WORLD WAR II MEMORIALS - PFC Bartlet C. Rhamy

 

PFC/ Tech 5 Barlet Cloice Rhamy

Born August 31, 1912, in Defiance, the youngest child of Otis Eugene and Minnie (Blanchard) Rhamy, Bartlet's life was disrupted when his parents both died - his mother in 1937 and his father in 1938. 

He attended Defiance High School for three years. After his parent's deaths, he moved in with his oldest sister and her husband, Mildred (Rhamy) and Rollie Crossland, who lived next door to her parents on Seneca Street in Defiance. 

Crescent-News, Dec. 10, 1940

Bartlet went to work at the American Steel Packaging Company on Squire Avenue. He was called from the draft list in December, 1940, and on he went to training at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

 

He was assigned to the 6th Armored Infantry Battalion, 1st Armored Division. He fought in North Africa and then in the Italian Campaign and was one of the soldiers at the Anzio Beach invasion into Italy.

His group landed on Anzio Beach with the mission to cut off any German communication with Rome. Unfortunately, his men in his regiment were tired and their numbers were diminished.

They had been fighting for months against an aggressive German Army on rough terrain in Italy.

It was January 1944, and the weather was extremely cold. Supplies were slow to arrive.

 

PFC Rhamy survived Anzio Beach and then was sent against a defensive position Hitler set just south of Rome in August 1944. The Allies broke through this line but failed to take the position. 

The weather was hot and rainy with flooding, and there were very high casualties.

Pfc Rhamy was killed in action on August 25, 1944. Bartlet was 32 years old and a battle casualty, with hospital records naming artillery shells and fragments as the cause of death.

The Crescent-News reported his death in the September 6, 1944, issue on page 1:

" BARTLET C. RHAMY IS KILLED IN ACTION

Pvt. Bartlet C. Rhamy, 32, first draftee from the city of Defiance and the second from Defiance County, was killed in action in Italy on Aug. 25, according to a telegram received this morning from the War Department by a sister, Mrs. Rollin W. Crossland, 136 East Main Street. He was the 40th Defiance county man killed in action.

Pvt. Rhamy, who entered the Army Dec. 12, 1940, was a member of the armored infantry. He trained chiefly at Fort Knox, Ky., landed in Northern Ireland the last week of May 1942 and from there went to North Africa and fought through the Italian campaign, having been at Anzio beachhead.

Before entering the service, he lived with his sister, Mrs. Crossland, and was employed at the American Steel Packaging Company. He was the sixth former employee of that concern to be killed.

He was born in Defiance, August 31, 1912, a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Otis Rhamy. Besides Mrs. Crossland, he leaves a sister, Mrs. Virgil E. Widmer, 428 Nicholas Street; and two brothers, Don N. Rhamy, 1500 East Second Street and Rolla G. Rhamy, 207 East street.

Bartlet's official place of death was listed as the City of Rome, Italy.  His sister, Mildred, requested that the body of her youngest brother be returned to the United States, and she requested a gravestone for Riverside Cemetery in Defiance.

As it often happened then, the body was not returned until May 1949. The Crescent-News reported its return on May 28, 1944.

(He came in the company of another Defiance County soldier, Ross Pendleton, Ney.)

"BARTLETT RHAMY'S MEMORIAL IS SET FOR

NEXT SUNDAY.

Memorial services for Pvt. Bartlett Cloist (Cloice) Rhamy were announced yesterday by Rev. L. V. Simms of St. Paul Methodist Church next Sunday. October 22, 3:30 p.m. at the church.

Pvt. Rhamy was killed in action in the Italian theater of war Aug. 25. Official notification from the war department was confirmed by communication from personal friends who told of his being killed instantly.

He was a member of St. Paul Methodist church, his star on the church service flags being one of 132 and the

PFC Bartlet Rhamy

fifth gold star.

Immediate survivors are two sisters and two brothers, Mrs. Rollin W. Crossland and Mrs. Virgil E. Widmer, Rolla G. Rhamy and Don N. Rhamy. He had made his home with Mrs.Crossland, 136 East Main Street.

