First Lieutenant
Edward Carl Winkle
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| Edward C. Winkle |
Known as "Red" to his friends and family, Edward Winkle was the son of Moses and Mary Ellen (Rayle) Winkle (died 1939). Born June 7, 1918, in Belmore (near Leipsic), Putnam County, Ohio, he was a graduate of Leipsic High School and Tiffin Business College.
By the time of his draft registration at age 22, he lived at 223 Jackson Avenue, Defiance, where he worked at the City Loan and Guaranty Company on Clinton Street. With gray eyes and red hair, he was about 5'8" tall and 150 pounds.
He enlisted in the Army on February 4, 1942, at Camp Perry near Port Clinton, trained at Fort McClellan, Alabama, Fort Benning, Georgia and Camp Shelby, Mississippi.
In June of 1942, Corporal Edward Winkle and his brother were both home on furlough when they had a frightening auto accident as reported in the Findlay Republican Courier on June 25, 1942:
"WINKLE BROTHERS HURT ON FURLOUGH
Corporals Wilbur and Edward Winkle in Defiance Hospital After Wreck
Continental, June 24 -
Corp. Wilbur Dale Winkle of Ft. Jackson, S.C. and Corp. Edward Winkle of Fort McClellan, Ala. were injured when the car in which they were occupants with Mr. and Mrs. L. H. Myer, and Miss Hazel Moog, of Leipsic, went out of control on state route 15 south of Rice at 8 o'clock Wednesday evening."
The Winkle brothers were taken to Defiance Hospital in the R.A. Walls and Sons ambulance. Edward was reported as unconscious on admittance to the hospital. Extent of their injuries has not been determined.
Other members of the group escaped with cuts and bruises. The car was extensively damaged. No cause was given for loss of control.
Wilbur and (Edward) Winkle, both corporals with the armed forces, were spending a furlough at the Moses Winkle home near Leipsic. They were granted permission by the commanding officers to spend their furlough home together."
Apparently, Edward recovered and went back into his training, while on another furlough, he married Hazel Moog of Ney on September 9, 1943. She was the daughter of Port and Margaret (Walsh) Moog. They married in the Bethel Evangelical Church in Leipsic with the bride's sister, Iris Donze, of Ney, as maid of honor. Hazel was a graduate of Ney High School and was employed at the Automatic Screw Company. By September 22, after a 15 day leave, he went back to Fort Benning, Georgia, with his bride accompanying him. (Crescent-News, September 16, 1943.)
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| Insignia for the 79th Infantry Division The Cross of Lorraine |
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| Insignia for the 314th Regiment, Falcon with 3 fleur-de-lis Motto: Fortitude and Courage |
On June 2, 1944, Lt. Winkle landed overseas in as part of the 314th Infantry Regiment, 79th Infantry Division. They went into France, chasing the German enemy back and liberating some of the towns along the way. In July, they liberated Cherbourg and went on to liberate Paris after which the Germans were in full retreat.
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| The 314th in the foxholes |
On October 1st, 1944, the day 1st Lt. Edward Winkle was killed in action, the 79th division was advancing through a forest in France on roads that had to be constructed as they went, all under fire and in knee-deep mud, as stated in the division's history:
"One rainy, miserable day we got a call to clear a minefield. The first 100 yards of so-called road were clear. Then we came to a knocked-out jeep, two dead medics, victims of a Regal mine. Bouncing Bettys (5 mines together full of schrapnel) were all around. We started clearing the quagmire - and somebody stepped on a Betty. There were five casualties in the space of seconds. The rest of us gave them first aid and carried them out on makeshift litters."(The 313th, 314th, and 315th regiments were involved.) We cannot be sure this was the incident that caused Lt. Winkle's death, but it is a likely choice.
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| A Bouncing Betty |
"LT E. C. WINKLE KILLED IN ACTION
Former City Loan Employee Leaves Wife, Sister in Defiance
1st Lt. Edward C. (Red) Winkle, 26, former employee of the City Loan and Guaranty Co. here, was killed in action in France Oct. 1, according to a telegram received Saturday by his wife, the former Hazel Moog, of Ney.
Lieut. Winkle, a native of Belmore, joined the City Loan staff here June 10, 1939. He was inducted Feb. 4, 1942, and received his training at Fort Benning, Ga., Fort McClellan, Ala., and Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Miss.
He was sent overseas last May, arriving in England June 2. He did not participate in the D-Day invasion, but entered France shortly after. He was in the infantry.
He leaves his wife Hazel, 311 Wayne Ave.; his father, Moses Winkler, Belmore; two brothers, Sgt. Wilbur, somewhere in France, and Orville, Belmore, and five sisters, Mrs. Mildred Fenstermaker, 311 Wayne Ave; Mrs. Lulu Warren, Leipsic; Mrs. Violet Thuman, Belmore; Mrs. Orpha Dillon, Findlay, and Miss Edna, at home."
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| Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial Park near St. Avoid, Lorraine, France. |
1st Lieutenant Edward "Red" Winkle was buried in France, and a memorial service was held for him at the Bethel Evangelical Church on March 15, 1945. He received a Purple Heart posthumously.
Rhonda Casler, Researcher
Side Note
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Hazel Moog Winkle remarried to Major Daniel H. Forbes Jr. in March of 1948 in Ney, about three months before he died at the age of 27 while testing an experimental plane called the "Flying Wing." The plane exploded during a flight cut at the Muroe Air Force Base in California on June 5, killing all five crew members. Major Forbes had been in the Army seven years in the Africa, Sicily and the Pacific campaigns. He also studied photography and was a member of Elliot Roosevelt's photographers squadron in Tunisia, Algeria, India and Egypt, and he took the first pictures of Japan from the air.
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| YB-49 Flying Wing jet, 1948 |
When he came back to the United States , he was assigned to the atomic bomb project at Bikini, as a photographer. Several weeks before the crash, he was called to duty with the flight test section, as he was also a pilot.
Forbes Air Force Base was dedicated to him in July 1948; it was located in Topeka, Kansas. His widow and her sister, Mr. and Mrs. Holice Donze of Ney, Mrs. Margaret Moog, Mrs. Ethel Marchel, and Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Meyers of Defiance attended.
Another marriage has not been found conclusively. Maybe a friend or relative would know.
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