Dearborn Co, IN

Description

A pictorial history of Dearborn County, IN from 1940-1945 that draws upon the resources of the Aurora and Lawrenceburg newspapers of 1940-1945, the Dearborn County Recorder's office and oral account of veterans and families of veterans, as well as the D-Day Museum in New Orleans, the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Field, and the Patton Tank Museum at Fort Knox.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Vol II
• Aurora (desambiguación)
• History of Indiana
• Dearborn County, Indiana
• Lawrenceburg
• History
• IN
• Aurora
• Fort Knox
• Indiana

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 08 mars 2001
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781681623900
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 5 Mo

Extrait

Brisling with guns, the U.S.S. Pennsylvania leads a line of battleships into Lingayen Gulf for the American return to the Philippines in 1945. Dearborn Countian Sylvester (Dutz) Neary was serving aboard this battleship in the Plotting Room of the Gunnery Department.
Turner Publishing Company

P.O. Box 6802 Evansville, Indiana 47719-6802
Pre-Press work by M.T. Publishing Company, Inc. Graphic Designer: Bob Parker, Dearborn County Historical Society
Copyright 2001 Dearborn County Historical Society
This book or any part thereof may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Dearborn County Historical Society and the Publishers.
The materials were compiled and produced using available information; Turner Publishing Company, M.T. Publishing Company, Inc., and the Dearborn County Historical Society regret they cannot assume liability for errors or omissions.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2001088504
ISBN: 978-1-56311-635-3
C ONTENTS Introduction Chapter 1 On the Brink of War Chapter 2 Pearl Harbor Bombed The U.S. Goes to War Chapter 3 U.S. Expands Military to Fight Global War Chapter 4 Fighting from Africa through Italy Chapter 5 On the Home Front Chapter 6 Women in the Military Chapter 7 On the Offensive in the Pacific Chapter 8 Assaulting Europe Chapter 9 Final Victory Book Donors Acknowledgments Bibliography Photo Credits Index
Introduction
In introducing this book to you, to explain some of the production considerations, several emotions will probably surface. First and foremost is pride. We all can be proud of the Dearborn County people and the part they played in World War II. We are told by professional historians that the Second World War was the biggest single event in all of history. It was fought on most continents and on all the oceans. Over 50 million people were killed, hundreds of millions wounded, not to mention the incalculable destruction of property. Not only were political forms and boundaries altered, but social and economic norms were changed forever.
In America some 16 million men and women served in the armed forces, and others did their part on the home front. Unlike any other war, every single person in Dearborn County was touched by WWII. Everyone had a spouse, father, sibling, sweetheart or friend in the fighting services. Dearborn Countians served in all parts of the armed forces: infantry, artillery, submarines, battleships, tanks, Marines, Coast Guards, bombers, gliders and mountain troops. They served in all theaters: from Alaska, Iceland and Murmansk in the North to New Guinea and Australia in the South, and from Iran, India and China in the East to Germany, Central Europe and Yugoslavia in the West.
They were definitely part of The Greatest Generation as newscaster and author Tom Brokaw referred to them. We feel that it is important to preserve the memories of this time period in Dearborn County and the World. And so we have attempted to tell their stories against the background of the military phases of World War II. Our aim is to present local history in light of world events for a better appreciation of both. The younger generation today as well as future generations need to be reminded that their forebears once led this nation in a great struggle to defeat the forces of dictators who sought to rob the world of freedom and democracy.
While it gives us great pleasure in publishing this account, it differs from Volume I in that it only covers six years. We were constrained in doing this by the concentration of events and the multitude of Dearborn County people all interacting in this span of time. We are thankful to all those who loaned the Historical Society their photos, without which this book would have been impossible as a pictorial history volume.
Nowhere in our search was there a complete list of Dearborn County veterans of WWII to be found, not in the Armed Forces records nor in the Veteran Administration files on a national, state or local level. So, we drew upon three main resources for local information: the Aurora and Lawrenceburg newspapers of 1940-1945; the Dearborn County Recorder s office; and oral accounts of veterans themselves or their families if deceased. Resources used for the military history of WWII are listed in the Bibliography. In addition we made use of the D-Day Museum in New Orleans, the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Field, and the Patton Tank Museum at Fort Knox.
Finally we feel a deep loss as well as gratitude for those who gave their lives in WWII. To these men, who made the supreme sacrifice for their nation, county, and you and me, we dedicate this book, Volume II of the Pictorial History of Dearborn County.
Robert Parker, Editor