He was born in Defiance August 31, 1912, the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Otis Rhamy.

Bartlet received a Purple Heart and a Good Conduct Medal, and probably others.

Riverside Cemetery, Defiance, OH

Dianne Kline, Researcher

WORLD WAR II - The Civil Air Patrol

 

The Civil Air Patrol of Civil Defense Patrol came into being during the Second World War, when the United States thought our coastlines, especially, were vulnerable to submarine attacks. Another worry was the merchant vessels, cargo ships and other amphibious vessels that carried supplies and soldiers.

The Civil Air Patrol established U.S. coastal patrol flights to deter and prevent enemy operations. On April 29,1943, FDR pulled the Civil Air Patrol in under the Department of War.  Youth training had begun in October 1942, available to both male and female participants.

Members were used in several different capacities. Some patroled along the Mexican border, others provided carriers services or looked for enemy or lost aircraft. They provided disaster relief, if needed, and tracked special forest patrols. These men and women served their country while at home, helping to defend it from anyone who tried to do it harm.

Ohio organized officially civilian aviation for our domestic defense, training civilian pilots. Now the Civil Air Patrol is an auxillary of the U.S. Air Force.

 The Crescent-News reported on July 26, 1943, on page one:

"2,500 See Red Cross - Air Patrol Demonstration at Airport Sunday

A crowd estimated at 2,500 persons witnessed the combined demonstration of Defiance Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol and the Defiance chapter of the American Red Cross at the Defiance County Airport, one mile north of the city, Sunday afternoon...

Major Kavanaugh...explained the three-fold task of the CAP in emergency reconnaisance, courier service and anti-submarine patrol. In the latter service, Major Kavanaugh related the CAP has driven off 54 submarines about to attack the Allied ships off the American coasts.

He told the ease with which men can step from the Civil Air Patrol into the Army Air Force and revealed that 16,000 former CAP members, including 24 from Defiance, are now in the armed forces...

...planes piloted by Warren Weible and Claire Stambaugh, joined Steffel's plane for a demonstration of formation flying.

The three ships (aircraft) then began an anti-submarine patrol.  Sighting a 'sub' near the middle of the airport runway, the planes dropped 'depth charges' until they forced it to 'surface' and then dive bombed until the enemy craft was destroyed.  

Both depth charges and bombs were small paper sacks of lime which 'exploded' when they hit the ground. About 75 per cent of the bombs scored hits on the pattern drawn on the ground to represent the sub...

The entire program was under direction of CAP Lieutenant K C. Weakley, commander of the Defiance Squadron."

Our ancestor joined the Civil Air Patrol; he was required to take flying lessons and keep a log of dates, times and places he went. In the middle of the country, they were mainly used for home defense and disaster relief. 

Dianne Kline, Researcher

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL - PFC Lee A. Bell

 

Private First Class

Lee Albert Bell

Lee "Ding Dong" Bell

Lee Bell was a Hicksville native, born on June 17, 1925, to Albert Ray and Ila Thelma (Lindsay) Bell. The only child of the Bells, he was active in sports at Hicksville High School and earned his Varsity Letter during his senior year.

He was one of five Hicksville High students who had already enlisted before he received his diploma. On May 6, 1943, he enrolled in the Marines in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and was assigned to 1st Platoon, Company E, 24th Regiment of the 4th Marine Division.

The 4th Marine Division left San Diego, California in mid-January 1944 and sailed to Pearl Harbor. They docked for one day and then sailed from Hawaii on January 22nd, headed for Kwajalein, an island located in the Caroline Island chain in the Central Pacific. The 24th regiment landed at Mamur Lagoon on February 1st and ran into heavy resistance from enemy pillboxes https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=japanese+pillbox&mid=7AEBBF19442B8A983D7B7AEBBF19442B8A983D7B&FORM=VIRE  and blockhouses.

