A Salute to World War II Veterans

After Pearl Harbor A salute to World War II veterans

Charles ‘Chuck’ Glidden survived 110 combat missions despite an officer’s promise: ‘If I have my way you are not going home alive’

Irene Currin fell in love while treating wounded soldiers in France and North Africa Inside

$4.95 Herald and News December 7, 2013 www.heraldandnews.com Dear Lord / Lest I continue / My complacent way / Help me to remember Somehow out there / A man died for me today. / As long as there be war I then must / Ask and answer / Am I worth dying for?

Poem Eleanor Roosevelt kept in her wallet during World War II Home Health We bring the hospital home to you

° Skilled Nursing ° Home Care Aides ° Medical Social Workers ° Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy ° Private Duty Services

Call today 541.274.6293

The World War I and World War II Klamath Homesteaders. They earned it. The hard way.

Thank you for your service.

On the cover: The battleship USS Arizona belches ➤ DON CLEM, P-51 MUSTANG FIGHTER smoke as its superstructure topples over into the sea PILOT: A 12-inch piece of shrapnel — Dec. 7, 1941, during a Japanese surprise attack on now a souvenir — almost ended his life. Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. AP Images photo p. 6 ➤ IRENE CURRIN, ARMY NURSE: Falling in love on the battlefield. p. 8

➤ RALPH KESLING, B-17 BALL TURRET Take time to ask questions, GUNNER: After six months as a POW, he had open sores on his legs. “I became a bit depressed and began to think I may listen to veterans’ war stories not make it home,’ ” he wrote. p. 10 ➤ RAY DAFFER, USS WHITLEY: “Seeing lenn Lewis dropped out of high school at the innocent people who were hurt by the age 17 so he could join the Navy and fight war is one of the things that haunts me.” the Japanese. G p. 12 Ralph Kesling flew missions as a ball turret gunner until his plane was shot down and he was cap- ➤ NAVY SEAMAN DON ARNOLD: “I’ve tured by the Germans. always been lucky …” Missed boat saves Buster Newlun was paralyzed after he was shot his life. p. 14 during a battle in Okinawa. These World War II veterans are members of what ➤ CHARLES GLIDDEN, NAVIGATOR, B-24 is now known as the Greatest Generation, kids raised BOMBER: Staying alive against the odds. during the Great Depression who as teenagers and p. 16 young adults headed off to war. ➤ MEMORIES OF PEARL HARBOR: Of those who left from Klamath County, 187 died. ➤ TOM HILL, 13th ARMORED DIVISION: Residents recount the Dec. 7, 1941, at- Four of those died during the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on After Tom Hill died in 1997, his family tack. p. 20-21 Pearl Harbor, according to Klamath County Museum found his World War II treasures. Among records. them: German money, an Army song- book, a knife made in occupied Japan Today, an estimated 550 World War II veterans ➤ IMAGES and a cloth emblem with a green eagle are living in Klamath County, according to the lat- OF WAR: An and black Nazi symbol. p. 18 unidentified est statistics from the U.S. Veterans Administration. young Ameri- About 60 are still living in Lake County. The average can soldier, age as of 2011 was 92. captured But we’re losing this generation — quickly. In by German 2011, the Department of Veterans Administration troops during estimated that 670 World War II veterans are dying their coun- every day. Statistically, they say there will be no more terattack in World War II veterans living by 2036. the Belgian We didn’t get a chance to hear all the stories and ➤ ROBERT PURKHISER, NAVY: A Ardennes AP photos hope there will be more opportunities in the future. two-beer liberty on Ulithi ended with a region, leads But the ones we heard — and share with you — reunion between the seaman and his a march of paint a picture of patriotism, bravery, optimism and older brother, Ross, a pharmacist mate prisoners hard work. They also are our last living memories of with the 51st Seabees. p. 22 in Decem- this particular time in history. ber 1944. There are many veterans who don’t talk about the ➤ WARD FRIEDMAN, ARMY AIR CORPS: The second war, but if you know one, ask. You might be surprised Radioman helped transport POWs to atomic bomb at the stories you’ll hear. safety. p. 24 explodes over Until recently, Don Clem, now 90, rarely told sto- the Japanese ries about strafing and skip bombing enemy airfields ➤ GLENN LEWIS, 96th SEABEES: He port town of in a P-51 Mustang fighter. Why? dropped out of high school his senior year so he could go to war. “I couldn’t Nagasaki, on “I haven’t talked about it at all,” he told us. “I wait.” Aug. 9, 1945. guess there’s no one to talk to.” p. 26 INSIDE — Marcia McGonigle ➤ BUSTER NEWLUN, ARMY: He was paralyzed from the waist down after being written and designed by marcia mcgonigle for the herald and news shot during a battle in Okinawa. p. 28 6 | Herald and News AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS

DON CLEM, P-15 fighter pilot, Air Force, 1941-45 A piece of shrapnel, a close call Now 90, the Klamath Falls fighter pilot recalls combat missions in Europe, northern China

et’s strafe them,’ fighter pilot Don ‘L Clem ordered. The P-51 Mustang single-seat mer World War II fighter pilot keeps fighters were on a mission to dive the piece of shrapnel at his Klamath bomb a Japanese-held airfield. Clem Falls home as a reminder. was flight leader and after spying “That was a close call,” he said. Japanese planes parked by a hangar, Clem, 90, volunteered for the Air he changed strategy. Force in 1941, shortly after the war The World War II fighters dropped started. He flew between 80 and 90 bombs on the airfield and then combat missions. skipped-bombed the field (skip bombs He started out as a mechanic, but have delayed fuses). During the raid, later was trained as a fighter pilot a piece of shrapnel pierced the side and volunteered to head overseas. of Clem’s plane and disconnected his microphone near his throat. It landed He did combat training in Karachi, in his cockpit. India, and flew missions in Spain, Italy, North Africa and Burma. He Submitted photos “It was about this long,” Clem TOP: Don Clem, poses in front of his P-51D Mus- finally ended up in Xi’an in northern recalled, indicating about a 12-inch China. tang, also pictured above. span between his two hands. The for- See CLEM, page 7

WORLD WAR II: A TIMELINE A dramatic picture of the City of For Americans, World War II began in the morn- London skyline is lit up by a great ing hours of Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese blaze started by incendiary bombs Imperial Navy bombed the U.S. Pacific Fleet at earlP dropped by a lone Nazi raider, Aug. Harbor. 26, 1940. The Dome of St. Paul’s, The U.S. entry signaled the start of the war in right, some famous city churches the Pacific. Europeans, however, had been fighting and the statue of Justice on Old Bai- since September 1939 when Germany, led by Nazi ley, left, are clearly outlined against dictator Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland, causing England the glowing orange sky. A historic and France to declare war on Germany. church and a number of commercial World War II involved countries from all over the buildings were damaged by the flames. AP photo Continued on page 7 AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS 7 | Herald and News

CLEM, continued from page 6

His job was to dive bomb airfields, destroying enemy supplies and planes. The fighters also escort- ed bombers toward Japan. In addition to the shrapnel incident, Clem experienced a couple of other close calls. “On one mission, we were strafing locomotives,” he said. “We came down and hit with our guns, saw steam coming up and decided to pull away. My plane dropped down and I thought I was going to hit that locomotive, but I just went through the steam.” Another story chronicles the tragic death of a pilot who had to bail out after his plane was crippled by the Japanese. In the one-seat fighters, the parachutes were the pilot’s seat cushion, which were attached by straps hooked onto their legs. “The pilot forgot to fasten his straps and when he bailed out, he went out of the harness and died,” Clem said. Clem made first lieutenant and was a captain by the time the war ended. He returned to Klamath Falls — where he had lived as a youth — after the war and worked at area mills. He met his wife, Velma at a logging camp. They married and raised two children. She died last January. He worked at mills along Upper Klamath Lake, did a stint as a log truck driver and finally went to work for Modoc Lumber Co. run- ning a log stacker and green chain. Clem hasn’t shared much about his war experiences, though he does keep a framed photograph of his P-51 Mustang fighter on his wall. “I haven’t talked about it all,” Photo by Marcia McGonigle he said. “I guess there’s no one to Don Clem, 90, relaxes in his Klamath Falls home as he talks about his war experiences.

