Today in Ohio History: Clarksburg Ohio World War II Daily Update

September 25, 1942: Clarence Minnix transfers from Ft. Benjamin Harrison to Camp Crowder, Missouri attached to D Company, 29th T.N. Signal Battalion. Harold Anderson returns stateside from a two year assignment in Panama. Following a ten-day furlough in Clarksburg, he reported to Ft. Monroe, VA. Harold Hoffman departs the U.S. bound for the Pacific Theater as a Heavy Machine Gun section leader, D Company, 160th Infantry Regiment, 40th Infantry Division. John Pool enlists in the U.S. Navy. Richard Minser transfers from Fort McClellan, Alabama to Fort Hamilton, New York.

September 25, 1943: Bob Anderson and the 14th Fighter Group, 37th Fighter Squadron, depart North Africa to inch closer to Europe by basing their P-38 Lightnings out of Sicily for a brief period. Clarence Minnix arrives Clarksburg on a 15-day furlough following additional training in Tennessee and recently transferred from the 2nd Army to the 3rd Army. Corrine Bochard is based at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey attached to a Woman's Army Air Corp unit. Don Garrison and the 538th Battalion depart Fort Pierce, Florida for Camp Pickett, Virginia. Sam Saxour departs the U.S. bound for the Pacific Theater to serve as a Surgical Technician with the 80th General Hospital. Tom Eycke enjoys a weekend in Clarksburg with his parents, grandmother and wife while on a brief weekend pass.

September 25, 1944: Robert Hamman lands at Utah Beach as part of the 9th Armored Division, 73rd Armored Field Artillery. Lewis Dennis and the 10th Armored Division arrive in France.

September 25, 1945: Jack Ater, attached to the 97th Infantry Division arrives the Pacific Theater. Marcus Ater, aboard the USS Denver, provides covering support for troops landing at Wakanouri Wan.

Today in Ohio History: Clarksburg Ohio World War II veterans participate in significant advances

Today in Ohio Military History: Clarksburg Ohio World War II vets move on the enemy:

September 23, 1943: Norman Dean receives a medical discharge from the U.S. Army and returns to Chillicothe, Ohio. He was previously based at Fort Knox, Kentucky. W.A. Anderson is based at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.

September 23, 1944: Carl Dinkler (pictured) writes to his parents stating that he is recovering in a British hospital but he has serious surgery ahead on his legs and noted that the Battle of Brest (France) was extremely tough duty. Dinkler was wounded severely days before, when a German sniper singled him out while retrieving bodies from the battlefield, as portions of the 28th Infantry Regiment and the 6th Armored led a task force through the Brittany region of France to cut off German forces in the port city of Brest. Charlie Jobe, part of the 82nd Airborne Division, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 80th Airborne Artillery, Battery F, boards a glider in England and lands near Nijmegan, Holland as part of Operation Market Garden. Sgt. Dick Garrison, part of I Company, 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division, assists in securing the Crozon Penninsula and neutralizing German troops in the area. John Templin enlists in the U.S. Army. Gunner's Mate, Marcus Ater, abord the USS Denver cruiser, provides cover for a Navy Task Force tasked to sweep for mines near Ulithi, in support of the future landing. Tom Sowers enlists in the U.S. Army and eventually serves in the 80th Infantry Division (ETO).

Today in Ohio History: Clarksburg Ohio war veterans

Today in Ohio History: Clarksburg Ohio World War II heavy bomber crew members continue fighting:

September 22, 1943: Ralph Anderson is participating in advanced B-17 training at Dalhart, Texas and preparing to transfer to Scott Field, Illinois in a few days for rotation overseas.

September 22, 1944: Norman Trapp flies his second bombing mission to Kassel, Germany in B-17 42-31879 nicknamed "The Shark." (PHOTO: The Shark behind a 351st Bomb Group crew - not including Trapp)

Ohio Military History: Service...In the Family

Generational Military Service from Clarksburg Ohio - A Family Affair

Recent examinations of Clarksburg Ohio's service rolls from the Civil War, World War I, and World War II identified a number of consistent names. I thought it would be fitting to list them and the information we have about each soldier.

