with an Infantry Division at Camp Wheeler, Georgia, and then two months of intensive advance training at Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. next, they went to San Francisco, the port of embarkation for overseas. May of 1942 found them aboard an Army transport ship bound for the Southwest Pacific. They landed in the Fiji Islands,
Over the next eight months, the Wojtecks mastered the hardships of jungle fighting and they were eager for action. Their unit was ordered to Guadalcanal, but a titanic sea battle forced them to debark at New Hebrides. For the next three and one half months they were subject to constant bombings, but the Japanese decided not to attempt an invasion of the islands.
The Wojtecki brothers weren't wounded in action, but they contracted a tropical disease called filiarsis and they were evacuated to British Samoa for hospitalization. As they were being evacuated the Japanese attacked their ship. One bomb fell fifty yards off and the ship narrowly escaped being sunk.
On March 3, 1943, the brothers arrived at McCloskey General Hospital in Temple, Texas. Here they recuperated splendidly.
Two other Wojtecki brothers fought in the Navy. Both George and John were anxious to get back home for the reunion but they were told that there was a job to be done "over there." George said, "We'll lick this filiarsis, and then we hope we can take up where we left off...together."
In July of 1944, George and John were awarded expert infantryman's badges at Camp Carson, Colorado, by the commanding officer of the 201st Infantry, Colonel James H. O'Reilly. Both brothers took part in the 37th Divisions drive through thick jungle to seize the Munda Airfield in one of the bloodiest campaigns of the southwest Pacific. Driving forward in heavy rains and sleeping very little at night, their unit at the time was cut off by the Japanese without food or water.
DeLancy Lord
Union City Times
Thursday, March 9, 1944
DeLancy Lord
DeLancy A. Lord, T/5th Grade is home visiting his wife, son and parents at 42 Graves Street in Union City. His wife and sister met him in Cleveland and accompanied him to Union City. He said it seemed good "to be back in the Good Old U.S.A. again."
DeLancy left the States about ten months ago and after participating in the campaign of Sicily and Italy and being wounded in the battle of Salerno, he was awarded the purple heart at the 26th General Hospital in North Africa.
After undergoing treatment for several months in different hospitals in North Africa, he returned to the Northingon General Hospital in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where he will return after his visit to Union City. He wants to thank all his friends for their many cards, letters and boxes he received while overseas.
Arden Earll
Arden Earll, 19, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Earll of RD3, Union City, was seriously wounded at Normandy in France on June 8, 1944. He was transferred to the Army's base hospital for treatment.
His parents received the announcement of his being wounded in action, but it didn't tell how badly he was wounded.
Arden graduated from Union City High School in June 1943 and received his early training at Camp Croft, South Carolina and Camp Meade, Maryland. he landed with the U.s. Infantry forces in England in November of 1943 and was with the invading forces in France.
Two of Arden's brothers are in the service. Richard is in France and Morris is with the Coast Guard unit stationed at Norfolk, Virginia.
Pvt. Ivan L. Van Tassel
Pvt. Ivan L. Van Tassel, 25, a paratrooper, has been missing in action in Italy since January 25, 1944, according to a telegram from the War Department. The War Department send the telegram to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Archie Van Tassel of Bloomfield Township. His wife and 9 1/2 month old daughter live in Riceville.
Pvt. Van Tassel was reported missing just three days after the Allies landed on the Anzio beachhead below Rome on January 22, 1944. It is likely that he became missing either there or in the renewed drive on Cassio, which began simultaneously with the Anzio thrust.
He entered the service with a Titusville Selective Service group on June 10, 1941. He was first stationed at Ft. Meade, Maryland, and went successively to Camp Croft, S.C, Fort Benning, Ga, Fort Bragg, N.C., and finally to Camp Edwards, Mass. From there he went overseas and landed in North Africa last November.
Mrs. Van Tassel was with him for a year and a half while he was at Fort Bragg. The last letter she had from him was dated January 19 in Italy. Among other things, he said that paratroopers had "made history."