WORLD WAR II: A TIMELINE Continued from page 6 nese bombing of Pearl Harbor and destruction November: Soviet Union invades Finland world, known as the Axis powers, Germany, of the U.S. Naval fleet in the Philippines, result- and occupies Poland and takes over Lithuania, Japan, Italy, Romania, Hungary, Finland and Bul- ing in the U.S. declaration of war on Japan, and Estonia, and Latvia. garia, and the Allies, made up of Great Britain, atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. France, the United States, Soviet Union, China, Various sources estimate between 40 April-May: Germany invades and con- Poland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, million to 75 million fatalities occurred during quers France, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, South Africa, Yugoslavia, Greece, Denmark, World War II, making it the deadliest conflict in Belgium and Luxembourg. Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, history. Brazil and the Philippines. 1940 Key events during the war include the Battle 1939 July: Japan occupies French colony of Indo- of Britain, in which the British were able to pre- September: Germany invades Poland. china. The U.S. cuts off oil exports to Japan. vent a German invasion of England, the Japa- England, France declare war on Germany. Continued on page 8 8 | Herald and News AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS

WORLD WAR II: IRENE CURRIN, surgical nurse, Army, 1942-45 A TIMELINE Love on the battlefield A Red Cross worker examines two men hey fell in love while operating on dying and injured soldiers from a concentration camp at an un- during World War II. known location in Germany. Date is un- known. AP photo Hugh and Irene Currin spent the County. His father, Hugh Currin, died in 1988 T war together. He a physician and after spending his career as an urologist and Continued from page 7 surgeon, she a surgical nurse. They were in surgeon in Klamath Falls (The Hugh Currin the hospital tent during the infamous Battle of House near the Cancer Treatment Center is September: German war- the Bulge, and spent time in Algers and North named for him). planes bomb London for 57 nights. Africa. Attacks continue through May Currin, a mechanical engineering profes- 1941. “It sounded a lot like M*A*S*H, but without sor at Oregon Institute of Technology, recently the helicopters,” said son Hugh Currin Jr., the helped his mother recall the war as the two Germany, Italy, and Japan sign a couple’s only child. “It was a major event in thumbed through a photo album containing treaty, aligning the three countries both of their lives.” against England and France. snapshots from the medical ward in North His mother, Irene Currin, at 101 is the old- October: Nazi campaign est known living war veteran in Klamath See CURRIN, page 9 against the Jews — the Holocaust — begins in earnest. By the end of the war more than 6 million Jews are killed as well as hundreds of thousands of other minorities. Italy invades Greece.

1941 March: U.S. agrees to send ammunition and other war supplies to England. It stops short of going to war. April: Germany takes over Greece and Yugoslavia. June: German troops invade the Soviet Union. Dec. 7: Japan bombs Pearl Harbor. Dec. 8: The U.S. declares war on Japan. Japanese troops land in the Philippines, French Indochina and Singapore. By April 1942, all three are occupied by Japan. Dec. 11: Nazi Germany and its Submitted photo Axis partners declare war on the U.S. ABOVE: Irene Currin poses for a photograph with a fellow nurse at an Army hospital camp in North Continued on page 9 Africa. TOP: Hugh Currin, 1944; Irene Currin, 1944. After Pearl Harbor: A salute to World War II veterans 9 | Herald and News

world War II: a timeline

Continued from page 8 1942 June: British and U.S. navies halt Japan in the central Pacific at Midway. August-November: U.S. halts Japan’s advance toward Australia at Guadalcanal in the Soloman Islands. November: U.S. and British troops land on the beaches of Algeria and Morocco in North Africa, and move to the western border of Tunisia. This triggers the German occupation of Southern France.

Photo by Marcia McGonigle ABOVE: German Afrika Korps soldiers sur- At 101, Irene Currin is the oldest known Klamath County veteran. She is photographed here in her Klamath render to South African infantrymen in Falls home with son Hugh Currin Jr. The two are browsing through a scrapbook from her war years. a captured village near Bardia, Libya, in January 1942. Allied forces captured the CURRIN, continued from page 8 soldiers in France,” Currin said. “There were a lot Axis base at Bardia on Jan. 2. BELOW: of deaths.” Standing on a snow-covered battlefield, Africa as well as tourist-like photos of Paris, His mother with the 46th traveled by boat to these American infantrymen of the 4th Armored Division fire at German troops, Switzerland, the French Alps and Geneva. North Africa — it had to zig zag to avoid subma- rines. The return trip was a bit more relaxing in an advance to relieve pressure on sur- Irene suffered a stroke a few years ago and has rounded U.S. airborne units, near Bas- a hard time speaking clearly. — black-and-white snapshots show an informally dressed Irene lazing on deck. togne, Belgium, on Dec. 27, 1944. AP photos Currin knows the love story and he’s heard others — mostly entertaining anecdotes. After the war, the couple married and returned to Klamath Falls. There was the Jeep that a friend of his parents built from spare parts. His mother has never been traditional, Currin said, smiling, and she was adventurous until her “They used that Jeep and a can of gasoline health slowed her down. But that wasn’t until and would go for a couple of days around France, recently. trading for food and lodging,” he said. “They were In her 80s, Irene and a friend took a multi- among the first to get into Switzerland after the day hiking trip along the Rogue River, camping border reopened.” in tents. She asked for — and received — snow Irene enlisted as an Army nurse with the 46th shoes for her 90th birthday. General after answering an advertisement. She Currin remembers his mom learning to down- grew up in Pasco, Wash., where she attended hill ski in her 50s and getting her pilot’s license 1943 nursing school, and later moved to Portland. when she was 60. The couple owned a motor Hugh Currin Sr. was a general practice physi- glider (a motorized sail plane). May: Axis forces in Tunisia surrender to the Allies, ending the cian in Klamath Falls before he joined the war As Irene looked through her World War II North African campaign. effort. scrapbook, she smiled at photos taken during a “They had mixed feelings,” their son said. two-week excursion she and her future husband September: Allied troops “There was all the horrible stuff, but then it was took through Europe before returning to the U.S. land on beaches of Salerno near basically a three-year honeymoon.” The Currins traveled later in life to Alaska, Naples. One of the stories their son doesn’t hear is his Hawaii and the Caribbean. But they never November: Soviet troops parents’ experiences at Battle of the Bulge. returned to the war zone where they fell in love. liberate Kiev. “They weren’t on the front lines getting shot at, “They never did go back to Europe,” Currin but they were just slammed with injured said. “I’m not sure if they wanted to.” Continued on page 11 10 | Herald and News AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS

