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Veley Mother Has Two Sons MIA – World War Two

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We see in this article the anguish families were forced to endure here at home as their loved ones were suffering in their service to their country in far away lands. Sometimes these times of bad news were multiplied many times as families had to await the fate of their sons, fathers, and brothers for many months.

Later Mrs. Veley would learn of Richard being declared KIA, making her a Gold Star Mother.

veley

From The Marion Star dated June 23, 1944

2ND SON OF MARION
WOMAN MISSING

Mrs. Ruth Veley Gets Second
Notice in Three Months.

For the second time within three months a Marion woman has received word that a son has been reported missing in action.
Mrs. Ruth Veley of 336 East Church street was notified in a telegram from the war department that her son, Staff Sergeant Robert A. Veley, has been missing in action over Romania since June 6, Robert’s elder brother, Technical Sergeant Richard Veley, has been missing in action over Italy since March 19, but Mrs.. Veley did not receive the word until mid-April.
Robert is a radio operator and gunner on a B-24 Liberator bomber. The operation after which he was reported missing was carried on June 6, fateful D-Day on the western front. Although he never lived in Marion he visited here last December while on furlough from Pocatello, Ida. His mother has lived here over a year.
Both of Mrs. Veley’s sons were graduated from Urichville High school, Richard in 1937 and Robert in 1939. Robert was employed by Goodyear Aircraft corporation in Akron before entering service in January 1943. He was first sent to Fort Myers, Fl., for gunnery training, and in March was transferred to Sioux Falls, S.D., for radio training.
His brother had just completed his radio coarse though and served a week earlier to Las Vegas, Nev., for gunnery training. The only time the two had seen each other since Richard’s induction in October, 1942, was when they both stationed for a short time at Salt Lake City, Utah, in October last year.
Robert arrived in North Africa and was hoping for another meeting with Richard, who had been in Italy since January.. While Robert was still stationed in Africa word came that his brother had been reported missing. Robert moved to the Italian theater in May.
Robert and his brother are both radiomen and gunners on B-2 bombers. Both boys are natives of Urichville. Richard has never visited in Marion and the last time that his mother say (sic) was when he was visiting an uncle in Missouri last June. Richard was employed at the Knapp-Monarch Manufacturing Co. at St. Louis before going into service.
Mrs. Veley is employed at the post engineer’s office of the Marion Engineer depot. The boys’ aunt, Mrs. Ray Bishop, lives at 599 Windsor street.

Marion Man’s Song Given Place in War Record of Famed Battleship Pennsylvania

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From the Marion Star May 31, 1946

