WORLD WAR II - The United Service Organization

 

THE USO 

" A GI' S HOME AWAY FROM HOME"

The USO really came into its own in World War II. Organized in February 1941, with the mission to boost the morale of soldiers home and abroad, it set up anywhere it could find a space. It was a place to share a comradery with fellow soldiers. The canteens always had coffee and donuts, sometimes movies or shows, music and dancing, as well as supplies on hand for letter writing or art.

USO mobile canteen

Each USO had a paid director and assistant director, and then all volunteers. Women 35 and older volunteered to be Senior Hostesses and those 18-30 were Junior Hostesses. Strict rules applied for proper dress and deportment. Slacks were not allowed, for example, and a girl couldn't refuse a dance unless the soldier was "ungentlemanly."  The volunteers served food, talked to the soldiers and sometimes had a dance. The Senior Hostesses were there to be "mom" figures for the men.

The only charge was for cigarettes; everything else was free for the soldiers. No liquor was allowed or sold.

Four circuits of "Camp Shows," were the most popular feature of the USO. Two circuits traveled to bases around the United States. One traveled in both the U.S. and overseas

USO show in Italy

 One circuit went only overseas - the Foxhole Circuit.  Some of the big Hollywood names were on this circuit. They donated their time, dressed like the troops (when not on stage), ate with them and slept in their areas.

This was not necessarily a safe trip for them, as often the shows were near the front lines.

The Bob Hope shows were very popular with the troops. Through the war funds, the USO, according to one source, raised 33 million dollars in donations during the war.

(That's $433 million today.) The USO reached out to the soldiers and tried to give them times that they could forget about being on duty. It was some fun to make them laugh and have a little bit of enjoyment.

This is a link to an enjoyable three minute video of a Bob Hope Camp show from 1944. (Sorry that you will have to suffer a brief advertisement before it starts.)

Bob Hope Camp Show

Dianne Kline, Researcher

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WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL - Staff Sergeant Robert J. Spain

 

Staff Sergeant

Robert Jack Spain

Robert's mother, Bernice Reba Spain, was first married to Granville Watkins on March 27, 1923. Robert was born on August 12, 1924, but he was not given the Watkins name. Instead, he was given his mother's maiden name when the couple were divorced.

Later, on June 5, 1929, she married Arthur B. Miller of Defiance and they made their home with Robert at 615 North Perry Street, Defiance. Robert attended Defiance High School and graduated. He was 18 when he filled in his draft registration card in Defiance.

On January 16, 1943, he enlisted into the Army at Toledo. He trained quite a bit in Florida, and eventually, through special training, became a waist gunner and tail gunner on the B-17 bomber.

The B-17 was the workhorse of the U.S. bombers, and because they had a "must have clear visibility" rule, they mostly struck in the daylight. Robert belonged to the 94th Bomb Group and the 333rd Bomb Squadron of the 8th Army Air Force. The B-17 planes were called "Flying Fortresses" because of the extra machine guns loaded that served to help defend the plane against the enemy. Robert served on the B-17s, "Pinup Girl" and "Nick's Place."

On June 21, 1944, his plane, "Nick's Place," was flying over Liebenwalde, just north of Berlin in northern Germany, when it was shot down by flak and crashed. The last it was seen, it was in the clouds; the whole crew perished.  SSgt. Robert Spain was first reported missing at home in the Crescent-News, July 10, 1944, on page 1:

"Sgt. Bob Spain, Bomber Gunner, Now Missing

Staff Sgt. Robert (Bob) Spain, 20, waist gunner on a bomber, has been missing in action since June 21, according to a telegram from the war department received by his mother, Mrs. Arthur Miller, 615 Perry Street, Friday evening.

Sgt. Spain was graduated from Defiance high school in 1942. He joined the Army Air Forces Jan. 25, 1943. He worked at the Defiance Machine Works and Serrick's before entering the service.  Only last week, he had sent home the Army Air Medal awarded for meritorious service in his first 25 missions."

Crescent-News, October 30, 1944

In January 1945, his Purple Heart was awarded posthumously, sent to his mother. It would be December 1948, before his body could be sent home.