RALPH KESLING, ball turret gunner, B-17, POW, June 1942-May 1945 ‘I WAS THINKING ABOUT SURVIVING’ Shot down over Germany, ball turret gunner Ralph Kesling spends 19 months as a POW

alph Kesling had 40 open sores the size of quarters on his calves and shins, some so deep he could see bone. He had been a German prisoner of war Submitted photo for six months, and the sores wouldn’t heal. Ralph Kesling was a ball turret gunner in a B-17, flying RInstead, more developed and infection set in. bombing missions over Germany. “I became a bit depressed and began to think perhaps I may not make it home,” Kesling wrote in a first-person “I was thinking about surviving. I remember we were story about his World War II experiences published in a 5 miles up … I had to leave my oxygen behind.” 1988 edition of the Herald and News. Once he jumped, it took about 15 minutes to get to the But a package from home — sent by his wife, Kay — ground. He landed in a potato patch and was greeted by likely saved his life. In it were vitamin and mineral pills. a young German soldier, who pointed a cocked pistol at Within a month, his sores started healing. his nose and yelled: “Hande hoch.” Kesling, now 94, considers himself lucky. Kesling was taken prisoner and shipped to Frankfurt, “People died, some went crazy,” he said during an where he was locked alone in a small cell for three days. interview from his Klamath Falls home. “It was an He eventually was taken by train to Stalag 7A, a prisoner unpleasant experience for all of us. You can’t imagine.” of war camp in Moosburg, Germany, and then to Stalag Kesling was a prisoner for 19 months, spending most 17B. of that time in the prison camp, Stalag 17B in Krems, He was given a dirty blanket, a French overcoat with a Austria. bullet hole in its back and a cap. These clothes, along with In the winter, the barracks were not heated and the his coveralls he was wearing when he was shot down, wind blew through cracks in the walls. They had little were all he had for the next year. clothing and inadequate food. The prisoners were given a loaf of bread a day to share “The cold was intense and constant,” Kelsing wrote. among four men as well as thin cabbage soup and pota- “My hands and feet swelled up from the cold … my fin- toes. gers stiffened and turned white as the blood stopped cir- Kesling, who grew up on a farm in Ohio, had been culating.” married a week when he was drafted into the Army and It had been about six months since the B-17 manned was assigned to the Army Air Corps. It was 1942 and by Kesling and his crew was shot down June 22, 1943, on within a year he was flying bombing missions over Ger- a mission over Germany’s Ruhu Valley. The day’s target many in a B-17. was a synthetic rubber plant. In May 1945, Kesling and his fellow prisoners were liberated and taken to an abandoned aluminum factory. Kesling was a ball turret gunner and he bailed out when the plane was hit. See KESLING, page 11 AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS 11 | Herald and News

WORLD WAR II: A TIMELINE ‘People died. Some went crazy. It was an unpleasant experience for all of us’ — Ralph Kesling, POW

American soldiers escort three German prisoners captured during fighting for the French port of Brest, France, on Sept. 16, 1944, during World War II. AP photo

Continued from page 9 1944 June: Allied troops liberate Rome, allowing American bombers to hit targets in eastern Germany for the first time. Stalag 17B: A black and white photograph depicts the prison camp, Stalag 17B, in Krems, Austria, where June 6: British and U.S. troops Ralph Kesling was held for nearly 19 months during World War II. The man in the center was Kesling’s bunk- land on beaches of Normandy, mate. Submitted photo France. Aug. 15: Allies forces land KESLING, continued from page 10 in southern France near Nice and advance towards the Rhine River. From there, they were moved to France. He arrived back in the U.S. Aug. 20: Allies troops reach Ralph Kesling, a Paris. June 11, 1945. former POW dur- After the war, Kesling worked as a ing World War II, Oct. 20: U.S. troops land in civilian for the U.S. Air Defense Com- shows off a Quilt the Philippines. mand, first on the East Coast and of Valor made for Dec. 16: The Germans launch later on the West Coast. He wound up him this year by his an attack in France and Italy, known his career at Kingsley Field. first cousin, Janie as Battle of the Bulge, “I was just lucky,” he said. “I had a Crawford. It has good life. I made the right decisions.” what is called an The Keslings had two children, son Army Block Center Bruce who lives in Klamath Falls, and pictures of and daughter Judy who lives in Las Kesling in his Army Vegas. Air Corps uniform Today, Kesling is still willing to and with his wife, talk about his experiences. He wears Kay. It is inscribed, a purple-and-yellow shirt with the “PFC U.S. Army inscription: “Ex-POW, Stalag XVII-B, POW, Stalag 17B Krems, Austria,” as he shares a scrap- World War II.” Photo book put together by his late wife. In by Marcia McGonigle 2nd Battallion infantrymen of the 1st U.S. it are numerous medals and awards Division, clad in winter camouflage, march from the war and stories written along a snow-covered road near Faymon- about his capture. ville, Belgium, on Jan. 16, 1945, during the Battle of the Bulge. AP photo “I think it’s good to have other people look at it,” he said. Continued on page 16 12 | Herald and News AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS

RAY DAFFER, Navy, USS Whitley, 1943-45 ‘There are things I wish I wouldn’t have seen ... things that still hurt’

See DAFFER, page 13

Submitted photo ABOVE: Marines and Navy Seabees watch during the U.S. attack on Iwo Jima near Mount Suribachi. BELOW: Marines on Iwo Jima. Navy seaman in the battle of Iwo Jima n the beach were dead things that still hurt.” bodies — Marines. Men The goal of the five-week cam- that Ray Daffer and paign for Iwo Jima in February O his fellow seamen had 1945 was to take over the island transported to the shores of Iwo and its three airfields to provide Jima for one of the major battles a staging area for attacks on in the South Pacific during World Japan’s mainland. War II. The Japanese, heavily armed, “There are things I wish I holed up in miles of underground wouldn’t have seen,” the 96-year- tunnels in Mount Suribachi, a old World War II veteran said as pumice volcano on the island, he looked at a snapshot taken Daffer said. during the battle. “These are the See DAFFER, page 13 AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS 13 | Herald and News

Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Aug. 6 and 9, 1045, respectively, soon ending the war. “We didn’t hear about it for several days,” he said. “We were two days out of Pearl Harbor heading for the Philip- pines when the war ended.” Daffer, who was in China and the Philippines after the Japanese left, said the aftermath of war was tragic. “They were left with nothing, no money, no food. They had stores, but the shelves were bare,” he said. “See- ing the innocent people who were hurt by the war is one of the things that haunts me.” He was honorably discharged as a shipfitter second class Dec. 17, 1945. Photo by Marcia McGonigle When he returned home, he worked Ray Daffer, 96, is a veteran of the U.S. Naval Amphibious Forces and was on the USS construction, using electrician and Whitley during the U.S. attack on Iwo Jima. welding skills from his stint in the Navy. DAFFER, continued from page 12 He shipped out in September 1944 The Daffers moved to the Klamath on the USS Whitley, a 460-foot ammu- Falls area after Daffer was hired to Daffer was with the 5th Amphibi- nition supply vessel that carried 330 help build the John C. Boyle Dam on ous attached to the 5th Marines. Their enlisted personnel and 36 officers. the Klamath River. He eventually took ship, the USS Whitley, stayed at Iwo The ship carried landing craft that a job with Eastside Electric in Klamath Jima for 23 days, eventually leaving were used to transport Marines ashore Falls, where he worked for 23 years to take 300 injured men to Guam for during the South Pacific campaign. before retiring in 1980. treatment. Daffer’s job aboard ship was security Ruby spent Daffer’s war years clerk- but he did what he had to. (Iwo Jima was the location of an ing in a convenience store and waiting iconic World War II image, a photo- “You obey the last order first,” he for her husband’s letters. graph taken Feb. 23, 1945, by Joe said. “I didn’t ever know where he was,” Rosenthal. It shows Marines and a Was he scared? Navy corpsman raising an American the 93-year-old said during an inter- “I don’t remember being scared.” flag atop Mount Suribachi.) view at the couple’s Klamath Falls Ruby agreed, saying her husband Daffer was 25 when he enlisted in home. never talked about fear. the Navy, joining the Naval Amphibi- Daffer has a scrapbook and photo “He was busy doing what he had to ous Forces. “They called him the ‘old album with black-and-white snapshots do,” she said. “He didn’t have time.” man,’ ” his wife Ruby said laughing. of the USS Whitley and the battle on After the USS Whitley transported The couple had been married five Iwo Jima. years by then. injured soldiers to Guam, it traveled to He declined to talk much about the His two younger brothers had the Philippines to pick up 1,000 men, already enlisted and were fighting taking them to the island of Ulithi as photos. overseas. part of the American force getting “You wouldn’t want to hear the grue- “I felt it was as much my scrap as it ready to invade Japan, Daffer said. some details,” he said quietly. “I would was theirs,” he said. “Patriotism, they Daffer was in Pearl Harbor when say there ought to be a better way than stressed it back then.” the atomic bombs were dropped on war. In a war, everybody loses.” 14 | Herald and News AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS

DON ARNOLD, mechanic, Navy, 1943-45 Wrong boat saves his life Instead of Aleutian Islands, he ends up in Okinawa

on Arnold was supposed to die. But the Navy mechanic ended up on the wrong ship. He was packed for his tour on the Aleutian Islands — fur boots, warm jacket — but ended up in Okinawa. No Done thought much about it — including Arnold — until World War II ended and Arnold’s base commander couldn’t locate his records to send him home. He wasn’t only stuck in Okinawa but, according to information his Don Arnold, 90, talks about his experiences as a Navy mechanic in World commander finally located, dead. War II. Instead of getting on a ship to the Aleutian Islands, he instead ended “He finally found me (listed) in the deceased,” Arnold said. “They up on a ship to Okinawa. The Aleutian Island-bound ship was sunk by the had put me on the wrong ship. I was supposed to go the Aleutian Russians, and Arnold, along with the rest of the crew, was listed as de- Islands, and the Russians sank the ship I was supposed to be on. My ceased. Photo by Marcia McGonigle See ARNOLD, page 15

IMAGES FROM WAR

Dick Howard

Thanks for your sacrifice LEFT: In this Aug. 14, 1945, photo, a sailor and a nurse kiss in Manhattan’s Times Square during that gave us celebrations for the end of World War II. The cel- life and liberty. ebration followed the official announcement that Japan had accepted the terms of the aPotsdam conference and surrendered. AP photo/U.S. Navy, Vic- tor Jorgensen ABOVE: Hawaii residents comb through wreck- 5717 South 6th age on Dec. 17, 1941 after Japanese bombing 541-884-8430 raids on Dec. 7. AP photo AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS 15 | Herald and News

ARNOLD, continued from page 14 records went down with the ship.” How did he end up on the wrong ship? ‘I was lucky. I’ve always Arnold doesn’t know exactly. “When you’re in the service, they tell you to been lucky at things.’ do something, you do it,” he said. — Don Arnold Arnold, 90, recalled the incident — pull- ing details bit by bit from his memory — as “I wanted to stay with my buddies.” he petted his active chihuahua, Lucky, in his south suburban Klamath Falls home. Arnold was born on a farm in Iowa, one of 13 children. His father died when he was still “I was lucky,” he added. “I’ve always been a child and he spent four years in an orphan- lucky at things.” age before he was given to a farmer named Arnold was drafted into the Navy and went Mr. Ford. to boot camp in Farragut, Idaho. From there, “I was with him ’til I graduated from high he shipped out to Okinawa, where he worked school,” Arnold said. He was drafted a short as a mechanic in the motor pool for 2-1/2 time later. years until the war ended. After the war, he met his wife on a “blind The Japanese would sneak onto the base walk.” They had a daughter and two sons and and steal K-rations, Arnold recalled. were married 63 years. She died several years “They were hungry,” he said. “They car- ago. He worked for Pacific Press Printing in ried hand grenades, and we were told by the Lynwood, Calif., for 32 years before retiring guards not to bother them.” and moving to Klamath Falls about 30 years At one point, Arnold installed a bigger seat ago. in his base commander’s Jeep — “made him a Today he plays poker twice a week and happy man,” he laughed. In return, the com- occasionally visits Kla-Mo-Ya Casino to try mander gave Arnold a hat that would get him Don Arnold as an enlisted Navy seaman. He was his luck there. into the officers’ quarters. a mechanic in Okinawa during World War II. Photo “It was a good life,” he said. “I can’t com- “I never went, though,” he said, shrugging. courtesy of Don Arnold plain.”

IMAGES FROM WAR

We honor our Nation’s Heroes.

A Unique Thrift Store

1229 East Main Open Mon-Sat 10am-4pm

All proceeds benefit Klamath Hospice patients and their families.

LEFT: Most of these prisoners are Russian and Polish days after U.S. troops liberated the camp near Weimar, Jews. Just a few manage to raise themselves for the Germany. The young man seventh from left in the middle photographer on April 25, 1945, at Buchenwald concen- row bunk is Elie Wiesel, who would later become an au- tration camp, Germany. RIGHT: This April 16, 1945, U.S. thor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Wiesel, a 1986 No- Army file photo shows prisoners of the German Buch- bel Peace Prize winner, accompanied President Barack enwald concentration camp inside their barracks a few Obama on a tour of Buchenwald, June 5, 2009. AP photos 16 | Herald and News AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS

CHARLES ‘CHUCK’ GLIDDEN, navigator, B-24 bomber, 110 combat missions Defying the odds, and a vendetta Pilot flies 110 combat missions before taking honorable discharge to protect his crew harles “Chuck” Glid- den survived 110 combat missions as a navigator on a B-24 bomb- Cer during World War II despite an officer’s vendetta and promise: “If I have my way you are not going home alive.” Glidden told the officer it was unacceptable to endanger his crew just to get even. But the officer tried to keep that promise, sending Glidden’s crew on skip bomb missions in the B-24, a particular danger- ous endeavor for that type of Glidden bomber. “To protect his crew, Dad stayed drunk until he was relieved and sent home,” writes Glidden’s oldest son, Charles “Corky” Glid- den. Glidden was honorably discharged — 110 missions were more than twice the amount Submitted photo bomber crews usually did before they were Charles “Chuck” Glidden poses in front of his B-24 bomber. transferred home, Corky Glidden writes. “I don’t know of any other officers who sac- father’s tour of duty in the China Burma a superior officer when mom chose dad over rificed their careers to save those who served Theater — including the officer with the this officer. under them.” vendetta. A second version goes that dad beat this Glidden and his wife, Pauline, settled in officer at poker. In any case, dad created an Klamath Falls after the war, where they Corky Glidden, an Army veteran living in raised eight children. Portland, recalled two versions of the reason adversary … This officer was a car sales- why the officer had a vendetta against his man from New York who thought that dad Pauline died in 1992 and Glidden in 1999. father. was nothing more than a dumb hillbilly from Their children — Charles “Corky” F. Glid- California.” den, Cathy Glidden, Dennis Glidden, Nancy The first involved a woman, his father’s Erickson, Julie Bruce, Joe Glidden, Paul future wife who he met while he was attend- Glidden ended up in the same unit as that Glidden and Carol Coker — say their father ing military school in Wendover, Nev. officer, who was on the headquarter com- didn’t talk much about the war, but they did Son Corky Glidden writes: “The story mand staff. recall a couple of colorful stories from their goes on that he created an adversary out of See GLIDDEN, page 17 WORLD WAR II: A TIMELINE Continued from page 11 Aug. 6: The U.S. drops an atomic bomb in an attempt to split the Allied forces along on Hiroshima. the German border. By Jan. 1, 1945, the Ger- Aug. 9: The U.S. drops an atomic bomb mans begin retreating. Nearly all of France, on Nagasaki. most of Belgium, and part of the Netherlands are liberated. Aug. 14: Japan indicates it will sur- 1945 render. Sept. 2: Japan formally surrenders, pril Adolf Hitler commits suicide. A 30: ending the war. May 7: Germany surrenders. Mamoru Shigemitsu signs unconditional surrender papers for Sources: United States Holocaust Memorial Mu- Emperor Hirohito, Aug. 14, 1945. AP photo May: Allied troops conquer Okinawa. seum/www.ushmm.org, Associated Press AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS 17 | Herald and News

