Tombstone Tuesday: Clifford Irwin Clark

Photo by Jo Nelson (Family Hunter) - Find A Grave Contributor

Clifford Irwin Clark was born on 22 November 1896 in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the son of Charles W. and Grace Clark. He was a staff sergeant in World War I and World War II. He was a member of the 1507th Engineer Company. He married my first cousin twice removed Nina Lorraine Leech on 1 September 1917 in Davidson County, Tennessee. Their daughter Peggy was born in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee on 19 September 1918. By 1920, the family had moved to Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee. Their daughter Helen was born about 1921. Clifford worked as an auto mechanic. His wife Nina died on 3 August 1966. He died on 27 October 1970 and was buried in Memphis National Cemetery on 30 October 1970.

Tombstone Tuesday: Harry Ashby Lee

Harry Ashby Lee was born on 28 August 1927 in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the son of Ashby Lee and Etta Pedigo. He married Joan Elise Roberts (the daughter of Earl Mason Roberts and my maternal grandfather's sister Florence Kathleen Boe) in 1952 in Missouri, and they had four children. Harry was a veteran of the United States Navy and served in World War II and the Korean War. He died on 3 August 2006 and was buried in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in Oakville, St. Louis County, Missouri.

Military Monday: Memorial Day

Today is the day that we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country. I am remembering family members who died while in service.

My great-grandfather's first cousin Ferdinand Constand Schneider (4 November 1887 - 15 July 1918) was killed in action during World War I at the Battle of Château-Thierry. He was the son of a German immigrant, and died fighting against the Germans.

Photo from page 165, Missouri - Soldiers of the Great War, compiled by W. M. Haulsee, F. G. Howe, and A. C. Doyle. Washington, DC: Soldiers Record Publishing Association, 1920. Available online at http://www.usgwarchives.net/mo/wwi/missourisoldies-greatwar.htm.

 The map  below shows the Western Front of the war at the time that he was killed.

 Chicago Daily Tribune, 16 July 1918, page 2

Thomas J. Tarkington, whom I suspect was my 3rd-great-grandfather Joseph Tarkington's brother, was killed in the Battle of Buena Vista (23 February 1847) during the Mexican War.

Indexes to the Carded Records of Soldiers Who Served in Volunteer Organizations During the Mexican War, compiled 1899 - 1927, documenting the period 1846 - 1848. Thomas J. Tarkinton, Wheeler's Co., 2 Illinois Foot Vols. (Bissell's), Mexican War. NARA M616. Available from Fold3.

Map of Battle of Buena Vista. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

Although my 3rd-great-grandfather Davidson Binkley did not die in battle, he was serving his country when he died. He was a private in Company G, 128th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War. He was stationed at Cairo, Alexander County, Illinois during the winter of 1862-1863. He died of measles on 9 January 1863.

Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Illinois. Davidson Binkley, Company G, 128th Illinois Infantry. NARA M539. Available from Fold3.

Harper's Weekly, 1 June 1861, p. 350. Available from Son of the South.

Fred Logan Trickey, Jr., the husband of my second cousin once removed Peggy Lorraine Clark, was one of five World War II heroes that died when B-25 bomber 227 crashed on Cold Mountain, Haywood County, North Carolina on 13 September 1946.
 

Fred and Peggy (Clark) Trickey. Milwaukee Journal, 10 October 1943.

Cannon, Doris Rollins. Cold Mountain Bomber Crash: The Enduring Legacy. Printed by Edwards Brothers, 2005. ISBN: 0-9772101-0-3

United States Enters World War II

United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signing the declaration of war against Japan, in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor. 8 December 1941. Photo by Abbie Rowe [Public domain]. National Archives identifier 520053. Available from the National Archives and Wikimedia Commons.

Seventy-four years ago today, the United States entered World War II. As a result of the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a declaration of war against Japan on 8 December 1941. Germany and Italy then declared war on the United States.

Some of my family members participated in World War II. Their names are listed on my Veterans Day post. There may be other family members whose service I am not yet aware of.