His funeral was held in January 1949, along with his burial in Riverside Cemetry.

"PVT ROBERT SPAIN 

Services for Pvt. Robert Spain, returned from Europe, were held Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in the Mansfield funeral  home with Rev. C. F. Blue, Gospel Temple minister, officiating, and burial in Riverside cemetery where the Amvets conducted military services.

Mr. and Mrs. Ted Beavers sang with Mrs. Alice Shock, accompanist.

Pallbearers were John Seither, John Murphy, Verl Hesselschwerdt, Richard Westrick, Roger Coffman, and John VanVlerah.

Officer of the day was Donald Varner; color bearers, Wayne Cooper and William Fillman; color guards, Jack Nagley and Ed Mack; firing squad, Melvin Bleeks, Daniel Relyea, Darwood Swary, Darrol Seiple, Paul and Bernard Dodson, and Robert Bates; and bugler, Eddie Nihiser."

Correction-Sgt. Robert Spain.  Crescent-News, January 31, 1949

His mother, Bernice, applied for a bronze marker in 1951 for his grave, and it arrived in 1954.

Riverside Cemetery, Defiance, Ohio

Researcher - Robert Carpenter

Sidenote:  This memoriam was published in the Mansfield News-Journal on December 15, 1948.

IN MEMORIAM

In memory of S/Sgt. Robert Spain, who gave his life for his county and us.

"OUR BOB"

Tho the cruel war is over and for some the memories dim,

Not for us who've lost our loved ones that have gone to live with Him.

I speak of Bob, a soldier brave and true was he.

Who gave his life so bravely that we, his friends, be free.

No, we have not forgotten him, "Our Bob," so loved by all.

Who found his way within the hearts of the grownups and the small.

As I write these lines of him, my eyes fill with tears.

My heart's so full of memories he stored there with the years.

No, he's no longer with us, the friends who love him best.

But "Our Bob' is coming home again, coming home to Rest

Sadly missed by one of his many, many friends.

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL - PFC Keith Earl Butler

 

PFC Keith Earl Butler

Keith Butler was in the 8th grade in this Defiance High School yearbook photo. He attended one year of high school here, as well, but his story really began in London, Ontario, Canada, on June 27, 1920.

Border crossing records revealed that in August 1923, Keith's mother, Maud Butler, 26, married, immigrated with her son, Keith, 3, and daughter, Betty, 2, into Port Huron, Michigan, on the railroad. Their final destination was Lansing, Michigan, and a grandfather's house. The immigration records noted that Keith E. Butler was formerly a Morris. That is a question to be researched.

His parents were listed as William Butler and Maud Violet Neveu, both of whom died in 1929, according to one record.

His draft registration above was filled out on July 1, 1941, when he was 21 and living in Defiance, working as a punch press operator. His contact was not a parent, but Clinton Skees who was older and a World War I veteran living in Defiance. Was this his relative?  Keith was 5'7" and 121 pounds. 

Prior to filling out his registration, he married Laura Edith Schatz on March 16, 1941.  He was a press operator and she was an inspector. His parents on this document were William Butler and Pearl Neveu.

Keith enlisted into the U.S. Army on March 23, 1944, at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana. He was assigned to the U.S. Ground Forces in Company A, 345th Infantry Regiment, 87th Division. His residence was Defiance, OH.

He trained at Camp Wolters, Texas; Meade, Maryland; and Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

It appeared that he finalized his United States citizenship while in Texas.

PFC Butler, the newly American soldier, headed overseas into the European Theater as part of General Patton's Third Army in December 1944. The 345th Infantry was attached to this, and their first combat was in Alsace-Lorraine. The Germans were invading France, and the Americans were trying to hold them from crossing the Mozelle River. 

The official place of death for PFC Butler was Dept. de la Moselle, Lorraine, France. Some noted that it was one of Patton's failures in battle as almost 7,000 men died, 36,000 were wounded, and 12,000 were missing. The Americans fought along the forested banks of the Mozelle River where they were short of supplies and gas. Their goal was to secure the bridges and keep the Germans from advancing.