GLIDDEN, continued from page 16 ‘I don’t know any other officers who sacrificed their careers to save those who served under them.’ — Charles ‘Corky’ Glidden about his father, Chuck Glidden

“During one particular bombing run,” Glidden also served on the Society of Corky Glidden writes, “the unit lost most of American Foresters. its command staff, leaving dad’s adversary His daughter, Julie Bruce, recalled when as the commander.” she realized that her father was a hero. Glidden’s youngest son, Paul, recalled “One of my most moving memories of Dad the reason his father was awarded a Dis- was in the years just before he passed ... He tinguished Flying Cross from the Army Air was an old shuffling man in his 80s at this Force and a medal from Chiang Kai-shek, point and although treated with kindness by leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party and the public, it wasn’t until I took him out to China’s head of state from 1928 to 1949. Kingsley Field to go to the BX that I saw the Paul Glidden writes: “Dad’s plane fell Charles Glidden shot down a Zero, a strate- respect shown to him that was his due,” she under attack. He didn’t have a weapon, but gic Japanese fighter plane used in World War II. writes. someone else did. This person was shot, and Zeros were used in the attack on Pearl Harbor. There was a young sentry at the gate, who Dad used his gun to hit an incoming Zero U.S. Navy photo took her father’s identification. His response — inflicting serious damage. The pilot of Pauline moved to Alturas and then to Klam- to Glidden’s World War II veteran status was the stricken plane made another pass and ath Falls in 1949. In Klamath Falls, Glidden immediate. attempted to ram Dad’s plane. But the Zero worked as a timber manager for DG Shelter was too severely damaged, and fell short. “It was all, ‘Yes, sir! What can we do for and then as chief forester for Columbia Ply- you sir!’ ” Bruce writes. And then the sentry “I believe Dad was the only navigator in wood. saluted and stood at attention. that theater to kill a Zero.” (Zeros were stra- He was a lieutenant colonel in the “My dad was a quiet man who never tegic fighter planes used by the Japanese in reserves. He also served on the Klamath boasted of his war experiences and who took World War II.) County Roads Advisory Board and was a everything in stride. But I was totally blown After the war, Glidden worked for a time member of Sacred Heart’s Knights of Colum- away as I learned by this sentry’s action I as a forester in North Carolina before he and bus and on its Parish Council. had a real World War II hero in my car.” 18 | Herald and News AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS

TOM HILL, Army, European Theater, 1941-45

war treasures When Gerry Hill’s uncle died, he left memorabilia Gerry Hill’s uncle never talked much about Another find was a hand-drawn map indicat- his experiences in the Army during World War ing where his uncle — with the 13th Armored II. (Black Cat) Division — between January and Hill knows his uncle — Tom Hill — was May 1945 marched from the English drafted into the Army and drove a com- Channel to the Danube River in Ger- munications Jeep in Germany from 1941 many. to 1945. After he returned, he worked as “It shows their movements in France a civilian accountant at Kingsley Field. and Germany from the day they He belonged to the Sportsmans Park in marched down the gang plank at Le Keno and was an avid gun collector. Havre until the bright May day when the Gerry Hill It wasn’t until Tom Hill died in 1997 German High Command surrendered that his family found his memorabilia unconditionally,” Gerry Hill said. from the war — German money, a U.S. flag Gerry Hill, a Klamath Falls resident and Viet- flown on the Jeep, a pair of binoculars, an nam veteran, said he didn’t realize his uncle Army song book, a knife made in occupied had kept the memorabilia. Japan and a cloth emblem with a green The Army Song Book was published by eagle and black Nazi order of the Secretary of War in 1941 and has symbol that was songs including “Pop! Goes the Weasel,” likely worn by “God Bless America,” “Old King Cole,” and a German offi- “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.” cer. “I doubt there’s another one,” he said. AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS 19 | Herald and News

IMAGES FROM WAR: D-Day, the Normandy invasion Commonly called D-Day, the Normandy invasion during World War II started June 6, 1944. The landings were done in two phases: an airborne assault that landed 24,000 British, American and Canadian troops shortly after midnight and an amphibious landing on the coast of France. It was a key battle in the war to retake France for the Western Allies.

Clockwise from left: American assault troops move onto a beachhead during the D-Day invasion. A group of wounded American assault troops take time out for some food and a cigarette. U.S. reinforcements wade through the surf as they land at Normandy. AP photos Find Your reedom Region’s Finest HealthFF Care and Shopping Hub Easy Access to Airport and Interstate Travel Cultural Arts, Fine Cuisine and Recreation The City of Klamath Falls Locally Owned salutes all WWII Veterans of Klamath Falls and The Basin.

We Find out why so many people are moving here Honor Call for a Veterans complimentary stay

VerandaPark.com Medford, Oregon 800.205.4777 20 | Herald and News AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS

‘Take cover. We are being bombed’ By CYNTHIA DeROSIER I was a 10-year-old growing up in one Memories of the districts of Honolulu. It was about PEARL HARBOR ATTACK CHANGES DAILY LIFE 8:30 in the morning when the phone rang. (We had heard explosions but thought it was just one of the services practicing or on maneuvers.) My aunt called to tell us that we were to take ‘... the defining time Guitar is family’s last cover. The two radio stations: KGU and in our lives’ Pearl Harbor survivor KGMB had announcers on telling people “It is the real McCoy. Take cover. By RICHARD EASTMAN By MICHELE RUSTON We are being bombed.” On Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, I was My grandfather, Arthur J. H. Theiss, We stayed in the house for a while with my family at the Swedish Cov- joined the Navy in the early 1930s. and then curiosity got the better of us. enant Church (in Klamath Falls), now He went on to become master printer We ran out to see puffs of black smoke the Gospel Mission, when the pastor aboard the USS West Virginia. He also and airplanes firing their machine guns. announced that Pearl Harbor had been played clarinet in the Navy band and We were near the Japanese Consulate bombed by the Japanese. was an avid guitar player. He bought a and looked over to see black smoke Most of us had no idea who they Martin parlor-style guitar that was small from the chimney of the building: papers were or where Japan was. Although enough to keep onboard ship. were being burned. the U.S. had started rearming due to Just prior to Dec. 7, 1941, my grand- A bomb exploded not too far away. It the war in Europe, it was not on seri- father had been temporarily moved was only later that we discovered that a ous war footing as there was strong over to the USS Maryland for a special cousin and his boys had heard the mes- sentiment not to get involved in foreign printing job; however, all his belongings sage and were driving to Pearl Harbor wars. remained on the West Virginia. During to see if they could help in any way. All So the talk was that on Monday the attack on Pearl Harbor, the West were killed. morning, Japan would pay a heavy Virginia suffered severe damage and There were convoys filled with Army price when our bombers leveled it. eventually sunk from seven torpedo hits. and Navy families who lived near Pearl Most of us had no idea how vast the My grandfather lost all his belongings, Harbor. Schools were opened for them Pacific and the logistics involved, or including his beloved musical instru- so they would be out of harm’s way. did I, then a freshman in high school, ments. Some of the island families opened their think that the war would last nearly four Or, so he thought. homes to provide shelter for those who years and long enough for me to spend Sometime after the battle, he found were displaced. 29 days on a troop ship staring at the his guitar floating in the harbor and was We were immediately under martial blue Pacific and getting a sample of its able to retrieve it. It had quite a bit of law. No lights could show, so windows vastness. water damage, but he was able to patch were painted with black paint or heavy Like most of us of that era, the Great things up enough to have a playable curtains were used to shut out the light. Depression and World War II was the instrument. No one was allowed out after dark defining time in our lives as one pre- When I started playing guitar as a without reason. pared us for the other. teenager, my grandfather gave me his As soon as possible people in the Eastman is a Tulelake resident old patched up guitar and asked that I neighborhoods were lined up to receive someday have it restored. He died of various shots to prevent diseases. We Alzheimer’s disease in the 1980s, long all were fingerprinted and given iden- before I was able to afford the neces- tity cards that we were to carry at all sary repairs. The guitar is currently with times. In addition we were all issued someone who is working to restore this gas masks which had to be carried at all special heirloom, the last Pearl Harbor times. survivor of the family. I remember a Japanese neighbor Rushton is a Klamath Falls resident crying to her mother: “Mama, how are they going to tell us from them?” Schools were closed until January. DeRosier of Klamath Falls is a retired school administrator AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS 21 | Herald and News

‘It was quite an event to be in … you don’t realize how it’s going to go down in history.’ — 100-year-old Louise Cordonier Tulelake man’s parents were

at Pearl Harbor Joe Cordonier shares news- papers and Scrapbook chronicles life after the attack other souve- nirs from his t was 4 a.m. Dec. 7, 1941, and Louise and her husband mother’s scrap- Joe Cordonier had just gotten home from a night on book. Louise the town. Cordonier, now About 30 minutes later, Louise awoke to what 100, was a sounded like pilots buzzing planes over Pearl Harbor. Navy wife living I “I kept asking my husband, ‘What’s that noise?’ ” she in Pearl Harbor recalled. when the Japa- About 20 minutes later, someone was banging on their nese attacked. door and they turned on the radio. In five minutes, Joe Cor- donier was in his full Navy uniform and on his way to his ship. Louise didn’t see him for two weeks. The couple’s son, Joe, longtime clerk for the city of Tule- lake, said his parents rarely talked about their experiences at Pearl Harbor. But last year, Cordonier’s mother gave him her scrapbook. In it are newspaper headlines declaring war and articles and photographs depicting life at the time. One photo chronicled American soldiers and sailors burying a Japa- nese lieutenant who crashed his plane during the Dec. 7 attack. “The stories don’t come out unless you ask the questions,” he said. His mother, Louise, recalled the events of that morning when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor during an interview from her home in Kansas. She turned 100 in March. Her husband, Joe, died in 1997 after spending his career with the Navy. The senior Cordonier ended up in the hospital for medical issues from the attack. Louise — along with the rest of Pearl Harbor — spent the next several weeks under “black- out.” “You couldn’t have a twinkle (of light from your windows),” she said. “You had to put blue cellophane over your flashlights. Block wardens enforced the rules. Rationing also went into effect. Louise stayed for nearly a year, and was among those on the last ship used to evacuate civilians. “Sure I was scared. Anyone who told me they weren’t, they were lying,” she said. “It was quite an event to be in … you don’t realize how it’s going to go down in history.” 22 | Herald and News AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS

ROBERT ‘BOB’ PURKHISER, Navy seaman first class, 1944-47 Taking the islands

Submitted photos On Samar Island: Native troops walk down a road on Samar in the Philippines. A young Filipino guerilla soldier poses for a photograph. Navy seaman participates in three invasions during South Pacific battles s bullets flew around him, military base. But the island was attacked a short time Seaman Robert “Bob” After Peleui, Purkhiser’s unit participated later. Purkhiser kept going. in the October invasion of Leyte and the “I was on patrol duty — at a point above November invasion of Samar. the boat pool, just talking — when all of a His job was to transport Marines to the shores of The battle for Leyte Island in the Philip- sudden a bomb landed 100 feet in front of A pines has been called by historians one of us,” he said. “Then we heard the airplane. Peleui in the Palau islands so they could capture an airstrip and take the island from the the bloodiest of the Pacific Theater. It also We were under attack.” Japanese. is said to have signaled the beginning of the They sounded the alarm as the Japanese end for the Japanese. It was September 1944, and the first of bomber flew over the area — the Allied three invasions the 18-year-old seaman Purkhiser was among those who helped troops were enjoying an outdoor movie. The would survive in the next several months transport more than 100,000 U.S. soldiers to enemy bomber was followed by a Dutch as Allied Forces fought to take control of the the island. fighter, which was shooting at the Japanese Pacific Theater in the last years of World He saw his last major action July 1, 1945, plane. War II. during a final amphibious assault on Balik- “It finally knocked the (enemy) plane papan, Borneo. It was a bloody battle. down,” Purkhiser said. “It was the last armed invasion of World “They were shooting at us,” Purkhiser of After that night, the rest of his days were War II and I was a part of it,” the 87-year-old Klamath Falls recalled. “There were dead fairly routine. The U.S. dropped atomic Marines all over the beach. said. bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Aug. 6 In Borneo, the seaman transported U.S. “I never got scratched. I had friends killed and Aug. 9 and Japan surrendered Aug. 14, and Australian troops ashore during the on both sides of me, boats blown up around 1945. me. I was lucky.” battle. Purkhiser moved to Klamath Falls after After Marines secured the islands, “We finally drove the (Japanese) back sev- Purkhiser and his unit would transport eral miles, started unloading supplies and the war and worked for Pacific Bell for and unload supplies and establish a U.S. setting up a base,” he said. See PURKHISER, page 23 AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS 23 | Herald and News

BROTHERS IN WAR Seaman Robert Purkhiser never expected to see his brother between invasions in the South Pacific Theater. But a two-beer liberty on Ulithi, the smallest island in the Mari- annas, ended with a reunion between the seaman and his older brother, Ross, a pharmacist mate with the 51st Seabees. While on the island, Purkhiser saw a truck carrying 51st Sea- bees. So he asked his superiors if he could go find his brother. The 51st was stationed on a nearby island and the two brothers spent a half day together before Purkhiser was ordered to immediately return to his ship. During that trip, he traveled with a group of captains who had been meeting to plan what he later learned was the invasion of the Philippines, a major Pacific The- ater battle.