Paul Bacon
Paul Bacon died on Monday, March 15, 1943. He was a World War I veteran and the American Legion took charge of his graveside services. He was buried in the Beaverdam Cemetery.
J. Norman Frank
J. Norman Frank, son of Mrs. William King, 55 South Main Street, Union City, has been commissioned a captain. The War Department announced his promotion on June 11, 1944, and it was effective as of July 27, 1944. Captain Frank is with General Mark Clark's Fifth Army in Italy.
In a letter to his mother, Captain Frank stated that he had been awarded the Croix de Guerre by the Fighting French forces. He served with the French Allied Division during their campaign against the German Gustaf Line.
The captain enlisted in march 1942, and received his basic training at Fort Jackson, SC. From there he transferred to officer's training school at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and on October 1, 1942, was commissioned a second lieutenant. The following month, November 6, 1942, he landed at Casablanca, with the first invading forces and fought with the allied forces during the Tunisian Campaign. During the Sicilian campaign he was commissioned a first lieutenant.
Captain Frank serving under General Clark commanded one of the first divisions to arrive in Italy. Since then he has participated in the battles for Casino, Naples, and Rome.
Sgt. Carl Wilson
The Union City Times of October 16, 1944, reported that Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Hugg of 22 Fourth Avenue, have received a letter from their son-in-law, Sgt. Carl E. Wilson, somewhere in France.
Sergeant Wilson said in part: "I am writing this from a fox hole with firing going on all around, so you can guess as to which part of France I'm in. We haven't fired yet. The weather has been bad for a few days and I hope the sun soon shines. I'm doing fine in spite of the weather and feel good, too. But I wish this war was over. All of us would prefer being back home. Haven't received any mail since we left England, but it should be cataching up to us soon."
Richard N. Bedow
According to the Union City Times of june 26, 1944, First Lt. Richard N. Bedow, son of mr. and Mrs. Merle R. Bedow of Union City, is with the Fifth Army in Italy. He is a member of an anti-tank unit in the 3rd Marine Division.
Recently his regimental chaplain, Captain Harold F. Hayward of Seattle, Washington, baptized Lt. Bedow in the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Two enlisted men of his company were also baptized.
According to the chaplain, Lt. Bedow picked a spot rich in history. "I believe the early Christians were baptized in the sea," he said.
Wania M. Sinko (Ulania)
Union City Times
Thursday, June 22, 1944
Wania M. Sinko, 20, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ignatz Sinko of Rt. 4, Union City, joined the WAVES.
Miss Sinko became a seaman second class after she completed her basic training and indoctrination course at the Naval Training School in the Bronx, New York. She has received orders to report for duty at the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts Field Branch in Cleveland, Ohio.
Captain Sinko is a graduate of Union City High School and the Howard Business College of New York. She received her boot training at the U.S. Naval Midshipmen's School at Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts.
Second Lt. Oliver M. Jones
Second Lt. Oliver M. Jones of Union City, serving with a unit of the Fifth Army in Italy, has been awarded the silver star for gallantry in action.
According to the War Department the citation reads:
"On the 28th of April 1943, Lieutenant Jones distinguished himself in action against an armed enemy in he vicinity of Mateur, Tunisia. In spite of inflicting heavy losses upon the enemy, Lt. Jones observed that his platoon was being encircled. While subjected to heavy and close enemy fire he courageously and efficiently conducted and covered the withdrawal of his platoon. In accomplishing this withdrawal, Lt. Jones was seriously wounded. He refused to leave the area to accept medical treatment until all of his men had reached a position of comparative safety.
The wound sustained by Lt. Jones left him in such a weakened condition that he was required to wait until darkness before he was able to return to his organization. He was then removed to an aid station and evacuated to a hospital. The courage, leadership and concern for the welfare of his men with complete disregard for his own safety displayed by Lt. Jones reflects great credit upon himself and his organization and are highly commendable.
Pvt. Henry Luniewski
The Union City Times of Thursday, June 22, 1944, reported that Private Henry K. Luniewski, a motorcycle patrolman, and the son of Mrs. Sophie M. Luniewski, of RFD #1, Union City, was distinguishing himself in the service.