He was officially declared dead in June 1945. Martin Schatz, his wife's father, applied for a military headstone that was approved in 1949. On the application, Mrs. Pearl Woods, Royal Oak, Michigan, signed it as his mother.

Pfc Keith E. Butler was buried in Riverside Cemetery, Defiance, Ohio.

Dianne Kline, Researcher

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL- 2nd Lt. Dorenz H. Meyer

 

Second Lieutenant

Dorenz Henry Meyer

Born in Defiance County on October 28, 1920, to Henry F. Sr. and Revata Marie (Schnitkey) Meyer, Dorenz was six when the family moved to a farm in Ridgeville Township, Henry County.

He helped on his father's farm and grew up with three siblings, Henry 'Junior,' Robert and Henrietta.

Dorenz enlisted at Baer Field in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on August 26, 1942. (His father, Henry, was a World War I veteran.) 

He graduated from the Advanced Training School in Frederick, Oklahoma as a flight officer in February 1944, and was assigned to the 15th Army Air Force, 743rd Bombardment Squadron, 455th Bombardment Group Heavy.

That group was stationed at San Giovanni Airfield, Italy. Dorenz arrived there in the latter part of 1944, and he flew with the 304th Bomb Wing in the B-24 Liberators.

B-24 Liberator. Lt. Meyer was a pilot.

On Lt. Meyer's sixth mission, the group was scheduled to bomb the Blechhammer south oil refinery in Germany. (Blechhammer also had a sub-camp of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp nearby; those prisoners had helped build the refinery.)

It was October 13, 1944, when the 455th was to make two bombing runs - Mission 131.

The 455th was called "The Flight of the Vulgar Vultures." They carried 500 lb. bombs, 4200 rounds of .50 calibers for their ten machine guns, and 2nd Lt. Dorenz Meyer was the pilot of one of those B-24s, riding with nine other crew members.

Their mission called for 28 B-24 bombers, flying in units of four, rendezvousing at 22,000 feet. Their cover was a fighter command which flew out of Italy, 3 planes. They were to hit their target, the refinery, at 1130, and at 1133 aircraft 605, Meyer's B-24 took a direct flak burst amidship after it had dropped its bomb load at Blechhammer. The plane was split in half and went down in two parts.

Not the Meyer plane

An eyewitness said that there was no explosion or fire. He reported three to five parachutes coming from the plane, primarily from the forward portion.

Lt. Meyer and seven other men were killed in action. Two men, Bietz and Crotti were captured and sent to a POW prison camp. *Actually only Crotti stayed alive as a POW.)

The official Mission 131 report noted:

"This was another day for double missions. We loaded the first mission with 500# ROX bombs to bomb the oil refinery at Blechhammer, Germany. Flak at this target was always intense and accurate, and this day was no exception. We lost two aircraft to flak, one plane managed to make it back to allied territory, and the crew was recovered.

We reported 11 crewmen missing and one killed in action. It was a rough mission as six planes received heavy damage and four with slight damage. The flak at Blechhamer was indeed accurate.

Crescent-News, Jan. 16, 1945

In 1945, Dorenz Meyer was posthumously awarded the Army Air Medal for "meritorious achievement in aerial flight while participating in sustained operational activities against the enemy from 24 September to 13 October 1944.' That award was given to his father, Henry Meyer, at a ceremony in their private home by Captain George Douglas of Baer Field.

He also received the Purple Heart posthumously.

His body could not be recovered. His name is inscribed on the Tablet of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Belgium.

A cenotaph also stands in his memory in the St.John Lutheran Church Cemetery, Ridgeville Township, Henry County, Ohio.

Belgium

St. John Lutheran Church Cemetery

Sidenote: After the war, the only survivor of the crash and a POW for more than 11 months, George W. Crottie, took it as a mission to visit all the families of his crew who were deceased. It was a kind gesture to all of the parents and sibs back in the U.S. When he went to the Meyer household, he fell in love with Dorenz's sister, Henrietta, and the two married on Christmas Day, 1947.