Ross and Robert Purkhiser pose together after a chance meeting in the South Pacific during World War II. Submitted photo

PURKHISER, continued from page 22

35 years before retiring. He and P-38 bombers come and go. his late wife, Rose Marie, raised After the war ended, Purkh- four children. She died June 2011. iser stayed on working base secu- He grew up on a ranch outside rity in Borneo. A short time later, of Roseburg and moved to Oregon Purkhiser and an Australian City with his mother after his officer were traveling up a Borneo parents divorced. His mother river when they saw a man on never remarried and supported shore waving to them. her family by typing. Times were “It was a Japanese (soldier). He hard. handed us a note proposing a sur- “During the Depression you render for Borneo.” had to live by your wits,” he said. In February 1945, the U.S. Purkhiser left school at the age closed the Borneo base. Purkhiser of 15 and at the age of 17 went to went to New Guinea and eventu- work in Portland, Ore., shipyards ally Sydney, Australia, before as a welder. He also worked for returning to Pearl Harbor for a the Forest Service at Diamond 30-day leave. He spent his last Lake, caddied golf and worked on year on Guam, refueling ships. a ranch. He was discharged in May He was still 17 when he and a 1947. His awards include the Asi- friend decided to join the Navy. It atic Pacific Ribbon, a Bronze Star, took about a week to get through Philippine Liberation Ribbon, the the paperwork. By Jan. 11, 1944, World War II Victory Medal and he was an enlisted man and off to the America Area Ribbon. boot camp in Farragut, Idaho. His war stories are mostly “I was patriotic. I had a place entertaining — using dump to sleep, three meals a day and a trucks to knock coconuts off trees, payday,” he said. “If I hadn’t gone eating canned lamb’s tongue pro- into the Navy, I think I would vided by Australian troops and have ended up a hoodlum.” Photo by Marcia McGonigle seeing fish jump from the trees He remembers that first night Robert “Bob” Purkhiser joined the Navy at the age of 17 and was a sea- in Borneo (Purkhiser, referencing at boot camp. “We had supper, man in the South Pacific Theater. a National Geographic article, bunked down and they played claims the tree-jumping fish are Taps …” days through Japanese subma- ater — had just been secured by not a sea story). rine patrolled waters, eventually By March, he was one of 6,000 the Allies. His unit was assigned But, if asked, he admits he still troops on the USS George Oliver ending up in the Russell Islands to guard the island’s supply has nightmares about the not-so- Squire heading from San Fran- just north of Guadalcanal. dump. entertaining experiences. cisco to the Pacific Theater. The The Guadalcanal — one of the The island also had an airfield “I didn’t like the Japanese,” he ship traveled unescorted for 14 major battles in the Pacific The- and Purkhiser liked watching the said. “I still don’t like them.” 24 | Herald and News AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS

WARD FRIEDMAN, Radio operator, Army Air Transport Command, 1943-46 Precious cargo As the war ended, C-54 supply planes flew released POWs to safety for medical care

uring his four-year tour overseas during World War II, radio operator Ward Fried- man transported dignitaries and kings as well as supplies D for U.S. bombers in China. But the most important cargo he flew was soldiers released from POW camps and needing transport to the U.S. for medical care. “Those guys were in bad shape,” the 91-year-old recalled nearly 70 years later from his home in Klamath Falls. “After they opened up the camps, we’d pick up a whole plane load of POWs in China and take them to Casablanca. From there they went to Washington, D.C.” Friedman enlisted in the Army Air Corps Sept. 21, 1943. He was 21. He did his basic training in Sioux Falls, S.D. and then spent three months in Reno before heading overseas assigned to the Army Air Trans- port Command. (The Air Transport Com- mand was activated in 1942 and was deacti- vated after the war ended in 1945). He was a radio operator on two-engine C-46 Commando and four-engine C-54 Sky Master air transports. The crew trained in India and was stationed in Iran, Pakistan and Cairo. Its primary mission was troop and logistic support. Friedman flew supplies and dignitaries — he transported Egypt’s King Farouk to Turkey, Greece, Italy and eventually France. He also supplied bombers in Beng- hazi in North Africa. As the war ended, the crew used its supply planes to transport released war prisoners. Litter cases — beds — were set up and used for the injured and ill soldiers. Friedman wasn’t in direct combat, but had some life threatening experiences. “Was I ever scared? Yes, a couple of times when we cracked up,” he said. One of those “crack ups” was caused by a gas leak that caught an engine on fire while Friedman’s C-46 was flying over the Per- sian Gulf. “We put it out, but when we got to 500 feet, there was fire in the engine again. When we came down, the wing fell off and we spun 360s down the runway. All that was left was the compartment we were in.” Photo by Marcia McGonigle Ward Friedman, 91, of Klamath Falls talks about his experiences in the Army during World War II. See FRIEDMAN, page 25 Friedman served as a radio operator in the Army Air Transport Command from 1943 to 1946. AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS 25 | Herald and News

FRIEDMAN, continued from page 24 Submitted photos Ward Friedman Friedman was discharged in March 1946 and went into was a radio oper- the Reserves. A year later, he was working as a furniture, ate in World War appliance and carpet salesman at Sears on Eighth and II cargo planes, Klamath in downtown Klamath Falls. He retired 30 years including the later. C-54, pictured far He met his future wife, Jo, in 1948, when she waited on left. him at a Klamath Falls jewelry store. They were married 30 years before she died in 2003. While in North Friedman is still active in the Shriners. His home at Africa, Ward Crystal Terrace is decorated with awards, including the Friedman had a Hiram Award, the highest honor given to a mason. Other chance to tour the photos include a black-and-white snapshot of a C-54, the Egyptian pyra- plane Friedman’s crew used to help transport POWs home mids on horse- from war camps. back. Physically, the war left him hard of hearing in his left Friedman served ear — “sat next to big engines, 12 to 13 hours a day.” as a radio operator in the Army Air Nowadays, his health isn’t what it used to be — he Transport Com- turned 91 in October — but overall, he considers himself mand from 1943 lucky. to 1946. “I can thank the man upstairs,” he said.

IMAGES FROM WAR: Pearl Harbor attack The Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor began at 7:55 a.m. Dec. 7, 1941. The attack came in two waves. The first included 40 torpedo planes, 49 bombers, 51 dive bombers and 43 fighters. The second wave included 170 bombers and fighter planes. By the end of the day, more than 2,000 men lost their lives. Source: U.S. Navy Museum

AP photos FAR LEFT: This Dec. 7, 1941, image provided by the U.S. War Department made from a Japanese newsreel shows Japanese planes over Hawaii during the attack on Pearl Harbor. LEFT: Sailors stand among wrecked airplanes at Ford Island Naval Air Station as they watch the explosion of the USS Shaw in the background. 26 | Herald and News AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS

GLENN LEWIS, Navy, 96th Seabees, Philippines, China, 1944-48 He ran away from home to join the war: ‘I couldn’t wait.’ lenn Lewis was only 13 when the Japanese bombed G Pearl Harbor, but he wanted to go to war. “I couldn’t wait. I wanted to kill the (Japanese),” said the World War II veteran during an interview from his Klamath Falls home. Now 86, he recalled how in the fall 1943 he ran away from home, traveling by bus from Salem to Portland, so he could enlist in the Merchant Marines. His parents called the authorities, and the 17-year-old Lewis was met by Portland police officers when he got off the bus. Once he returned to Salem, his mother took him to a recruiting station so he could join the Navy. He never finished high school. By the time he turned 18 in January 1944, Lewis was finally an enlisted man with the 96th Seabees. The 96th shipped out in early 1945, heading for the Philippines. Lewis was in the Headquar- ters Company and his main job was storekeeper. He was tasked with making sure food shipments arrived, were accounted for and stored properly in the galley. The 96th arrived at Manicani, 10 miles off the southern tip of Samar, and started building docks and infrastructure on the forested island. In March, the 96th was sent to Tsingtao, China, to build an airfield, where the unit stayed until November. The war had ended in August. Lewis said he didn’t see much combat and considers himself lucky. But he did see plans for the Glenn Lewis joined the Navy when he was 17. He invasion of Japan. dropped out of high school and didn’t receive his di- “Instead of taking Tokyo, they were going to ploma until a few years ago when Oregon’s governor See LEWIS, page 27 granted high school diplomas to World War II veterans. ‘We all cried and