Marion Man’s Song Given Place in War
Record of Famed Battleship Pennsylvania

By John R. Elliott

When the good ship USS Pennsylvania goes to her fate in the atomic bomb test this summer, her battle-weary decks may still be echoing the words of a song written by a Marion naval veteran.
And chances are her decks will be spotless, according to Robert G. Haldeman of 183 Silver street, who was moved to write a set of lyrics about them. The song, “Sweep Down,” appeared in the newly published war record of the Pennsylvania, which was recently distributed to all her former crew members. The attractive volume was free to the men, being paid for from the ship’s fund.
Haldeman, former lieutenant (junior grade), served 23 months on the Pennsylvania during her Pacific activities. Her record is well known to naval men (especially Japanese), but only Pennsylvania men knew of her combat record of spotless decks.
Battle or no, the ship’s executive officer, one Commander Jackson, loved to see clean decks, Haldeman recalled. While the ship was firing in such famous engagements as Peleliu,, Eniwetok and others, Commander Jackson would have part of the crew swabbing down the decks on the peaceful side.
It was after Eniwetok that Haldeman was inspired. The song caught on and the men liked it, but tried not to make it so popular that Commander Jackson would hear of it.
“He heard about it though,” Haldeman said. “It cost me a seven mile trip in a motor whale boat.”
The commander, now known as “Sweep Down” Jackson, after confirming Haldeman’s authorship of the ditty, sent him on an unpleasant ride in a little craft.
Haldeman was in naval service from March of 1943 to November of 1945. He is married, has one daughter and is now associated with the Probst Supply Co.
The Pennsylvania built up a glorious record since its commissioning 30 years ago this coming June 12, but engaged in no battles until this war.
On December 7, 1941, she was in dry-dock at Pearl Harbor. She had been scheduled to leave the day before for another dock, but ran into delays which probably saved her from destruction by the Jap attack.
She was badly battered and ships around her were hurt worse, but in less than two weeks the Pennsylvania sailed out of Pearl Harbor to avenge the attack.
The Japs missed a formidable foe when they failed to sink her December 7. The Pennsylvania survived to participate in 13 major engagements and roamed the Pacific from the Aleutians to Sydney, Australia.
In the award of the Navy Unit Commendation to men of the Pennsylvania, it was pointed out that between May 4, 1943, and Feb. 10, 1945, the gallant old ship was the only battleship to take part in every combat amphibious operation from Attu to Lingayan. “xxxxx Intensive fire from her batteries blazed the way for our assault waves in the Gilberts, the Marshalls and the Mariannas, silencing the enemy’s heavy coastal guns, locating and neutralizing and rendering sturdy support for our land forces.” It was the only battle ship to receive the unit citation.
USSPennThe Pennsylvania, carrying normally about 3,400 men, was tops in firing. The ship records show that in the assault on Guam, the batteries hurled out 26,400 rounds of ammunition, “probably a greater amount of ammunition than any other ship has ever fired during a single operation.”
Mr. Haldeman recalled that the ship fired for 12 days straight during the Guam assault.
The ship had its own casualties to. She was hit by a torpedo near the close of the war off Okinawa, and missed the surrender ceremonies. She limped across the Pacific by stages and pulled into Puget Sound in October, shipping water and with one screw turning.
She had traveled nearly 150,000 miles during the war.
Haldeman’s song follows:

“SWEEP DOWN”
-1-
The enemy was all about in waters clear and blue.
The Captain asked the next in line just what he ought to do.
The next in line just thought a while and then he made a reply;
“My Captain, this is what I think we really out to try;

Sweep down, sweep down, sweep down all the day.
The decks are clean as they can be, but sweep down anyway.

-2-
The enemy was closing fast, our guns were all alert.
The Captain chanced to glance about and spied a speck of dirt.
“Secure your guns and man your brooms,” the Captain then did shout.
The Navigator grabbed the wheel, and turned the ship about.

Sweep down, sweep down, sweep down all the day.
The decks are clean as they can be, but sweep down anyway.

-3-
When once again the sweeping crew made the decks aglow,
We turned about and stared in to massacre the foe.
We sank the foe in record time, we didn’t waste a shell.
We never heard a word of praise, but just the Bos’n yel;

Sweep down, sweep down, sweep down all the day.
The decks are clean as they can be, but sweep down anyway.

Robert Gene Haldeman died 9 May 1987, and is buried in the Marion Cemetery. Robert G. Haldeman is remembered on the World War II Veterans Memorial Wall at the Marion Cemetery, Marion, Ohio.

 

Halloween Riot of 1952 – Ohio Penitentiary

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The Ohio Penitentiary may be best known for its Fire of 1932, in which 322 inmates perished. But you may not have heard of the Halloween Riot of 1952. Marion’s Ohio National Guard (ONG) unit, C Company, responded to help quell the prisoners.

From The Marion Star dated November 10, 1952

Marion Guard
Unit Returns
From Pen Duty

After eight days of continuous guard duty at Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus, members of Marion Co. C, Ohio National Guard, returned to their homes late Saturday night.
The 53 men and three officers of the unit were called out Halloween night when a riot of some 2,000 convicts at the pen began.
The Marion company was the first ONG company to stand duty inside the penitentiary walls. They were equipped with automatic pistols and rifles for each man, and in addition had two light machine guns and three Browning automatic rifles with them. They stood duty at the pen on a two-hours-on, two-hours-off basis.
With prison officials in control of the convicts again, ONG staff officers sent the Marion guardsmen home about 9:30 p.m. Saturday.
Officers of the company are, Capt. Robert Canterbury of Columbus, Lt. Richard Bigford of near Caledonia, and Lt. James Melby of Marion.
Also taking part in guard duty at the Penitentiary was Major Robert F. Melby of Marion, who is operations officer for the First Battalion, 166th Infantry. He returned home Friday. During the riot period, Major Melby was in charge of a company of men.