ADAMS
Ralph Adams, Sergeant, 166th Infantry Regiment, H Company, World War I
Donald Adams, 1st Lieutenant, 485th Bomb Group, B-24 Liberator Pilot, World War II

ATER
George Ater: Company A, 90th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Civil War
Abraham Ater: Company K, 89th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Civil War
Glenn Ater:, Corporal, H Company, 166th Infantry Regiment, World War I
Joe Ater, 1st Lieutenant, 324th Army Air Base Unit, B-17 Pilot, World War II
Jack Ater, Sergeant, 97th Infantry Division, Heavy Machine Gunner, World War II
Marcus Ater, U.S. Navy, Gunner’s Mate, U.S.S. Denver – Cruiser, World War II

DAWSON
Lewis Dawson, Mechanic, 330th Infantry Regiment, G Company, World War I
Robert E. Dawson, Captain, 11th Air Force, 54th Fighter Group, P-39 Pilot, World War II
Robert K. Dawson, Sergeant, 69th Infantry Division, World War II
John M. Dawson, Corporal, Radio Operator Mechanic, World War II

DONAHOE
William S. Donahoe, Company H, 149th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Civil War
Emmitt Donahoe, Seaman aboard the U.S.S. Michigan battleship, World War I

DOWNING
William Downing, Mail carrier for Company H, 149th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Civil War
Joseph Wesley Downing, 236th Engineer Combat Battalion, World War II

HAMMAN
Royal Hamman, Private, 84th Infantry Division, 333rd Inf Reg, I Company, World War I
Robert Hamman, Lieutenant, 9th Armored Division, World War II

MADDUX
J.W. Maddux, Company A, 61st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Civil War
Nelson Maddux, Company K, 89th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Civil War
Don W. Maddux: 35th Infantry Division, 137th Infantry, World War II (Killed In Action)

MALLOW
Anson Mallow, Company H, 149th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Civil War
Reed Mallow, PFC, 1st Cavalry, 7th Regiment, World War II (Killed In Action)

RITTENHOUSE
Fred Rittenhouse, Private, 166th Infantry Regiment, H Company
Fred Rittenhouse, PFC, 777th Tank Battalion, World War II
Tom Rittenhouse, Ship Fitter, U.S.S. Hamul, World War II

SHANTON
Orlie Shanton, MP, 330th Infantry Regiment, K Company, World War I
Dick Shanton, Corporal, 389th Anti-aircraft Battalion, World War II

SKINNER
Joshua Skinner, 90th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Civil War
Cary Skinner, Litter Bearer, 41st Infantry Division, World War II

TAYLOR
Frank Taylor, Sergeant, 332nd Infantry Regiment, D Company, World War I
Willis Taylor, Corporal, 2nd Engineer School, World War II

TEMPLIN
E.W. Templin, Company H, 149th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Civil War
John Templin, Corporal, 1504th Army Air Base Unit, World War II
Wanda Templin, Chief Yeoman, WAVE’s, World War II

WILLIS
John W. Willis, 11th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, Civil War
Jas. Willis, Company H, 149th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Civil War
Dwight Willis, Sergeant, 1337th Army Air Base Unit, World War II

Today in Ohio World War II history

Today in Ohio Military History:

September 17, 1944: Norman Trapp (pictured center bottom row), pilots his first bombing mission of the war with the 351st Bomb Group over Nijmegan, Holland in B-17 43-37956, in support of Operation Market Garden.

September 17, 1945: Hoyt Graham departs Wright Field to points west, including Los Angeles, on an inspection tour of various aircraft factories in California.

September 17, 1946: Joe Kelly departs the Philippines bound for the United States. Troy Reisinger departs the Pacific bound for the United States.

Today in Clarksburg Ohio WWII history

Today in Ohio World War II history:

September 16, 1942: Roger Bryant is training in Canada.

September 16, 1943: John Martin (90th Infantry Division) is participating in additional infantry training at Camp Hood, Texas.

September 16, 1945: Oscar Garrison's ship docks in the U.S. following 37 months of overseas duty (82nd Airborne Division)

World War II's "Most Admired"

World War II's Most Admired

Photo: (March 1998: Williams Gateway Airport, Mesa, Arizona) Left to Right: General Joe Foss, Vic Cleary, Joe Forster, and Jack Purdy.

Very rarely do I stray far from 610 WTVN talk radio in the mornings and afternoons during my drives to and from work, but this morning, I was caught in a jam on the Columbus outerbelt. A massive fender bender locked up 270 this morning around 845 am, just in time to catch me in the act, returning from a quick morning meeting with our fine marketing agency. For a change of paste, I flipped to 1460 the FAN for some sports news. It's football season, and I love listening to local chatter on the Buckeyes.

Instead of getting "Buckeye" locker news, the Mike and Mike show was on, but they quickly caught my attention with an interesting topic. Mike (I am not sure which one), asked the other Mike his opinion who the most admired one or two figures in pro sports are, that are still living today? In other words, if you were sitting at a restaurant, and you worked in the sports entertainment business, who would HAVE to walk in and sit down at the restaurant for you to be humbled by their presence?

