POW-MIA Memorial - Portsmouth NH

In 2011 for Veteran's Day, I posted the names, birth and death dates and service information for soldiers who died during World War I and who are memorialized here in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. My fellow blogger, Heather Wilkinson Rojo, inspired me then and continues to inspire me now with her Veteran's Day Transcription Project, a digital memorial of the men and women from New Hampshire who have served our country. This is my contribution for Veteran's Day 2012. 

On the corner of South Street and Junkins Avenue there is an often overlooked memorial here in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is tucked away a bit downhill and toward the back of the small park.

The stone toward the front is dedicated 

"to all who served."

On its top are medallions for the different United States service branches; Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard and Air Force.

POW-MIA You are not forgotten.

"This stone is dedicated to all 

POW/MIA's from New Hamphsire 

from all wars and acts of aggression 

against this great country."

Following are all names listed on this memorial:

Vietnam

Alloway, Clyde D.

Badolati, Frank N.

Burnett, Sheldon J.

Ganley, Richard O.

Hemlich, Gerald R.

Mulleavey, Quinten E.

Page, Albert L.

Pearson, William R.

Sullivan, Robert J.

Korean Conflict

Ackley, Phillip W.
Ashley, Francis A.
Bostford, Phillip A.
Brennan, John C.
Buckley, Arthur D.
Bullock, Elmer T.
Charles, Madison F.
Curley, George A.
Dick, Myron G.
Dubay, Gerald L.
Dunham, Leland R.
Flanders, Henry C.
Fleming, Frederick E.
Fletcher, Robert S.
Frazier, Reginald E.
Griggs, Benjamin J.
Hamlin, Elmer R.
Hedman, Robert S.

Hesseltine, Herbert A.
Hill George N.
Jordan, Paul H.
Kelley, John M.
Kendall, Warren O.
Labonte, Arthur R.
Leblanc, Ronald L.
Ledoux, Theodore W.
Robert H. Malloy [sic]
Mills, Bruce R.
Morin, Fernand, A.
Pelletier, Joseph N.
Richard, Elmer P.
Ritter, Wallace F.
Robillard, Joseph A.
Russell, Ernest F.
Sidney, Alfred H.
Smith, Harry S.

At the bottom of the memorial:

"The only thing that's worse 

than being a POW/MIA 

is to be a forgotten POW/MIA."

Dedicated by Squadron #6
Sons of the American Legion Portsmouth
November 2004

You are not forgotten!

Respectfully, 

Jennifer

If you have any questions, or would like a larger version of one of these images, please leave a comment or email me at jshoer [at] reconnectingrelatives [dot] com. 

Soldiers Who Died in World War I - Portsmouth, New Hampshire

On the corner of Islington Street and Route 33 in Portsmouth, NH lies Plains Field. Although best known for the Little League baseball games played there, it is also home to a memorial for the Portsmouth residents who died in World War I. Below are transcriptions of the honor roll 'stone' and the individual memorials. The honor roll name is above each individual memorial. Please note that there are some spelling differences and that there are two memorials not listed on the honor roll.

1917 Honor Roll 1919

IN MEMORY OF 

THOSE WHO MADE THE SUPREME

SACRIFICE IN THE WORLD WAR.

Carl A. Pearson

1893-1918 

IN MEMORY OF

CARL A. PEARSON, U.S.A.

12th DIVISION, CO. A, M.P.

Evelyn Petrie

 1889-1918 

IN MEMORY OF 

EVELYN PETRIE, U.S.A.

NURSE'S CORPS.

Edward J. Mack

 1872-1919.

IN MEMORY OF

LT. EDWARD J. MACK, U.S.A.

Christopher Smart

1891-1918

IN MEMORY OF

CHRISTOPHER SMART

U.S. NAVY

Frederick S. Towle

 1864-1918 

IN MEMORY OF

CAPT. FREDERICK S. TOWLE

MEDICAL CORPS.

Frank E. Booma

 1894-1918 

IN MEMORY OF

LIEUT. FRANK BOOMA, U.S.A.