They held off a Japanese counterattack. The first night Kwajalein was secured by February 4. (It was February 12 before his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Lindsey, received word that Lee was overseas.) On February 15, the 4th Division sailed east to Maui, Hawaii for rest, regrouping and training. They trained until early June when they sailed west again and arrived at Saipan in the middle of the month. Saipan had 30,000 troops stationed there.

Their motto: If you want peace,
prepare for war.

Saipan was shelled for five days, and, on June 15, the land invasion began. The 4th Division landed on the western shore south of the town of Garapan. The Marines went 

ashore and after cleaning the beaches, the 4th Division was to cut across Saipan

towards Magicienne Bay on the east coast

It was on this drive that Private Bell was 

mortally wounded by sniper fire on June 17,

1944, his nineteenth birthday. He died the

next day of his wounds.

According to a member of Bell's First Platoon, Wallace Ralson, who witnessed Bell's wounding:

"...we were advancing in a skirmish formation and were under some sniper fire. I recall we were moving across an open area toward a low ridge. Lee was found 20 yards away when I saw him go down. Our corpsmen went to his aid and the rest of the company moved on. 

   Later, when the corpsman caught up with us, he told me that Lee was the bravest man he had ever seen. I have never forgotten that statement. Apparently, Lee knew he was dying. The corpsman was killed a few hours later when we went over the ridge and received heavy fire.

   Lee was the first fatality in the first platoon."

Saipan was taken on July 9, 1944, and the Americans had 14,021 killed or wounded, while the Japanese had 29,000.  Private Bell's parents had not heard from him for several weeks prior to receiving notification of his death on July 3, 1944. On Sunday, July 9, a memorial service was held for him at the United Brethren Church. Members of the 1943 graduating class of Hicksville attended in a body. He was buried temporarily in Saipan, but later, his body was brought home.

Crescent-News, June 19, 1948, page 1

He was buried with his parents in Six Corners Cemetery, Hicksville Township.

Scott Lantow, Researcher

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL - PFC Paul E. Singer

 Private First Class Paul Edward Singer

No photo could be found for Pvt Singer, a medic. This is a 
stock photo of a medic.

Paul Edward Singer was born in Paulding County, but his parents, John Charles and Florence Sarah (Donier) did move to Defiance.

He attended St. Mary's Parochial School, ended his education there, and then he farmed awhile in Paulding County. 

Born on August 31, 1917, he enlisted in the army at the age of 25, on October 14, 1942. Toledo was his enlistment place, but then he moved on to Camp Perry and then Camp Attenbury, Indiana. He was trained and assigned as a medic in a detachment to the 330th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division.

His group departed the United States on March/April 6, 1944, arriving in England on the 16th. He underwent intensive training there and in Wales before setting out for one of the biggest battles of the World War II, Normandy Beach. (Differing sources on date of departure)

The 330th Regiment on its way through the English Channel to Normandy, France.

One of Pvt Singer's fellow soldiers told of his own experience there in a small history of the 330th:

"We landed on Omaha Beach June 23, 1944, after lying offshore a week while a storm raged that almost doomed the beachhead.  After assembling in the vicinity of Bricqueville, Normandy, we moved into the lines southeast of Carenten, relieving elements of the 101st Airborne Division.

The 4th of July, 1944, was no holiday for the infantrymen of the 330th. On that day at 0500 hours, we attacked...the first of hundreds of attacks which were to carry us from the hedgerows of Normandy to the flat plains beyond the Elbe River.

It is difficult to describe now what we did and how we felt then. We knew hate then...and fear...the kind of fear that becomes actual pain. We attacked every day for twenty-three straight days, from dawn to dark.  We repulsed the enemies counter-attacks and we moved forward. We became exhausted physically and mentally. It showed in our dirty and drawn faces. We lost our closest friends, reinforcements became veterans in a few days - if they lasted.

On July 10, 1944, during this battle, Private Paul E Singer lost his life, most likely trying to save someone else's as a medic. "Others before self."

His official place of death was recorded as Department de la Marche, Basse - Normandie, France. His body was temporarily buried in France but returned to the states in 1949. 