 

Read More about the Halloween Riot of 1952

 

They Shall Not Be Forgotten

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I recently started to repair some Marion veteran’s grave markers. It is a local cemetery and there is a section that was originally dedicated to veterans. The front portion of it came to be known as the Rainbow Section, as it was dedicated to the memory of veterans from the Rainbow Division of World War One. It in fact has a marker in memory of Dyer J. Bird. He was from Broadway, Ohio, and was living in Marion, Ohio, when he enlisted. He enlisted in Marion’s D Company of the Ohio 4th Infantry Regiment, Ohio National Guard. Which was reorganized as the 166th Infantry Regiment under the 83rd Infantry Brigade of the 42nd Infantry Division (The Rainbow Division).

 

Before
After

I noticed that over time many of these grave markers had sunk or rather the ground is building up around them. Many are nearly completely covered with sod and grass. When the grass is cut or in fall when the leaves fall, many of the markers are not visible.

 

Center marker below.
3-1/2″ below grade.

 

3-1/2″ below grade.
Center marker below.

I recently went out and edged five. That improved the appearance greatly, but since they are still three to four inches below surface, water will pool on them after rains and dirt will accumulate on the face of the marker. Next the grass will again creep in.

IMG_4082
These are not yet cleaned or raised. The center marker is the first photo with the tape measure above.

The grounds keeper came out while I was working and gave me a lesson on correctly raising the markers to flush. This will keep he mowers from striking the markers and will allow water to run off and reduce the accumulation of dirt and the repeat of the cycle.

I plan on returning to begin raising the markers near the Rainbow section and work my way through looking for other veterans markers that need attention. I will also post the marker information on http://www.FindAGrave.com, as well as this blog.

Please take some time to visit or take someone out to see the resting place of our veterans. maybe take a photo or write their name down. Then look them or there unit up on this blog and read about their service. These veterans from our community have long since passed away and many of their children have died or left the area. Let us remember their service.

homer
This one was so low it was under water.

 

BowmanC2
Raised
The three
Raised and Decorated for Memorial Day

 

Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio

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Camp Sherman, Located in Chillicothe, Ohio was one of eight military training camps announced as being now ready to receive new recruits on 1 September 1917. Four additional camps would be ready within a week. Each camp will be occupied by nearly 40,000 soldiers. They include barracks, mess, laundry, hospitals etc. By October 5, 1917, at Camp Sherman, 1,200 buildings had been erected, 30 miles of sewer laid, 30 miles of water lines installed, 10 miles of roads constructed, and lighting installed.

The first assembly of troops that trained up at Camp Sherman was to become the 83rd Division. At least three more Divisions are planned to organize and to train up here when the 83rd Division moves out.

By 14 September 1917 Camp Sherman had its own mess halls, fire department, police department, laundries, post office, and hospital.

On 21 September 1917 Camp Sherman, received 5,581 men for training from around the state and another 947 men are expected to arrive at camp tomorrow. Many men had already arrived and began training earlier in the month, but now the entire camp was busy with military training. The men have been supplied with hats, breeches and shirts and will later be supplied with Enfield rifles while in camp.

On 22 September 37 men from Marion were scheduled to arrive at Camp Sherman.

On 26 September 1917, after Mayor Cahill refused to turn out the street lights of Chillicothe and divert power to Camp Sherman, camp officials seized the Chillicothe Electric Railway & Power plant. Mayor Cahill made a plea for the women of the city, “There are many tough characters in town that many hold-ups and other more serious crimes are to occur.” Mayor Cahill having only 17 policemen at his disposal against 20,000 soldiers will seek an injunction.

Secretary of War Baker ordered that the camp be expanded to accommodate several thousand more men. This came just as workers were planning to leave for Florida to begin work at another camp. The camp officials were also still looking for land for their rifle ranges.