Pvt. Luniewski served with a regiment of military police that made war disrupted Naples into one of the most efficient ports in the world through its regulation of traffic in the city's maze of narrow alleys and congested streets.
Traffic MPs have had to untangle snarls o vehicles driven by soldiers of the American, English, French, Indian, and Polish armies while happy-go-lucky Neopolitans sauntered down the middle of the street. Despite their many problems, these men have cut traffic accidents by 85 percent, allowing more than30,000 tons of war equipment to pass through the city daily.
Black market operations find it so difficult to get illegal food past the law that they pay $3,000 for a truckload of flour that formerly cost them $1,000. Counterfeit rings have been broken and the regiment in its thorough style, even operates improvised radio patrol cars.
Corporal Park Wolfe, Fort Meade, Md. is home for a ten day furlough. He is spending it with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Wolfe, of West High Street.
Thursday, January 7, 1943
Sgt. Clair Pier has successfully completed the basic glider training course at the 27th Army Air Force Glider Training Detachment at Vinita, Oklahoma. Sgt. Pier will now report to an advanced glider training field to complete his training and receive his glider "wings."
Thursday, January 7, 1943
Clinton Morehouse, U.S.N., of Union City, is home on furlough before reporting for duty at the Aviation Radiomen's School at Jacksonville, Florida.
Monday, January 18, 1943
Union City girl, Marjorie Eldred, left New York City Saturday morning for Smith College, North Hampton, Massachusetts. She will begin her WAVES training there.
Monday, January 25, 1943
John R. Tyndall, Jr. and Paul Gregor, both of Union City, enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. They left Erie Sunday afternoon for training.
Monday, February 15, 1943
Corporal Lawrence Hamilton has been spending a few days with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Hamilton of Perry Street in Union City. He will return to Great lakes Naval Training Station on Wednesday.
Monday, February 22, 1943
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Parrish entertained at a family dinner in their home Sunday, honoring their grandson, Raymond Parrish. Raymond is leaving today for Buffalo, New York, where he has enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Tomorrow he will leave Buffalo for the Great Lakes Naval Training Station.
Monday, February 22, 1943
Francis Geinett, former commercial teacher at Union City High School, has been commissioned an ensign in the U.S. Navy Reserves and reports to Harvard University for basic training on March 1st.
Thursday, November 11, 1943
Sgt. Mike Glancy, Camp Forest, South Carolina, is enjoying a brief furlough with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. S.P. Glancy of Putnam Street in Union City,.
Thursday, November 11, 1943
Edmund A. Crowe, of the U.S. navy, has finished his hospital training course at Portsmouth, Virginia, and is now located in Charleston, South Carolina.
Pfc. William J. Nelson
Union City Times
Thursday, August 19, 1944
Pfc. William J. Nelson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Nelson of North Main Street, Union City, is serving with a medical unit in Italy. He has been awarded the bronze medal for action on May 28, 1944.
Wojtecki Brothers
Thursday, May 16, 1944
Wojtecki Brothers in Action
On December 12, 1941, just four days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, John and George Wojtecki, sons of Mr. and Mrs. John Wojtecki, of RD 4, Union City, marched into the Army Recruiting Office at Union City and enlisted.
They went through thirteen weeks of basic training with an Infantry Division at Camp Wheeler, Georgia, and then two months of intensive advance training at Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. next, they went to San Francisco, the port of embarkation for overseas. May of 1942 found them aboard an Army transport ship bound for the Southwest Pacific. They landed in the Fiji Islands,
Over the next eight months, the Wojtecks mastered the hardships of jungle fighting and they were eager for action. Their unit was ordered to Guadalcanal, but a titanic sea battle forced them to debark at New Hebrides. For the next three and one half months they were subject to constant bombings, but the Japanese decided not to attempt an invasion of the islands.
The Wojtecki brothers weren't wounded in action, but they contracted a tropical disease called filiarsis and they were evacuated to British Samoa for hospitalization. As they were being evacuated the Japanese attacked their ship. One bomb fell fifty yards off and the ship narrowly escaped being sunk.