His obituary appeared in the Paulding Democrat on January 20, 1949:

"BODY OF PFC PAUL SINGER SENT HOME

The body of Pfc Paul E. Singer son of Mr. and Mrs. John C. Singer, just south of Defiance on state route 66,who was killed by a shell in France, July 10, 1944, arrived at the Mansfield Funeral Home, Defiance on Friday morning.  Services were in St. Mary's Catholic Church at 9 a.m. Saturday and burial in Riverside.

Pfc Singer lived just south of Ney on Route 66 with his parents before entering the service on Nov. 28, 1941. Previously he had farmed in Paulding County.

He was a member of the 23 (83) division with the medical corp. at the time of his death which came when he was 27 years old. He was born Aug. 31, 1917. He began his army career at Camp Attenbury, Ind. and was in several other camps before shipping to England in March 1944.

He was a graduate of St. Mary's Parochial School. He was unmarried, being survived by his parents and two brothers Raymond and Glenn, both of Brown Township, Paulding County.

A military escort accompanied the body home."

Riverside Cemetery, Defiance, Ohio

Dan Hasch - Researcher

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL - Lieut. William H. Parker

 

Lieutenant William Henry Parker

Although born in Tuscola County, Michigan, William Parker grew up in Defiance at 905 Latty Street with his parents, Fred Eugene and Eleanor Josephine (Hall) Parker

He was one of five children that included sisters - Patricia (m. Speiser) and Lettie Jean (m. Hale) and brothers, James E and Fred E.  Family and friends called him "Bud."

His ambition was to be a pilot when the war came. In May 1942, his parents traveled to Columbus, Mississippi, to attend his graduation services from flight school and his commission as a Second Lieutenant. He was then sent to Tampa, Florida for instructions in flying a four engine Flying Fortress (the B-17)

Draft registration card

"Lt. Wm Parker Pilot of Bomber Over Home City

Lieut. William H. Parker, son of Mr. and Mrs. F. E. Parker, 905 Latty Street was co-pilot of one of the three four-motored Flying Fortresses which circled Defiance at 8:45 a.m. today.

The planes came from Sarasota, Fla. and landed for about an hour in Cleveland on a routine flight, according to Lieut. Parker who called his parents by telephone from Cleveland.

The planes came over Defiance from the southwest, flew north of the city, circled around and then recrossed the downtown area headed east.

Parker received his primary training at Decatur, Ala., basic at Greenville, Mississippi, and was commissioned following advanced training at Columbus, Miss."

Crescent-News, June 3, 1942, p.1

Parker was sent over to the European Theater as a pilot on a B-17F, Flying Fortress.

He was part of the 8th Air Force, 367th Bomber Squadron, 306th Bomber Group, Heavy. The B-17 was the workhorse bomber in Europe - fast, high flying with great distance and covered with heavy defensive armament.  One source said they dropped more bombs than any other bomber in World War II.

While flying a mission near Antwerp, Belgium to bomb the Eria Works, an enemy factory, on April 5, 1943, a German fighter shot down the bomber piloted by Captain Parker. Nine of the crew were killed and three bailed out, including Captain Parker. Two of the three landed safely, but Captain Parker's parachute failed to open, and he was killed.

It took a while for the news to get to Defiance. On April 27th, the newspaper reported that Parker had been awarded an oak cluster for his air medals. A Napoleon newspaper reported that the parents had received news that he was missing in action, but Mrs. Parker said, "No such word had reached them." But it was true; the message came to Mr. Parker that Bud was missing in action, but he chose to keep it a secret from everyone as to not upset the family. Eventually, it was confirmed that their son was killed in action.

His obituary appeared in the Crescent-News on May 13, 1943 on page 1:

"DEFIANCE PILOT KILLED IN ATTACK IN EUROPE

Lieut. William H. Parker, 23, son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred E. Parker, 905 Latty Street, was killed in action April 5 when his B-17 bomber crashed while on a bombing raid over Europe, his father related today.

Mr. Parker said he received a message from the International Red Cross at Berlin, Germany, advising him of the death of his son.

