Patriotism and Honor: Veterans of Dutchess County, New York
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Patriotism and Honor: Veterans of Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County Historical Society 2018 Yearbook • Volume 97 Candace J. Lewis, Editor Dutchess County Historical Society The Society is a not-for-profit educational organization that collects, preserves, and interprets the history of Dutchess County, New York, from the period of the arrival of the first Native Americans until the present day. Publications Committee: Candace J. Lewis, Ph.D., Editor David Dengel, Dennis Dengel, John Desmond, Roger Donway, Eileen Hayden, Julia Hotton, Bill Jeffway, Melodye Moore, and William P. Tatum III Ph.D. Designer: Marla Neville, Main Printing, Poughkeepsie, New York mymainprinter.com Printer: Advertisers Printing, Saint Louis, Missouri Dutchess County Historical Society Yearbook 2018 Volume 97 • Published annually since 1915 Copyright © by Dutchess County Historical Society ISSN: 0739-8565 ISBN: 978-0-944733-13-4 Front Cover: Top: Young men of Dutchess County recently transformed into soldiers. On the steps of the Armory, Poughkeepsie, New York. 1917. Detail. Bottom: Men, women, and children walk along the railroad tracks in Poughkeepsie at lower Main Street, seeing off a contingent of soldiers as they entrain for war. 1918. Back Cover: Left: Nurses from around the country march in the parade of April 6, 1918. Detail. Middle: A “patriotic pageant,l” performed by children. April 1918. Right: Unidentified individual as he gets ready to “entrain” in the separate recruitment of African Americans. 1918, Detail. All Photographs by Reuben P. Van Vlack. Collection of the Dutchess County Historical Society. The Dutchess County Historical Society Yearbook does not assume responsibility for statements of fact or opinion made by the authors. Dutchess County Historical Society Dutchess County Historical Society P.O. Box 88 Poughkeepsie, NY 12602 845-471-1630 Email: [email protected] www.dchsny.org/ This issue of the Dutchesss County Historical Society’sT ITLE iii yearbook has been generously underwritten by the following: Anonymous L In loving memory of Mildred Strain (1908-1986), a devoted supporter of the Dutchess County Historical Society. iv DCHS YEARBOOK 2018 Anonymous N Martin and Eleanor Charwat TITLE v David Dengel Dennis Dengel M We support our men and women in uniform. F. Julius and Carla Gude X vi DCHS YEARBOOK 2018 Shirley M. Handel L LTC Gilbert A. Krom X In memory of a beloved brother and fine soldier. TITLE vii Lou and Candace J. Lewis X Joan Smith N In loving memory of James R. Smith (1946-2016) viii DCHS YEARBOOK 2018 Lou Lewis LEWIS & J. Scott Greer GREER r.c. Veronica A. McMillan \ I I < > I< '\ I , ~ \ I I \ I\ ~ CORPORATE,Corporate, COMMERCIAL Commercial & BUSINESS LAW; CONSTRUCTION LAW; MUNICIPAL LAW; REAL& PROBusinessPERTY Law;TAX LAW Joan Quinn Construction Law; Dylan C. Harris MunicipalLOU LEWIS Law; J. SCOTT GREER RealVERONICA Property A. M TaxCMILLAN Law Brett A. Colbert ~ JOAN QUINN PAUL E. DENBAUM 510 Haight Avenue • Poughkeepsie, NY 12603 CongratulationsPhone: (845) to 454-1200the DCHS! • Fax (845) 454-3315 Visit our website at www.lewisgreer.com It’s been a historic 100 years! 510 Haight Avenue, Suite 202 Poughkeepsie, New York 12603 Phone: (845) 454-1200 Fax: (845) 454-3315 See our website at www.lewisgreer.com ******************************************** www.CentralHudson.com TITLE ix ZIMMER BROTHERS JEWELERS SINCE 1893 P,stateJewe{ry t- c, omething Old . ometl1ing New 39 Raymond Av nue Poughk epsi , Y 1260 845.454.6360 zimmerbrod1ers. om The Poughkeepsie Public Library District is proud of its longtime association with the Dutchess County Historical Society. Together we offer our community a selection of exciting avenues into our fascinating past. poklib.org x DCHS YEARBOOK 2018 Lights, Camera - Auction! BIDNOW! Online From Anywhere! You've got to bid it to win it. • Court Reporting • Video Conferencing • Audio Transcription • Litigation Support www.babiarzreporting.com Raising the Bar ON LEGAL & BUSINESS REPORTING 845-471-2511 Poughkeepsie, NY 866-282-0671 White Plains, NY & Nyack, NY 845-565-1801 Newburgh, NY TITLE xi Powered by excellence, Proven by results. xii DCHS YEARBOOK 2018 In Memoriam Joyce Ghee Who died August 6, 2018 Dutchess County Historian (1981-1991) President of the Dutchess County Historical Society Board of Trustees (2000-2002) Table of Contents Introduction by Denise Doring VanBuren .............................................................xv Letter from the Editor Candace J. Lewis .........................................................xvii Call for Articles: Yearbook 2019 ..........................................................................xix 2018: The Year in Review by Bill Jeffway ........................................................xxi FORUM: Patriotism and Honor: Veterans of Dutchess County, New York, Part I Getting to Know My Great-Great Grandfather Fred: Soldier in the Spanish-American War .......................................................................................... 