Military Monday: Remember December 7

"Remember December 7th" U.S. Government propaganda poster of 1942. United States Office of War Information. (United States National Archives) [Public domain]. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

Veterans Day

Available from Veterans Day Poster Gallery, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs.

On Veterans Day, I would once again like to thank the members of my family that have served in the United States military, or served allied nations in World War I. In addition to ancestors, this list includes uncles, cousins, and relatives by marriage.

Revolutionary War
Adam Binkley
Frederick Binkley
Abraham Louis DeMoss
Elisha Garland
Lazarus Gatlin
Jesse Greer
Francis Hardgrave
Benjamin Isbell
Henry Isbell
Thomas Isbell
Benjamin Mayo
James Mayo
Joseph Mayo
Stephen Mayo

War of 1812
Chapman Gordon
Francis Hardgrave
Skelton Hardgrave
Elias L. Mayo
Thomas Mayo
Andrew Russell

Mexican War
James Thomas Gilliam
Thomas E. Gilliam
James Hardgraves
Robert Francis Hardgraves
Thomas Tarkington

Civil War (Union)
Davidson Binkley
Samuel August Samuelson
Hugh Winters

World War I
John Joseph Berberick
John G. Leech
Ferdinand Constand Schneider
Cornelius Thomas de Kam (Canada)
Edward Otto Troedson (Australia)
George Arthur Troedson (Australia)

World War II
Gilbert Joseph Blocker
Theodore Boe
David Theodore Borg
Delmar Emil Borg
Walton E. Borg
Clifford Irwin Clark
Louis D. Hightower
William Philip Carl Illig
Norman Kowelman
James Bratton Lampley
Harry Ashby Lee
William Patterson Leech
Leroy N. Mayrant
Julian G. Nagle
Amanda Mary (Whitman) Pybas
Earl Mason Roberts
William Robert Ruty
Karl J. Schneider
Fred Logan Trickey

Korean War
Harry Ashby Lee

Other Veterans
Nile Weldon Farnsworth, United States Navy, 1946-1949
John Joseph Koestler, United States Army 1958-1964
Frank Casole, United States Army 1977-1981
Todd Thompson, United States Air Force 1991-2011

Current Service Members
Jon Rodriguez, United States Marines
Mitchell Stansbury, United States Navy

Tombstone Tuesday: Norman Kowelman

Norman Kowelman was born on 28 November 1928 in Cook County, Illinois. He was the son of Boruch/Benjamin and Esther Kowelman. He married Jeanne D. Graham, my second cousin once removed. He served in the United States Navy during World War II. He died on 1 March 1994 and is buried in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis County, Missouri.

Capture of the Ludendorff Bridge

The Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine at Remagen after it was captured by U.S. troops, 7 March 1945. U.S. Signal Corps/ National Archives. Public domain. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

Today is the 70th anniversary of  the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge. The bridge connected Remagen and Erpel, two German ancestral towns of mine. It was built in 1918 to carry supplies to the Western Front in World War I, and was named after General Erich Ludendorff. Architect Karl Wiener designed it as a railroad bridge; it had two railroad tracks and a walkway for pedestrians.

On 7 March 1945, the U.S. 9th Armored Division captured the Ludendorff Bridge shortly before 4:00 PM, when they believed the Germans would blow it up. The first American soldier to cross the bridge was Alexander A. Drabik; as the Germans fired at him, he ran across the entire length of the bridge. German-born lieutenant Karl H. Timmermann was the first officer to cross the bridge. More than 8,000 American soldiers crossed over within 24 hours.
 
14-year-old Heinrich Lindlohr and his family were in the back part of the bridge tunnel at the time of the surrender. About 40 American soldiers were there as well. Heinrich's sister Anni walked toward the soldiers and carried a white flag. Lindlohr is one of my ancestral surnames from Erpel. I could be related to Heinrich and Anni Lindlohr.

On 17 March 1945, the bridge collapsed as a result of the damage it had sustained.