He also had received a letter from Lieut. Parker's buddy, Lieut. Reecher, who said the tail gunner on the plane piloted by Reecher had seen Parker's ship crippled, apparently by anti-aircraft 'flak,' but that the plane was still in control when  last seen. Lieut. Parker and Lieut Reecher had been buddies in training school and had been flying from the same base in England, Mr. Parker said.

A letter received Wednesday at the Parker home contained a message of condolence from Gen. George C. Marshall, U.S. Army Chief of Staff, Mr. Parker added.

In England Since August,

Lieut. Parker, known among his friends as 'Bud,' received his primary flight training at Decatur Ala. late in 1941 and his basic training at Greenville, Miss. during early months of 1942. On March 15, 1942, he was sent to Army Flying School at Columbus, Miss., where he received his commission on April 29, 1942.

He was transferred east shortly after that, flying over Defiance in a formation of three bombers last spring. He had been in England since last August and had participated in the round the clock bombings of Germany and the German submarine bases at St. Nazaire and Lorient, according to his father.

Listed Missing in April

Mr. Parker said he had received first notice of his son being missing last April 12 but had denied published reports to keep his family from worrying.

In addition to his parents, Lieut. Parker is survived by two brothers, James, Wayne Avenue, and Freddie, at home; and two sisters, Mrs. James Speiser, Tiffin, and Lettie, at home."

Lieutenant William Henry Parker was buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands as a Captain in the U.S. Army Air Force. 

In 1948, Miss Len Kesler of Zeist, Holland came to America to visit William's mother, now Mrs. John Dolan of Defiance. (William's father died in 1944, and his mother remarried.) Miss Kesler had been corresponding with Mrs. Dolan after Kesler adopted the grave of Capt. Wm. Parker in the Netherlands. Miss Kesler makes sure that flowers are placed on the grave, and it is visited.

A memorial stone was also placed in Riverside Cemetery, Defiance.

Riverside Cemetery  

Dianne Kline, Researcher

er

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL - 2nd Lieutenant William Judson Bowen

 

2nd Lieutenant William Judson Bowen

After graduating from Hicksville High School in 1940, William went to both Miami University and Ohio State University for a while before enlisting into the Army Enlisted Reserve Corp on July 27, 1942. William enrolled as an aviation cadet in preflight school at Maxwell Field, Alabama. He had nine weeks of military, physical and academic training there.  By 1943, he was officially enlisted in the Army Air Corp.

Born on August 5, 1922, in Hicksville to William Mason and Katherine Jeanette (Gray) Bowen, he was their only son, and to most, he was "Billy." He married Jacqueline McCalla of 131 West High Street, Hicksville, the daughter of F.T. and Lyndall (Stahl) McCalla on July 27, 1944. She was 20, and he was 21, residing in Bryan and already an officer in the AAF. She was a student at Ohio University in Athens; he was a junior at Ohio State.

Their engagement was announced in the newspaper on January 2, 1943, with no wedding date set. William's father had tuberculosis and died on March 5, 1943, perhaps affecting their plans. They married in Defiance on July 27, 1944.

William trained in Fort Bragg, North Carolina in August 1943, and his mother went to visit him. He also went to San Angelo Army Airfield in Texas where he graduated as a bombardier and navigator. He was sent to the Mariana Islands and Japan.

On May 14, 1945, it appeared in the Bryan Democrat that Lt. William Bowen was missing in action and then found:

"Mrs. Jackie M. Bowen, wife of Lt. William Bowen, Hicksville, received a call informing her that her husband and other members of his plane crew are safe on an island between the Mariannas and Tokoyo, the call coming from the pilot's wife at Baton Rouge, La.

They had been reported missing on a B-29 flight in the Philippine-Japan area April 14. Lt. Bowen is a nephew of Mrs. Ford Ridenour of Bryan."

The pilot's wife was misinformed. William was MIA and would not be found until 1949.