All in all, it was an excellent question and they provided their own opinions and why. Mike (I can't remember which Mike), said in baseball, it would have to be Hank Aaron. The other Mike said Cal Ripkin, but added the fans may agree more with him more so than the players. In basketball, one picked Bill Russell, the other picked Dr. J, because Michael Jordan regularly refers to Dr. J as the "real" legend. In hockey, Gordie Howe and Gretzgy (did I spell it wrong?). And for some reason, in football, they both agreed Anthony Munoz (which I couldn't quite figure out), Coach Shula and Coach Ditka. Good choices overall.

This conversation made me think back to March of 1998 when I was producing the Cox Communications Air & Motor Spectcular in Mesa, Arizona. Each year, during our air show, we would invite a number of Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, and Army pilots to fly their fighter jets, cargo planes, bombers, refuelers, and helicopters into our show, to provide "static" aircraft displays for the tens of thousands of people who purchased tickets to view up close and personal. In some cases, the pilots and crew would even allow spectators (taxpayers and true owners of the aircraft) to sit in their seats, flip the switches, grab the stick, and try the aircraft "on for size."

To keep these young men and women in-uniform entertained, we would oftentimes invite them into our VIP Chalet for drinks and food, and to relax while watching the air show from an unobstructed patio. To enhance their entertainment, I would personally invite a few World War II era fighter aces, who wintered, or lived fulltime in the Phoenix, Arizona market, to attend the event and sit with us in the chalet, enjoy the show, and talk to the young, active pilots, to share "war" stories, per say. It was somewhat a selfish gesture on my part, because I loved talking to these guys as well, but I found, year after year, they were staunch supporters of the show because they loved reliving their pasts and sharing words of encouragement with the young fighter pilots flying the new jets, who admired their service 50 years ago. There was definitely a level of mutual respect between the old warriors and the new warriors, and it was quite an experience to be a "fly on the wall" and listen to their conversations.

I was easily star struck by any of the old WWII aces who agreed to come to my show and fortunately for me, I call many of them my friends... Colonel Jerry Collinsworth (and his lovely wife Fran), Jack and Liz Purdy, Joe Forster, etc. However, once, during the show, I truly realized how star struck the aces themselves were of one in particular among their ranks. In March of 1998, Jack Purdy and Joe Forster from the 475th Fighter Group attended the show and told me they had convinced another well known ace to also attend the event. Both men were P-38 Lightning aces during the war and had miraculously impressive flying records. Jack Purdy shot down 7 Japanese aircraft, was the first man to survive a water crash in a P-39 Air Cobra, and lived a second crash in a P-38 outside Manila. He lived a long, successful life and became a self made millionaire and small business owner in Dayton, Ohio before retiring fulltime in Scottsdale. Joe Forster was even more successful from the P-38 cockpit. Joe shot down 15 Japanese aircraft (a triple Ace by definition) and still today holds the record for the longest flight in a P-38 on one engine, when he lost power in one of his engines over a remote section of the South Pacific and was forced to fly the aircraft for hours and hours back to his island base, which he did safely. As you can imagine, most of the squadron's maintenance men's jaws dropped when they heard the story.

Anyway... back to "my" story. We stood around for a half hour and talked, had some laughs, and I introduced them to a few current pilots who were in attendance, and deep conversation began to take place. However, at a moment's notice Jack Purdy snapped to attention in a fit of nervousness when his invited guest (and wife) arrived the chalet. It was Brigadier General Joe Foss. Joe was responsible for shooting down 28 Japanese aircraft VERY early in the war, when the Japanese were at full strength and had superior aircraft. This accomplishment earned him a trip home, a cover of LIFE magazine, and a PR tour of the country, even though he would have preferred to have kept fighting. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor during the war, later served as the Governor of South Dakota, the Commissioner of the American Football League in the late 1950's, and was a spokesperson for the National Rifle Association including the television host of the show American Rifleman. Joe was impressive, no doubt. He was a true American. Even though Jack Purdy and Joe Forster were by definition true men among men, - they even knew Joe Foss was something special. The energy radiated from the crowd when Joe was present. His confidence was evident and the young pilots (especially the Marines who were taught his legendary stories) flocked to be by his side. I can confidentally say that Joe Foss falls into the category of World War II's Most Admired. I have never seen such a moving display of admiration for one man - from his peers who themselves are unbelivably admirable. That was definitely a rare occurence in my life and I will never forget it, for as long as I live.