References
Alexander Drabik, 82, First G.I. To Cross Remagen Bridge in 1945
Battle of Remagen 
The Bridge of Remagen - Between Truth and Legend: Contemporary witnesses remember March of 1945
Capturing the Bridge at Remagen, 1945
Ludendorff Bridge
The Ludendorff Bridge Erpel - Remagen
Ludendorff-Bridge - "The battle for the bridge is legendary"
Ludendorff-Bridge ... "The Bridge of Remagen"
Remagen
US Troops Capture Ludendorff Railroad Bridge at Remagen

Veterans Day

Available from Veterans Day Poster Gallery, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs.

On Veterans Day, I would like to thank the members of my family that have served in the United States military, or served allied nations in World War I. In addition to ancestors, this list includes uncles, cousins, and relatives by marriage.

Revolutionary War
Adam Binkley
Frederick Binkley
Abraham Louis DeMoss
Elisha Garland
Lazarus Gatlin
Jesse Greer
Francis Hardgrave
Benjamin Isbell
Henry Isbell
Thomas Isbell
Benjamin Mayo
James Mayo
Joseph Mayo
Stephen Mayo

War of 1812
Chapman Gordon
Francis Hardgrave
Skelton Hardgrave
Elias L. Mayo
Thomas Mayo
Andrew Russell

Mexican War
James Thomas Gilliam
Thomas E. Gilliam
James Hardgraves
Robert Francis Hardgraves
Thomas Tarkington

Civil War (Union)
Davidson Binkley
Samuel August Samuelson
Hugh Winters

World War I
John Joseph Berberick
John G. Leech
Ferdinand Constand Schneider
Cornelius Thomas de Kam (Canada)
Edward Otto Troedson (Australia)
George Arthur Troedson (Australia)

World War II
Gilbert Joseph Blocker
Theodore Boe
David Theodore Borg
Delmar Emil Borg
Walton E. Borg
Clifford Irwin Clark
Louis D. Hightower
William Philip Carl Illig
Norman Kowelman
James Bratton Lampley
Harry Ashby Lee
William Patterson Leech
Leroy N. Mayrant
Julian G. Nagle
Amanda Mary (Whitman) Pybas
Earl Mason Roberts
William Robert Ruty
Karl J. Schneider
Fred Logan Trickey

Korean War
Harry Ashby Lee

Other Veterans
John Joseph Koestler, United States Army 1958-1964
Frank Casole, United States Army 1977-1981
Todd Thompson, United States Air Force 1991-2011

Current Service Members
Jon Rodriguez, United States Marines

Tombstone Tuesday: Joan Elise (Roberts) Lee

Joan Elise Roberts, the daughter of Earl Mason Roberts and my maternal grandfather's sister Florence Kathleen Boe, was born on 22 May 1932 in New Orleans, Louisiana. She married Harry Ashby Lee in 1952 in Missouri, and they had four children. Joan died on 10 April 2007. She is buried in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in Oakville, St. Louis County, Missouri. Her husband Harry was a veteran of the United States Navy and served in World War II and the Korean War. It is clear from the tombstone inscription that she wanted her political views to be remembered!

Cold Mountain Bomber Crash

Cannon, Doris Rollins. Cold Mountain Bomber Crash: The Enduring Legacy. Printed by Edwards Brothers, 2005. ISBN: 0-9772101-0-3

On Friday, 13 September 1946, B-25 bomber 227 crashed on Cold Mountain, Haywood County, North Carolina. Five World War II heroes were killed instantly in the crash:

Major General Paul Bernard Wurtsmith, the youngest general in the Army Air Force, pilot
Lieutenant Colonel Fred Logan Trickey, Jr., co-pilot
Lieutenant Colonel Paul Richard Okerbloom, air inspector
Master Sergeant Hosey William Merritt, radio operator
Staff Sergeant Hoyt Woodrow Crump, flight engineer

In Part One, Cannon gives an account of the crash. In Part Two, she tells the stories of the five men who died. In Part Three, she writes about the impact the crash had on others.

This book is of particular interest to me because Fred Logan Trickey, Jr. was the husband of Peggy Lorraine Clark, my second cousin once removed.

More information about the book is available at http://coldmountainbombercrash.blogspot.com/.