Scott Lantow, Researcher

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL - T/5 Russell W. Posey

Tech 5/ Medic

                                            Russell Wayne Posey

Russel Wayne Posey was born to Benjamin Comer and Bertha Viola (Farmer) Posey on August 24, 1921, in rural Defiance County. With him were three siblings: Mary, Carol and Charles D. Posey. 

In the 1940 census, Russell was 19 and living with his family on a farm in Tiffin Township. He had finished four years of high school and was working as a laborer.

He filled out his draft card on February 15, 1942, with his residence as the city of Defiance and his employer, the American Form Tool Company. Then on July 25, 1942, he enlisted in the Army in Toledo. He was a semi-skilled machine operator.

After basic training, he was assigned to the 377th Army Infantry, 95th Division and sent overseas to France. He received a Good Conduct Medal in 1944.

377th entering Metz

Russell and his unit arrived in France in September 1944. They joined the Lorraine campaign with the goal to capture the French city of Metz from the German army. The German resistance was strong, and the casualties were heavy in the region.

The 377th spearheaded the 95th Division's main effort in Metz, beginning in early November, but it was slowed by the rain and flooding of the Moselle River. 

Russell was a Tech 5 at the time of his death, serving as a medic.

He died in the offensive on November 16, 1944, earning a Silver Star and Purple Heart for his sacrifices.

The Crescent-News reported on September 10, 1945, on page 1: 

"Silver Star for Gallantry Awarded Soldier Who Lost Life Saving Others

Silver Star for gallantry in action - giving his own life to save others- has been awarded posthumously to Technician Fifth Grade Russell W. Posey, according to a letter received by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin C. Posey, route 2. T-5 Posey lost his life Nov. 16, 1944, while serving in a medical detachment near Metz.

Major General Edward F. Witsell, acting for the Adjutant General, quoted the citation describing T-5 Posey's heroism on Nov. 15 and 16, 1944:

Under enemy machine gun and rifle fire, Technician Fifth Grade Posey risked his life in order to aid and evacuate casualties suffered in the assault on the Slag Pile, the citation relates.

'On the morning of 16 November 1944, he entered an artillery barrage while endeavoring to evacuate a group of wounded soldiers one hundred yards beyond his Platoon's Command Post.

In the process of evacuation, a shell fragment struck Technician Fifth Grade Posey in the chest, wounding him painfully. Despite this mishap, he continued to evacuate the wounded to cover. Upon reaching a safe position himself, he collapsed from loss of blood and died on the way to the Collecting Company. Technician Fifth Grade Posey's devotion to duty reflects lasting honor on him and is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.'

...The Poseys have another son, Pfc Earl Posey, who saw severe action with the 36th Infantry Division, and who is believed enroute to the United States."

Russel's body lies in the Lorraine American Cemetery, located just outside the town of St. Avoid, France, near the border with Germany. The cemetery is the largest American World War II military cemetery in Europe, with nearly 10,500 American servicemen and women resting there among the rolling woodlands. 

"EVANSPORT SOLDIER KILLED IN FRANCE

T-5 RUSSELL POSEY LOSES LIFE NOV. 16; MEMORIAL SERVICE SUNDAY

T/5 Russell W. Posey, 23, son of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamiin C. Posey, of near Evansport, was killed in action in France on Nov. 16, according to word received from the War Department this week.

The Methodist church and American Legion will hold joint memorial services at St. John's Methodist Church, south of Evansport, at 3 o'clock Sunday afternoon. In addition to his parents, he leaves two brothers, Pvt. Earl B. Posey, who is in Italy, and Charles, at home; two sisters, Mary, Ft. Wayne, and Carol, at home; and his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. W. D. Farmer, of near Defiance.

T/5 Posey was serving as a medic with the infantry when killed near Metz, France. He graduated from Tiffin Twp. high school, joined the service from Defiance County, and trained at Indiantown Gap, Pa. and California and Texas before he went overseas this summer.

His father served in four major battles of World War I and fought through the same area where he is believed to have lost his life."

Crescent-News, Dec. 5, 1944, page 1

A memorial stone was placed for Russell in the Evansport Cemetery in Evansport, Defiance County, Ohio.