The Bryan Times, September 19, 1949, p. 6:

"RELATIVES ATTEND RITES FOR VICTIMS OF 1945 BOMBER CRASH

"Impressive services were held on September 6 at Jefferson Memorial Barracks (National Cemetery), St. Louis, Missouri, for the late 2nd Lt. William Judson Bowen, ten crew brothers and a Flight Surgeon of a B-29 bomber.

The mission was heavy bombardment, destination Kawasaki, Japan. The bomber failed to return, and news came to the next of kin that all crew members were missing in action . No definitive word came until April this year.

Following the surrender of Japan, it was learned that an American B-29 aircraft crashed at Higash-Trae-cho, Tsurumi kn, Kanagawa Prefecture, Hourshu, Japan, in the vicinity of the Soji Temple, on the 16th of April 1945; and that all crew members were killed.

The wreckage of the aircraft was identified by finding the identification bags and personal articles, learning the names of crew members of this plane.

Mrs. William M. Brown of Columbus, O., Mrs. C. N Pederson of Oak Park, Ill., and Mrs. Fred Ridenour of Bryan, Ohio, attended the services. The services were both Catholic and Protestant and the folding of the flag and the presentation to Mrs. Bowen by Major Sable of Scott Fields, Park Ridge, Ill. was most impressive.

Upon her return to Bryan, Mrs. William M. Bowen received the final tributes to her son, the following list of decorations: Air Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, the Purple Heart for having made the supreme sacrifice for his country, World War II Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Marksman Badge with pistol bar, Aviation Badge Bombardier, District Unit Emblem, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two Bronze Service Stars for participation in the air offensive in Japan and the Western Pacific campaign.

Left to mourn Lieut. Bowen are his son, William Judson Bowen of Hutchison, Kansas; his mother, Mrs. William Bowen, aunt and uncle- Mr. and Mrs. Ford Ridenour and aunt and uncle  Mr and Mrs. John Bowen, and other aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends."

*His wife had remarried and did not attend. 

Dianne Kline, Researcher

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL - PFC Arthur L. Hemenway

 

PFC Arthur LaVon Hemenway

Bryan Democrat, Monday, Jan. 22, 1945

Darwin was actually the last of five Hemenway sons to enlist; Arthur enlisted in Toledo on February 18, 1943. After four years at Farmer High School, he graduated in 1940. PFC Arthur Hemenway was assigned to the 393rd Regiment, 99th Army Infantry Division. 

He deployed overseas in 1944 through the port of LaHavre, France and then moved on northeast to Belgium, just in time for the opening phases of the Battle of Bulge. 

The division history of the 99th described it this way:

Its baptism in combat came with the German winter offensive of December 1944 - the roughest, toughest kind of fighting, It received the full shock of the German 15th and 16th Panzer Army while scattered thinly on a ridiculously wide front (22 miles), stretching through dense woods and over many short, steep hills in the Ardennes."

The 393rd went in on December 16th, quite outnumbered by the Germans, but they held the line. On December 17th, the Germans broke through with an all-out offensive. The 393rd were on the front lines and were easily penetrated through a barrage of artillery fire, mortar shells, and tanks with fake American or Allied markings. The Germans were cutting into the U.S. radio systems giving false orders, and some were wearing American uniforms with ID tags. 

The attack started at 5 in the morning, and it was noon before American bombers could get there to push back. But in the meantime, the Germans were capturing POWS, including PFC Arthur Hemenway. He was executed by the Germans as a prisoner of war.

Pfc Arthur Hemenway was buried at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial in Liege, Belgium. A memorial stone was also placed at Farmer Cemetery.

He died on December 17, 1944, while his brother, Darwin died on January 31, 1944. Ralph and Golda Hemenway sacrificed two of their sons for their country, but three of their other sons survived the war.

What a sacrifice this family made! Their sons; Lehr Ralph, Forrest William, Willard Mann, Walter Scott, and Darwin Eugene and Arthur LaVon and one sister, Vernetha June, one patriotic family

Corporal Willard Hemenway was the first to enter the service in 1941, followed by Walter in 1942, who served in North Africa and Sicily, as well as France. Corporal Robert entered also later in 1942 and served in France. Then Arthur left in February 1943 with the Army, followed by Darwin in March 1943 with the Marines.