On March 3, 1943, the brothers arrived at McCloskey General Hospital in Temple, Texas. Here they recuperated splendidly.
Two other Wojtecki brothers fought in the Navy. Both George and John were anxious to get back home for the reunion but they were told that there was a job to be done "over there." George said, "We'll lick this filiarsis, and then we hope we can take up where we left off...together."
In July of 1944, George and John were awarded expert infantryman's badges at Camp Carson, Colorado, by the commanding officer of the 201st Infantry, Colonel James H. O'Reilly. Both brothers took part in the 37th Divisions drive through thick jungle to seize the Munda Airfield in one of the bloodiest campaigns of the southwest Pacific. Driving forward in heavy rains and sleeping very little at night, their unit at the time was cut off by the Japanese without food or water.
DeLancy Lord
Union City Times
Thursday, March 9, 1944
DeLancy Lord
DeLancy A. Lord, T/5th Grade is home visiting his wife, son and parents at 42 Graves Street in Union City. His wife and sister met him in Cleveland and accompanied him to Union City. He said it seemed good "to be back in the Good Old U.S.A. again."
DeLancy left the States about ten months ago and after participating in the campaign of Sicily and Italy and being wounded in the battle of Salerno, he was awarded the purple heart at the 26th General Hospital in North Africa.
After undergoing treatment for several months in different hospitals in North Africa, he returned to the Northingon General Hospital in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where he will return after his visit to Union City. He wants to thank all his friends for their many cards, letters and boxes he received while overseas.
Arden Earll
Arden Earll, 19, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Earll of RD3, Union City, was seriously wounded at Normandy in France on June 8, 1944. He was transferred to the Army's base hospital for treatment.
His parents received the announcement of his being wounded in action, but it didn't tell how badly he was wounded.
Arden graduated from Union City High School in June 1943 and received his early training at Camp Croft, South Carolina and Camp Meade, Maryland. he landed with the U.s. Infantry forces in England in November of 1943 and was with the invading forces in France.
Two of Arden's brothers are in the service. Richard is in France and Morris is with the Coast Guard unit stationed at Norfolk, Virginia.
Pvt. Ivan L. Van Tassel
Pvt. Ivan L. Van Tassel, 25, a paratrooper, has been missing in action in Italy since January 25, 1944, according to a telegram from the War Department. The War Department send the telegram to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Archie Van Tassel of Bloomfield Township. His wife and 9 1/2 month old daughter live in Riceville.
Pvt. Van Tassel was reported missing just three days after the Allies landed on the Anzio beachhead below Rome on January 22, 1944. It is likely that he became missing either there or in the renewed drive on Cassio, which began simultaneously with the Anzio thrust.
He entered the service with a Titusville Selective Service group on June 10, 1941. He was first stationed at Ft. Meade, Maryland, and went successively to Camp Croft, S.C, Fort Benning, Ga, Fort Bragg, N.C., and finally to Camp Edwards, Mass. From there he went overseas and landed in North Africa last November.
Mrs. Van Tassel was with him for a year and a half while he was at Fort Bragg. The last letter she had from him was dated January 19 in Italy. Among other things, he said that paratroopers had "made history."
Paul Bacon
Paul Bacon died on Monday, March 15, 1943. He was a World War I veteran and the American Legion took charge of his graveside services. He was buried in the Beaverdam Cemetery.
J. Norman Frank
J. Norman Frank, son of Mrs. William King, 55 South Main Street, Union City, has been commissioned a captain. The War Department announced his promotion on June 11, 1944, and it was effective as of July 27, 1944. Captain Frank is with General Mark Clark's Fifth Army in Italy.
In a letter to his mother, Captain Frank stated that he had been awarded the Croix de Guerre by the Fighting French forces. He served with the French Allied Division during their campaign against the German Gustaf Line.