A group of Dearborn County draftees and well-wishers, wait at the Courthouse for the bus which will take them to Fort Knox for entry into the military service.
CHAPTER 1
On the Brink of War
World War II began in Europe in September 1939, but it wasn t called that as yet. It began when Germany, in her plans for conquest, suddenly and unannounced invaded Poland. Poland counted on her allies England and France for help, but their forces did not reach Poland, and the Nazi blitzkrieg (German for lightning attacks) overran the Poles in a matter of days.
In America, in Dearborn County, this war and the one in China were overseas battles we watched on newsreels in movie houses, at the Palace Theater in Aurora or the Walnut or the Liberty theaters in Lawrenceburg. Like most Americans, we weren t convinced that these foreign wars across the seas posed a threat to the U.S. As Dearborn County entered 1940, life was lived at a fairly normal level, especially since The Depression was over locally and most Dearborn Countians were employed, many at the two major and one smaller distilleries in Lawrenceburg and Greendale.
A newspaper editorial at the time, summed up the hopes of most Americans: We have a peaceful New Years. Let s keep it. A look at our peace then, according to the 1940 Census, showed that 1 of every 5 Americans owned a car, and 1 in 7 had a telephone. But 1 of 3 families got by without an indoor toilet, and 2 of 5 had no bathtub or shower. Most homes, however, had a radio. Besides listening to the President s fireside chats, millions turned in on Saturday nights to hear WLS s National Barn Dance, starring Lulu Belle and Scotty, and the Hoosier Hot Shots. On Sundays, the favorite programs were: The Jack Benny Comedy Hour and The Kate Smith Show.
However, conditions in Europe continued to change rapidly, by May 1940, the German Army had smashed Denmark and Norway, blitzed through Holland and Belgium, and by June were in Paris. By now, most Americans had changed their minds about national security. President Roosevelt began to take steps to correct America s unpreparedness (the U.S., before WWII, ranked 18th in the world in terms of military strength, behind the tiny nation of Romania). At his urging, Congress passed the first peacetime draft, the Selective Service Act, in September of 1940. He also urged the nation to become an Arsenal of Democracy , to help supply England - and eventually Russia - with planes, munitions and food they so desperately needed in their stand against Hitler and Mussolini. As the year progressed, the U.S took other defense measures. In particular, F.D.R., came up with a short of war policy to gain time for rearmament; to help keep Great Britain fighting the Axis; and to restrain Japan s aggression in China and Asia by peaceful means.
Congressman Eugene Crowe from Indiana s 9th District, which included Dearborn County, was sent to Panama officially to inspect the defense work performed on the Canal. Congress had appropriated funds for bomb-proofing the old locks, the construction of a new set of locks and increasing all U.S. military forces in the Canal Zone. Mr. Crowe reported the work was making this important area into a Gibraltar of America.
One of the first young men from Dearborn County, CHARLES BENNETT , from Greendale, enlisted in the Army during this period before the Draft was in operation. In July, others from Dearborn County followed: GULLEY, STEVENS , and HULBERT from Lawrenceburg, and NELSON, ALLEN and MISIK from Dillsboro. ROBERT MARTIN next followed these men to the Army Air Corps, HARRY GODFREY to the Army, JOHN JACKSON of Bright to the Sea Bees, and PHILLIP REESE of Logan to the Navy. Other Dearborn Countians, who were already in the Military Services or who would go in before the operation of the Draft began in November 1940, are noted in the following paragraphs.
DAVID LOOMIS was Dearborn County s oldest, in point of service, in any branch of the Military. He was a Chief Petty Officer in the U.S.Navy. He had enlisted in 1912, and was in a submarine patrol operating out of French ports during WWI. For three years before Pearl Harbor, he had duty at Manila and in Hawaii. In WWII, he would serve aboard the cruiser, U.S.S. Astoria , which would take part in the battle of Midway and the battle of Savo Island, where the ship would be sunk by the Japanese. David would be injured and sent to an Australian hospital to mend. After recovery and more combat duty, he would retire from the Navy as a Lt. Commander in 1946.

David Loomis

Arnold Cash

W. Lee Crouch

Walter Hallfarth

John W. Hughes

Carlyle Gulley

Woodrow Wilson Gulley

Francis (Ted) Fiorito

Clayton Wells

Leroy Baker
EDWARD GENTER , of Lawrenceburg, was also a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy. He had enlisted in April 1917. During WWI, he served with the Submarine Detector Division in Europe. During his naval career, Edward served in various types of ships, making ports in almost every important nation. In addition to WWI, he served in the Nicaraguan and Cuban uprisings. During 1940-1941 he was serving with the Navy submarine forces.
JOHN WYMOND , of Aurora, was a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy, having graduated from the Na