Evansport Cemetery

Mary Williams, Researcher

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL - PFC Robert L. Wade

 

Private First Class

Robert Lee Wade

Robert Wade was born in DeKalb County, Indiana, lived in Hicksville, Ohio, and then enlisted in Kalamazoo, Michigan!

Born in DeKalb County, Indiana, on March 10, 1922, to Stearl Earl and Delpha Iola (Coburn) Wade, Robert had four siblings: Gerald Calvin, Leone Ruby, Irene Helen and Donald Harry.

In the 1940 Federal Census, they lived at 321 Chicago Avenue, HIcksville, with Delpha's father, Calvin Coburn, who was 85 and widowed. Just the two younger children, Robert L., 18, and Don, 14 were with them.

Robert filled out his draft card in Kalamazoo, Michigan, as he was working at a dairy farm in Niles, Berrien County, Michigan. His grandfather lived past 90, so one could assume his parents stayed in Hicksville to care for him, while Robert found work in Michigan.  Enlisting on December 15, 1942, in Kalamazoo, Robert was inducted into the 184th Infantry, 7th Division. 

The 7th Division was known as the "Hourglass Division", a group that fought from the islands of Alaska to Hawaii. By the time Private Wade was sent overseas, they were in Hawaii undergoing rigorous training for jungle fighting in the heat. Early in 1944, they landed on Kwajalein in the Japanese-held Marshall Islands, where the Japanese lost their first territory in the war.

184th Infantry landing in the Phillipines 1944

"On October 20, 1944, the 7th Division "hit the sand near the town of Dulag and found themselves opposed by one of the crack Japanese divisions - the 16th, perpetrators of the Bataan Death March. Fighting for every foot, the 7th drove inland, and within four days, had captured Dulag, its important airstrip, the San Pablo airfield, and the city of Burauen. Swinging north, (they) plowed through the rice paddies, waist deep mud and monsoon gales to crush Jap resistance and overrun Jap defenses at the key town of Dagami.

But MacArthur gave them little rest. He turned them south and told them to eliminate all the enemy from Leyte watershed...  The mission was accomplished under the most adverse weather conditions. The men were pelted by torrential rains, blown down by the winds of typhoon velocity, and had to fight flash floods and swollen rivers and streams.

The 7th finished its chore in the Leyte campaign by landing on Camotes Islands and exterminating all the Japanese on this island group. The 7th moved 105 miles on Leyte, covered 1,950 miles in reconnaissance and killed 16,559 of the enemy." 

(Sons of Liberty Museum narrative)

The battle actually ended on Christmas Day, 1944, yet hard fighting continued after that to finish. PFC Robert Wade died of wounds on December 30, 1944. He was admitted to the field hospital with two hits from a rifle bullet, one on the spinal cord in mid-back and one in the lung. A blood transfusion was given, but he did not survive.

The South-Bend Tribune, August 5, 1945

His name appears on the Tablets of the Missing monument in the Manila Cemetery and Memorial, Manila, Philippines. A memorial stone stands in the Alton Cemetery, DeKalb County, Indiana, as well.

Dianne Kline, Researcher

 

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL - 1st Lt. Arthur E. Ury

 

First Lieutenant

Arthur Edwin Ury

Born in Defiance, Ohio, Arthur Edwin Ury was the son of Dr. John Busby and Laura (Kuhn) Ury. In the Federal Census of 1920, seven year old Arthur lived at 402 Jefferson Street in Defiance with his mother and brother, John Francis. His father, a noted Defiance College graduate and local physician, passed away during World War I while working at a military installation in Georgia.

Arthur, born on August 14, 1912, attended Ohio State University and graduated, afterwards, beginning a career as an advertising specialist at Owens-Illinois Glass in Toledo, Ohio. On Christmas Day, 1935, he married Virginia Steward. 

At 28 years old, Arthur registered for the draft in Toledo on October 16, 1940.  It was May 28, 1942, before Arthur officially enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as a First Lieutenant in the 335th Infantry Regiment in the 84th Infantry Division.