Milly Lewis told her we’d pray’ remembers the day Pearl Harbor Milly Lewis was 7, living on Fargo Street in Klamath was bombed. She Falls when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, signaling was 7. The attack, the U.S. entry into World War II. she said, impacted “We were on the city bus and this young woman start- everyone. “We were ed weeping,” she recalled. “We had just heard about Pearl all very patriotic Harbor being bombed. back then.” The woman told bus passengers that her brother was on a ship in Pearl Harbor. Photo by Marcia “We all cried and told her we’d pray.” McGonigle AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS 27 | Herald and News

IMAGES FROM WAR

Glenn Lewis. 86, of Klamath Falls looks through a book U.S. Marines of the 28th Regiment, 5th Division, raise the American flag atop Mount about the Navy Seabees during World War II. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, on Feb. 23, 1945. Strategically located only 660 miles from Tokyo, the Pacific island became the site of one of the bloodiest, most famous battles of World War II against Japan. AP Photo/Joe Rosenthal LEWIS, continued from page 26 A giant col- take a southern island,” he said. “They planned for a umn of smoke loss of 1 million lives for that invasion.” rises more than It was an invasion that didn’t happen. The U.S. 60,000 feet into dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the air, after the effectively ending the war. second atomic After the war, Lewis tried to finish his senior year bomb ever used in warfare ex- of high school, but dropped out after three months. plodes over the He bought a logging truck and a horse and started a Japanese port logging business in Blodgett, Ore. A short time later, town of Naga- he married his first wife. She worked nights at a res- saki, on Aug. 9, taurant and eventually ran off with another man. 1945. Dropped Lewis then moved to Klamath Falls, picking up by the U.S. Army automotive classes at Oregon Technological Institute Air Forces B-29 (now OIT). He met his wife, Milly, when she was a plane “Bockscar,” senior at Klamath Union High School. She was 17, he the bomb killed was 24, and everyone said it wouldn’t last. That was more than 70,000 62 years ago. people instantly, with tens of Lewis eventually landed a job with the Klamath thousands dying County Road Department, where he worked for 32 later from effects years before retiring. of the radioactive That was when he finally received his high school fallout. AP photo diploma from the state of Oregon. “The governor stated that anyone in World War II could have a diploma,” he said. His is from Salem High School, where he attended until he joined the Navy. He’s considered returning to China, where he spent some time in Peking, now Beijing. But, he said, he isn’t sure he wants to see the modern-day Beijing. “In 1945, there were two walls — inner and outer — and they’re gone now. Back then, Tiananmen Square was filled with bikes. Now, it’s filled with cars.” 28 | Herald and News AFTER PEARL HARBOR: A SALUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERANS

BUSTER NEWLUN, Army private first class 1944-45 Paralyzed for life Soldier shot in back at battle of Okinawa; younger brother quits school to join Navy uster Newlun never talked about “Your brother is wounded so you have to go the invasion of Okinawa that left do things.” him paralyzed from the waist Buster was drafted shortly after he down. He was 19. graduated from Sprague River High School. The Sprague River area Vernon, who was two years younger, got his B native lived his life from a general equivalency diploma after the war. wheelchair, but he still went hunting with The war was over by the time Vernon got his younger brother, Vernon. out of basic training. He was stationed in The two were deer hunting when Buster Guam, and spent his Navy years on ships started talking. traveling to and from the Aleutian Islands. “He said, ‘This reminds me a lot of Oki- The Navy ship crews were on the lookout nawa,’ ” Vernon recalled. “Then he told me a for mines that traveled on the ocean cur- little bit about what happened.” rents from Japan. It was May 1945, and Newlun, an Army “We were just off the Oregon coast — we private first class, was in a fox hole on Oki- had sunk a couple of the mines coming down nawa surrounded by mortar fire. from the Aleutian Islands — when I saw it. I “It blew them out of the fox holes,” Vernon called the lookout and we shot at it. It never said. “They lost their guns. His sergeant told did explode,” Vernon said. him to go behind a concrete building, and “It was kind of an awful looking thing. then motioned for him to come out. Some- Horns sticking out,” he added. “If ships hit thing hit him, and from then on he had no those horns, (the mine) would explode.” feeling in his legs.” After the war, he returned to Klamath Buster was evacuated and spent the next County and worked in the mills. He mar- several months in VA hospitals on the West ried and eventually got a job on the railroad, Coast. He never did walk again. Buster where he worked for 38 years before retiring never married, but he spent a lot of time with in 1989. his nieces and nephews. He died in 2009 at The Newlun brothers had three sisters the age of 83. Buster Newlun in his Army uniform. The private and a brother who was about 20 years “He had a good sense of humor,” said first class was injured in the battle of Okinawa younger than Buster, the oldest. That broth- niece Linda Culp of Klamath Falls. “He in May 1945 in the U.S. offensive push against er, Bill, is a Vietnam veteran. never wanted a big fuss over (his injury).” Japan. He died in 2009 at the age of 83. Vernon said Buster was always positive His nephew and Vernon’s son, Ken New- about his life — and injury. lun, recalled playing basketball with his After Buster was wounded, Vernon “He’d say, ‘Oh, there’s always someone in uncle. dropped out of high school and enlisted in worse shape than me,’ ” he said. “He had the “He would always go out and shoot bas- the Navy. use of his hands and arms, and there were a kets with me from his wheelchair,” he said. “A kid has these ideas you know,” he said. lot of guys who didn’t.”

IMAGES FROM WAR: Okinawa a key battle The U.S. attacked Okinawa in April 1945. Its strategic importance included four airfields that the U.S. needed to control. By April 20, Japanese resistance in the north of the island had been eradicated and the battle for Okinawa turned to the south. Okinawa was declared secure July 2, 1945.

AP photos FAR LEFT: A U.S. Marine comforts a comrade, who witnessed the death of his buddy, on a hillside in the vicinity of Shuri, in May 1945, during the invasion of Okinawa.

LEFT: Pfc. Paul Ison from the 6th Marine Division dashes forward through Japanese machine-gun fire while crossing a draw on Okinawa, May 10, 1945. After the Marines sustained more than 125 casual- ties in eight hours in the attempt to cross this draw, the men named the location “Death Valley.” 1 out of 4 dying Americans is a Veteran

At High Desert Hospice, our hospice professionals understand that each Veteran has a unique life story and a unique set of needs. As Level 2 partners of the We Honor Veterans program, we are here to fulfill those needs.

For more information, please contact us.

Honoring All Who Served

Moved to Klamath Memorial Park (Near Corner of South Side Expressway & Green Springs Dr.) 541.882.1636 www.hdhweb.com www.DavenportsChapel.com www.wehonorveterans.org 2680 Memorial Drive, Klamath Memorial Park 541-883-3458

GREATEST

The USS Arizona Memorial GENERATION Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii

WE THANK YOU

3815 S. 6TH STE 110 KLAMATH FALLS, OR 97603 541-884-1343 • 800-347-1343 CBHOLMANPREMIER.COM The Herald and News honors all who fought for our country. Thank you for our freedom. 131207-1002381-FP-Veterans Saffron We Pay

pecial Honor To all the soldiersS and their families who have served and are currently serving our great nation.

John 3:16