Arthur was also presented with a Purple Heart posthumously and his stone lies with the others of his family at the Farmer Cemetery.

Farmer Cemetery Hemenway plot

Dan Hasch - Researcher

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL - PFC Darwin E. Hemenway

 

Private First Class

Darwin Eugene Hemenway

The family of Ralph and Golda (Mann) Hemenway lived in Farmer Township near Williams Center most of their lives. Their six sons and one daughter attended Farmer High School; Darwin graduated in 1935.

Darwin married Fern Gearhart on September 21, 1940, and they moved to Butler Street in Bryan where he worked at both the Aro Corp. and Ohio Art.

His wife, Fern, told his story in an interview with the Bryan Times on July 21, 2002, when she was 85:

"Darwin was drafted into the Marine Corps in March 1943, just a month before our daughter, Dee Ann, was born. (He) shipped out with the 4th Marine Division from San Diego, California, and in early January 1944, his letters stopped coming."

Fern was a teacher, but she had to resign when she married because those were the rules in those days. In February 1943, she and her daughter traveled to California for two weeks to be with Darwin, staying in San Francisco.  Then she went to live with her parents and younger siblings after Darwin shipped out.

Fern continued, "In March 1944, I received the telegram that said he was missing in Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands on January 31, 1944. He was last seen in a sinking landing craft. That's all they ever told me. In a year's time, he was declared dead."

In 1969,  Mrs. Hemenway said she had a phone call from a sergeant who had been with her husband when he was lost. "He had been looking for me in Eaton, Ohio, and after searching for 25 years, he accidentally met someone from Edon who knew me. When he came to visit my daughter and I, he explained what had happened, even drawing maps to explain the situation. At last, we had the closure for all those years of not knowing."

PFC Darwin Hemenway operated an  amphibious tractor that was meant to land soldiers and equipment at the Kwajalein Atoll. It was a combined Army and Marine mission to take this ring shaped coral formation of the Marshall Islands where the Japanese had established themselves defensively.

From http missingmarines.com - The 14th Marines operation report

 

"During 'Operation Flintlock,'  (Hemenway's) company was tasked with the landing of the howitzers of the 14th Marine which would provide them fire support for assault landings on  other islands. Hemenway's tractor was loaded with a howitzer from Battery G, along with its crew, ammunition and accessories to Ennuebing (code name: Jacob).

Heavy surf around 'Jacob' claimed at least one LVT2 during the infantry assault, and conditions were no better when the artillery was ordered to land. To make matters worse, the LVTs were debarked from 6,000 to 12,000 yards offshore. This was unsatisfactory as the landing was delayed unduly.

High seas and treacherous coral capsized or swamped a number of the tractors, including two loaded with G Battery howitzers. All equipment was lost and the survivors desperately tried to keep their heads above water."

One landing craft, "herself grounded on a coral reef sighted four amphibious tanks about 500 yards astern which had capsized in strong current and heavy surf. She passed two lines to the swimming men and within an hour had 48 survivors."

"PFC Hemenway and PFC Ralph A. Carberry were 'last seen off Jacob Island...in a LVT in sinking condition. Both Marines were reported as missing during the landings, and ultimately declared dead on February 1, 1945."

PFC Hemenway died on the first day of this offensive, the Battle of Kwajalein, on January 31, 1944. He was part of Company A, 11th Amphibian Tractor Battalion, 4th Marine Division.  His body was not recovered.

It was February 1945 before his parents were notified that Darwin, who had been listed as missing, was now officially presumed dead.  

Darwin was listed on the Tablets of the Missing at the National Cemetery in Honolulu, and a memorial stone was placed in Edon Cemetery.

His wife, Fern, went back to teaching and had a long career. She never remarried.

Darwin had four brothers who also enlisted in the armed services. 

Dan Hasch, Researcher