1st Lt. Arthur Ury and his cousin, Orville Miller

The 84th Infantry slogged their way through Belgium and the Battle of the Bulge in a cold and rainy November and December 1944, and then their mission was to move into Germany to the Rhine to stop the German offensive. By February 25, they had begun to break through enemy lines.  According to the History of the 335th, "The 335th was moving on fast without the assets of tanks or reconnaissance troops, and yet they caught up with our motorized troops.

The unit went north through Krefeld and Moss and on to the Rhine River.

On March 4th, 1945, the last day of real combat in this operation, the 335th set out at daylight, meeting only random sniper fire at first, and those enemy soldiers were captured. The mission was to stop traffic on the railroad bridge, as trucks, artillery, citizens and soldiers filled it. The unit tried to take it out, and finally they waited till night and blew it up at 8 p.m. Several other companies of the 335th were supposed to block a road but realized too late that they had walked into German lines.  When they tried to escape, the Germans opened up with machine guns.  It is not certain which company Lt. Ury was in, but the guess is the second group. Lt. Arthur E. Ury died on March 4, 1945.

Crescent-News, April 13, 1945

1st Lt. Ury died during combat in Wesel, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany and was laid to rest at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands. He was survived by his mother and wife.

His cross overseas in the Netherlands

Kim Bercaw, Researcher

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL - PFC Ross L. Pendleton

 

Private First Class

Ross Lynn Pendleton

The former Agnes Sprow received word that her husband, PFC Ross Pendelton, aged 25, was killed in action April 21, 1945. He was serving with the 85th Mountain Infantry of the 19th Division, Fifth Army near Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

The Crescent-News noted that, at the time of his death, Ross was the 68th fatality from Defiance County.

Ross Pendleton was born in rural Washington Township on October 18, 1919, to Calvin C. and Florence (Garber) Pendleton. After graduation from Ney High School, in 1937, he married in August 1939, to Agnes Sprow, the daughter of Arthur and Katie (McFeeters). The couple were both 19. In the 1940 census, Ross and Agnes were living in Washington Twp. Ross was attending International Business College and eventually worked at the Aro Equipment Company in Bryan, Ohio. They had a son, Ronald.

Draft Registration Card 

Ross entered the service on April 24, 1941, at 5'10", 139 pounds. He was described as having brown hair and blue eyes. He would serve in the 85th Mountain Infantry that trained for survival and combat in winter mountain conditions. The 85th Infantry was assigned to the Italian front, departing Hampton Roads, Virginia, on January 4, 1945, aboard the SS West Point, arriving in Naples, Italy on January 13, 1945.

85th Mountain Infantry Insignia - blue for
infantry, ram's head for skill in mountains, white
mountain peaks and the green boot for
Italy

The 85th was attached to the 10th Mountain Division. According to History of the Legendary 10th Mountain Division, "They trained hard to live, sleep, climb, ski and fight on snow. During maneuvers, the 10th would lay down their skis on the snow, throw their double sleeping bag on top of that and call it good for the night. The training created some of America's strongest soldiers, and they were called to prove it."

The 85th Mountain Unit joined forces with units previously assembled to attack the German strongholds high in the Apennines Mountains. In three major offensive attacks, with heavy casualties, the forces crossed the Apennines from south to north, entered and traversed the Po Valley. 

PFC Pendleton was in the 3rd battalion of three with the 85th Infantry Regiment who traveled with the 10th Mountain. On April 21, 1945, the day he died, the 3rd battalion moved out at 9 a.m. to make a fast dash across the Po Valley which they had reached the previous day.  The 3rd traveled with the 2nd battalion, with tanks following the 2nd and artillery following the third. However, they were exposed as they were on foot, drawing enemy artillery and machine gun fire as they crossed the valley. This is most likely where PFC Pendleton was wounded, during this 15-mile march. 

PFC Pendleton died on April 21, 1945, at the age of 25 of a penetrating wound in the abdomen which traveled through the pelvis and back.  He was first buried in Mongiorgio, Citta Metropolitana di Bologna, Emilia-Romagnia, Italy and later brought home and reinterred in Ney Cemetery.

Defiance Crescent-News
May 21, 1945

Ney Cemetery

Crescent-News, July 7, 1949, p. 1

Ney Cemetery

Mary Williams, Researcher