The captain enlisted in march 1942, and received his basic training at Fort Jackson, SC. From there he transferred to officer's training school at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and on October 1, 1942, was commissioned a second lieutenant. The following month, November 6, 1942, he landed at Casablanca, with the first invading forces and fought with the allied forces during the Tunisian Campaign. During the Sicilian campaign he was commissioned a first lieutenant.
Captain Frank serving under General Clark commanded one of the first divisions to arrive in Italy. Since then he has participated in the battles for Casino, Naples, and Rome.
Sgt. Carl Wilson
The Union City Times of October 16, 1944, reported that Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Hugg of 22 Fourth Avenue, have received a letter from their son-in-law, Sgt. Carl E. Wilson, somewhere in France.
Sergeant Wilson said in part: "I am writing this from a fox hole with firing going on all around, so you can guess as to which part of France I'm in. We haven't fired yet. The weather has been bad for a few days and I hope the sun soon shines. I'm doing fine in spite of the weather and feel good, too. But I wish this war was over. All of us would prefer being back home. Haven't received any mail since we left England, but it should be cataching up to us soon."
Richard N. Bedow
According to the Union City Times of june 26, 1944, First Lt. Richard N. Bedow, son of mr. and Mrs. Merle R. Bedow of Union City, is with the Fifth Army in Italy. He is a member of an anti-tank unit in the 3rd Marine Division.
Recently his regimental chaplain, Captain Harold F. Hayward of Seattle, Washington, baptized Lt. Bedow in the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Two enlisted men of his company were also baptized.
According to the chaplain, Lt. Bedow picked a spot rich in history. "I believe the early Christians were baptized in the sea," he said.
Wania M. Sinko (Ulania)
Union City Times
Thursday, June 22, 1944
Wania M. Sinko, 20, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ignatz Sinko of Rt. 4, Union City, joined the WAVES.
Miss Sinko became a seaman second class after she completed her basic training and indoctrination course at the Naval Training School in the Bronx, New York. She has received orders to report for duty at the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts Field Branch in Cleveland, Ohio.
Captain Sinko is a graduate of Union City High School and the Howard Business College of New York. She received her boot training at the U.S. Naval Midshipmen's School at Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts.
Second Lt. Oliver M. Jones
Second Lt. Oliver M. Jones of Union City, serving with a unit of the Fifth Army in Italy, has been awarded the silver star for gallantry in action.
According to the War Department the citation reads:
"On the 28th of April 1943, Lieutenant Jones distinguished himself in action against an armed enemy in he vicinity of Mateur, Tunisia. In spite of inflicting heavy losses upon the enemy, Lt. Jones observed that his platoon was being encircled. While subjected to heavy and close enemy fire he courageously and efficiently conducted and covered the withdrawal of his platoon. In accomplishing this withdrawal, Lt. Jones was seriously wounded. He refused to leave the area to accept medical treatment until all of his men had reached a position of comparative safety.
The wound sustained by Lt. Jones left him in such a weakened condition that he was required to wait until darkness before he was able to return to his organization. He was then removed to an aid station and evacuated to a hospital. The courage, leadership and concern for the welfare of his men with complete disregard for his own safety displayed by Lt. Jones reflects great credit upon himself and his organization and are highly commendable.
Pvt. Henry Luniewski
The Union City Times of Thursday, June 22, 1944, reported that Private Henry K. Luniewski, a motorcycle patrolman, and the son of Mrs. Sophie M. Luniewski, of RFD #1, Union City, was distinguishing himself in the service.
Pvt. Luniewski served with a regiment of military police that made war disrupted Naples into one of the most efficient ports in the world through its regulation of traffic in the city's maze of narrow alleys and congested streets.
Traffic MPs have had to untangle snarls o vehicles driven by soldiers of the American, English, French, Indian, and Polish armies while happy-go-lucky Neopolitans sauntered down the middle of the street. Despite their many problems, these men have cut traffic accidents by 85 percent, allowing more than30,000 tons of war equipment to pass through the city daily.
Black market operations find it so difficult to get illegal food past the law that they pay $3,000 for a truckload of flour that formerly cost them $1,000. Counterfeit rings have been broken and the regiment in its thorough style, even operates improvised radio patrol cars.