3 by J. M. Kemp Over Here: The Yet-to-be-Told Stories of the Men, Women, and Children of Dutchess County During the World War, 1917 to 1919 ....21 by Bill Jeffway and Melodye Moore The Unknown Soldier—and the Unknown Hamilton Fish .....................39 by Sarah Gates A Yank in the RCAF ............................................................................................55 by Peter Bedrossian Executive Order 9981 ..........................................................................................63 by David L. Goodwin My Longest Year: Twelve Months with the Joint Army— Navy Mobile Riverine Force (MRF) in the Mekong River Delta, Republic of Vietnam, 1967-1968 ....................................................................69 by Tyler Dann Vietnam: A Seabee’s Different Experience ..................................................81 by Craig Marshall ARTICLES: Miscellaneous Topics in Dutchess County History We Three Can Still Hear the Whistle Blowin’ ............................................93 by John Desmond ADDENDA Contributors ......................................................................................................... 105 DCHS Trustees and Staff ................................................................................ 108 DCHS Vice Presidents ..................................................................................... 109 DCHS Donors ..................................................................................................... 110 Municipal Historians and Historical Societies of Dutchess County ................................................................................................ 115 Dutchess County Historical Society Membership .................................. 119 Introduction One overcast humid morning this past June, I rose well before dawn and gath- ered in the quiet still with about 50 other women on the grounds of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. National Park Service staff provided our group of DAR volunteers with hoses, buckets, brushes, soap and instructions—all that we needed to undertake the solemn task of washing the Memorial, reverently and respectfully cleaning the 58,000 names inscribed on its somber façade, prepar- ing it for another day of visitation. Among the names are those of 38 young men from Dutchess County—young soldiers who sacrificed their lives and futures in the jungles of Southeast Asia. All Americans owe these soldiers’ memory the dignity of somber remembrance; and we owe their brother and sister veterans who survived our lifelong appreciation. For like those who marched before them in prior generations to prior wars, they recognized that love of country all too often requires painful sacrifice endured for a purpose greater than self. As you read Tyler Dann’s first-person recollection of his tour of duty in Vietnam, please reflect on his lonely homecoming to the United States after his deployment, and think of the tens of thou- sands of soldiers who faced ugly protests upon their return or who have spent the remainder of their lives tormented by mental and physical aftereffects. The U.S. Department of Defense is now commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War with a goal to honor all of its veterans—men and women who never received the welcome they had selflessly earned. They are our neighbors and our friends—please seek them out and thank them for their service. It is gratitude long overdue. xvi DCHS YEARBOOK 2018 In fact, an appreciation for the sacrifice of our nation’s veterans of all conflicts is long overdue—and hence, this year’s literary theme. This yearbook, the first of two editions to be dedicated to the veterans of Dutchess County, is part of a wider observance of Dutchess County’s “Year of the Veteran” initiative. It is a privi- lege for me to co-chair this Dutchess County Historical Society commemoration with County Executive Marcus Molinaro and County Sheriff Adrian “Butch” Anderson, and it is an honor for me to provide this brief introduction for the Society’s annual pub- lication as one example of how we can all find ways to honor military service in our daily lives. As we look back to the Spanish-American War’s local ties, com- memorate the centennial anniversary of World War I, study the stories of World War II and revisit our own families’ connections to all American conflicts, I ask you to remember the young men and women from Dutchess County who serve today in far-off places on similarly dangerous missions. Children in 2001, few have any memory