151st F.A.     KILLED IN ACTION

Harold L. Dutton

1890-1918

IN MEMORY OF

CORP. HAROLD L. DUTTON

325th REG. 82nd DIV. A.E.F.

DIED OF WOUNDS, ARGONNE FOREST

Paul C. Dennett

1892-1918

IN MEMORY OF

LT. PAUL C. DENNETT, U.S.A.

SURGEON 2nd BATT. 75TH A., C.A.C. (?)

Sydney R. Pickles

 1892-1918

IN MEMORY OF

SIDNEY R. PICKLES, U.S.A.

18th INFANTRY

KILLED IN ACTION.     ARGONNE FOREST

John P. White

1872-1918

IN MEMORY OF

LT. JOHN P. WHITE, U.S.A.

Hugh C. Hill

 1892-1918

IN MEMORY OF

HUGH CONWAY HILL, U.S.A.

CO. K, 359th INF. A.E.F.

KILLED IN ACTION.     ST. MICHEL.

Michael Lynch

 1870-1919

IN MEMORY OF

MICHAEL LYNCH, U.S.N.

U.S.S. OKLAHOMA

John Tanco

 1887-1919

IN MEMORY OF

SGT. JOHN TANCO, U.S.A.

Arthur T. Patch

 1894-1917

IN MEMORY OF

ARTHUR T. PATCH, U.S.N.

U.S.S. BALTIMORE

Frank H. N. Grant

1886-1918

IN MEMORY OF

LT.FRANK H. GRANT, U.S.A.

Chester A. Bock

1890-1918.

IN MEMORY OF

CHESTER A. BOCK, U.S.A.

Floyd Barker

 1891-1918.

IN MEMORY OF

SGT. FLOYD BARKER, U.S.M.C.

KILLED IN ACTION

John J. Conners

 1894-1918 

IN MEMORY OF

JOHN J. CONNORS

101st A. E. F., U.S.A.

KILLED IN ACTION

George Durand

1897-1918

IN MEMORY OF

GEORGE DURAND, U.S.M.C.

35TH CO., 1st REPLACEMENT BATT.

KILLED IN ACTION

Faye E. Hatt

 1892-1918

IN MEMORY OF

FAYE EUGENE HATT, U.S.A.

KILLED IN ACTION

Henry Taylor

 -1918

IN MEMORY OF

STEPHEN H. TAYLOR, C.A.

8(?)7TH MONTREAL GRENADIER GUARDS

KILLED IN ACTION

Theodore D. Schmidt

 1895-1918

IN MEMORY OF

LT. THEODORE D. SCHMIDT

CO. M, 39TH INFANTRY, U.S.A.

DIED OF WOUNDS

Francis A. Scott

 1890-1918.

IN MEMORY OF

CAPT. FRANCIS A. SCOTT, U.S.A.

207TH INFANTRY.

KILLED IN ACTION

Amedio Priori

1887-1918 

IN MEMORY OF

AMEDEO FIORI, U.S.A.

KILLED IN ACTION

The following two individuals were not listed in the honor roll. 

Currier

 1894-1918

IN MEMORY OF

HAROLD N. CURRIER

U.S. NAVY

Fingleton

IN MEMORIAM

LIEUT. LEWIS J. FINGLETON, U.S.N.

MORTUS PRO PATRIAE

U.S.S. CYCLOPS      APRIL 1918

In 1921 Joseph Foster published The Soldier's Memorial. Portsmouth, NH 1893-1921. In it, these same memorials are transcribed and additional information is given on pages 49-125 through 60-136.  You can also read the speeches and presentations given on 10 August 1919 when these stones were dedicated. This title is available through Google Books.

This photo and transcription project was inspired by Heather Wilkinson Rojo at Nutfield Genealogy. See also her Veteran's Day Transcription Project.

If you have any questions, or would like a larger version of one of these images, please leave a comment or email me at jshoer [at] jenalygen [dot] com. 

Jennifer

Today and Every Day

Thank you. Thank you to those who have served, those who have fought and those who have died. Thank you today and thank you every day. 