Club Women of Ohio have donated $1,000,000 to help build 500 buildings at a cost of $2,000 each. These buildings along with buildings built by the Red Cross will be in the center of Camp Sherman. They will be used to billet families of the draftees, when they come for weekend visits.
In November of 1917 nearly 500 soldiers from the camp were in quarantine. From A company of Toledo there were 250 men quarantined due to the death of Private I.M. Camp of Wauseon, Ohio. Private Camp is thought to have died from spinal meningitis. Another 250 soldiers from Cleavland’s D company were quarantined due to an outbreak of scarlet fever.

Plans were being made by Captain T.E. Rhoades, the construction quartermaster, to install a street car line between Camp Sherman and Chillicothe. Funds from some Ohio businessmen would help finance the project. The local taxis were charging twenty-five cents one way for these trips. The fare to be charged by the streetcars were planned to be only five cents.

November 15, 1917 comes with the announcement that construction is now complete at Camp Sherman at a cost of $9,000,000. The camp has officially been turned over to Major General E.F. Glenn by Major Ward Dabnet, chief construction quartermaster. The first unit from this camp to see service in France, are the 400 men in the 408th Motor Supply Train.

Men at camp continue to train; they will conduct bayonet drills, education for poison gas by wearing gas masks into special buildings constructed for poison gas training. Men are also being taught and practicing Jui Jitsu. They must be prepared when they are unable to use their rifles or bayonets. They will learn holds, blocks, and joint locks and breaks that they may need in the trench battles to come.

December 8th came with a report that the 332nd infantry was completing its rifle training at Camp Perry and would be the last sent from Camp Sherman and that the balance of drafted men would receive their training on the newly completed rifle ranges on the Johnson and Mettler farms on Marietta Pike near Camp Sherman. The 300 and 500 yard ranges were complete and the 1,000 yard range was to be completed in a few days.

  The following letter, although not from Camp Sherman, describes life in a military camp of the day.
From The Marion Daily Star dated 11-2-1917

SOLDIER SON WRITES
FROM GEORGIA CAMP
Tells Mother, Mrs. J. Arter,
About Camp Life.
STANDS LONG MARCH
OF DIVISION WELL
Finds Y.M.C.A. at Atlanta
Splendid Place – May Be Sent
West – The Letter.
Mrs. J. Arter, of No. 182 McWilliams court, has received an interesting letter from her son, John Arter, who is with the federal army in camp in Georgia. In narrating his experiences he says;
“Dear Mother; I am getting along all right, but I am a little stiff from the march I made last Friday. The whole division made a march of fifteen miles and I stood in very well, but was very tired at the finish. There were over 400 men of the 3?7th regiment who made the march, but we did not lose a man from the line. There were 12,000 men in line and the line was four miles long. I saw hundreds along the road who could not stand the march and the ambulances were full of men whose feet became too sore for them to walk farther.
“We got up at 5:15, have roll call at 5:30 and breakfast at 6 o’clock. Everyone who is sick reports at the infirmary at 6:30 and the drill begins at 7:45 and lasts until 11. Then we eat dinner at 12 and drill begins again at 1:00. At 2:15 we go on a march until 4:30. Then we have supper at 5. Lights are out at 9 and every man must be in at 10:30. That is the program for every day except Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“Friday morning we make the big march and then we are off the rest of the day. Saturday we have inspection and drill in the morning and are off duty in the afternoon Sunday we have all day off
“Yesterday I was at Atlanta, but I usually go to the Y.M.C.A. in the evening. I am there now. We get writing paper free and they have a library, victoria piano and moving pictures free. There are ten Y.M.C.A.s in the camp and they are busy places.
“We do not know how long we will be here, but I do not believe for long. We have no room to drill in. We may be sent west any day.
John”

The following portrait of President Woodrow Wilson was taken at Camp Sherman it is made up of all soldiers in different colored uniforms from t-shirts to raincoats. The 21,000 soldiers of Camp Sherman make up the pixels in the photo. In the background some buildings and tents of Camp Sherman can be seen. This portrait is called living photograph and was part of a series by Moles & Thomas. These photos were commissioned by the United States military.

WOODROW

This is a copy of a photo the author’s Grandfather was part of when he was training at Camp Sherman. Follow the link to see more of these interesting photos.

Living Photographs