Last week my husband and I took some Android phone photos of gravestones at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Bristol, Connecticut. Most were still covered by snow from the storm that caused more than a week of power outages in the area, but we found Bubba's gravestone and the gravestone of his maternal grandfather, Edward Victor Grace. 

Both of these images were inspired by a tutorial I saw this week in Photography and Food on Veteran's Day on the Weekly Photo Tips blog by Scott Kelby, a military veteran. I used Adobe Photoshop Elements.

Scrappy Gen

Let's Remember!

Military Monday - WWII Military Personnel Records

Speedy turn around! My mother signed and mailed the next of kin signature verification form on Thanksgiving weekend. Last week she received a thick brown mailing envelope, containing Bubba's World War II service records, from the National Personnel Records Center. That's less than two months start to finish. 


We used the online ordering system eVetRecs through the National Archives website, which has changed somewhat. The first thing I notice is that on the main page for Military Service Records, it states "Most veterans and their next-of-kin can obtain free copies of their DD Form 214 (Report of Separation) and other military and medical records several ways". When we placed the request we did not remember seeing anything about potential charges, so my parents were surprised to receive in late December a bill for a fee of $60 in order to receive the records. The letter did not indicate the reason for the fee. If you know in which cases a fee is assessed, please comment. Thankfully this was for my parents. If I were doing this for a client, I would like to be able to better advise them about cost in advance. 


It seems that many more people might soon be interested in ordering World War II service records. Dick Eastman posted here about the formation of the Society of Sons & Daughters of World War II Veterans Hereditary Society by the Admiral Nimitz Foundation. The foundation is very broad in its membership options, offering lineal (direct descent), collateral (any other relationship including marriage) and memorial (includes friendship) memberships. Proof of service is required in the society application.

http://www.sonsanddaughtersofww2veterans.org/S&D_Application.pdf

Next on the list is ordering my paternal grandfather's records and asking my parents if they would like to join the society. In the meantime, there are lots of goodies in Bubba's records to share.


Thanks for reading. 


Scrappy Gen

Traveling Back in Time–Texas Road, Butzbach, Germany

Deserted. Desolate. Melancholic. All words that describe the atmosphere of the United States military housing on Texas Road in Butzbach, Germany. Forty-two years ago, the last time I was there it was a vibrant place filled with military service people and their families. Now it is empty and sad. I shared this picture with you as part of identifying the buildings you can see in the background.


Here are those same buildings on 25 November, 2010:


Our apartment is the balcony on the third floor at 17 Texas Road in Butzbach:


The balcony below is behind me in the old picture above.


These pictures should give you an idea of how empty it is here now. This is our apartment building:


and our street:



and looking directly up from our street:


and looking left:


and looking right:


Seeing our old home would have been overwhelmingly sad if I hadn’t shared the experience with my parents and my sister. I am so grateful I was able to visit Texas Road in Butzbach with them.

It turns out that we were not alone in our feelings. This huge empty United States housing area interconnects with civilian Butzbach residential areas. All of the citizens we spoke with reflected the loss they felt due to the departure of the Americans. The economy of Butzbach has suffered; stores and restaurants have closed. It will probably be years before Butzbach is able to economically rebuild what it has lost. The young adults say that it is very boring there now and the older people miss the loss of their friends and neighbors. There must be many United States service families who are missing Butzbach too. 

Thank you for coming along on my trip to the past.

You can read the other parts of this story here.

Scrappy Gen

Military Monday - Grandfather - Army Man

Bubba was a sailor man, but my Dad's father was a career army man. He entered my thoughts frequently in Germany. He was stationed there several times. The first time was just after World War II when my Dad was very young, not even yet school age. This is Stanley: 

He passed away when I was just four years old. I wish I had had a chance to get to know him, but he made sure of one important thing....he wanted to be the first man to give me roses. 

Yes, two dozen red and yellow roses brought to two year old me by my grandfather, the first man to give me roses. How sweet was he? 

Scrappy Gen