In Memoriam – Remembering Those Who Gave Their Life

CHARLES E ALBERT

Charles E. Albert was the son of my paternal grandfather’s first cousin – making Charles my 2nd cousin once removed. His parents were Georgia Anna Amore and John Albert. Charles was born on February 14, 1922 in Coshocton county, Ohio. On February 4, 1943, Charles enlisted in the US Army at Columbus, Ohio. While serving in Italy, he was killed in action on October 6, 1944.

WARD LESTER GOUL

Ward L. Goul was my 2nd cousin twice removed – the son of Jesse L. Goul and Alice Edna Rodgers, nephew of my great-great-grandmother. He was born on December 15, 1891 in Marion county, Indiana. Ward enlisted in the US Army on August 31, 1914 at Anderson, Indiana and sent to Columbus, Ohio. He was transferred to the Coast Artillery School in Fort Monroe, Virginia and went overseas in March 1918 where he as assigned to the 56th Coast Artillery. After receiving wounds in battle, he was at Evacuation Hospital No. 28 where he died on January 25, 1919. Sgt. Ward Lester Goul was buried at the American Cemetery in Nantes, France and later repatriated to America. His final resting place is at Grovelawn Cemetery in Pendleton, Indiana.

 

FRANK A GIVEN

Frank A. Given was the oldest son of Ivan Andrew Given and Helen Kirk. He was my 3rd cousin – the great-grandson of my maternal great-grandmother’s sister, Rachel Blazer Given. Frank was sent to Viet Nam and arrived the end of December 1962. He was assigned to Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. While returning to his unit from R&R in Hong Kong, his plane crashed into the Bay upon taking off. Pfc Frank A. Given is buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri.

FORREST MILTON OGG

Forrest Milton Ogg was my 4th cousin. He was born to Herbert H Ogg and Edna E Brenner on June 7, 1920 in Minnesota. He is descended from my 2nd great-grandmother’s sister, Mary Ann Reed Orr. He entered the Marines while living in Michigan. He was killed while in WWII on June 19, 1944 and interred in the 4th Marine Divison Cemetery, Saipan, Marianas Islands. Later he was removed and buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 16, 1949. Sgt. Forrest Ogg has his name on a memorial wall in Saipan.

(Images used with permission – Creative Commons)

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Those Who Sacrificed Their Lives for Freedom

On this Memorial Day, I remember those collateral relatives who paid the ultimate price in order to protect the freedom we have in this great nation of ours.

My second cousin once removed, Charles E Albert died in Italy on October 6, 1944 during WWII. Charley enlisted in the Army on February 4, 1943 at Columbus, Ohio. Three weeks after his death, his mother, Georgia Anna Amore Smith, received a telegram that was delivered by the Adjutant General, J A Uho. It read that Charley was killed in action. He was survived by his mother, stepfather William Smith, and ten siblings. He is buried in Greenfield, Ohio at Greenfield Cemetery.

My second cousin twice removed, Ward Lester Goul, died from wounds received in battle during WWI. He died on January 25, 1919 at the Evacuation Hospital and was buried at the American Cemetery in Nantes, France. Ward had been assigned to the 56th Coast Artillery after he was shipped overseas in March 1918.

Wendy and Jim (Bill) Amore 1969

My first cousin, James Amore, did not die during battle but during his service in Viet Nam, he was exposed to Agent Orange which caused him to die at a young age. Jim (or Bill as I called him) was the son of my uncle Paul Amore. He was born in October 1946 and died May 17, 1974 at the age of 27 years.

May we never forget those who served and died in order to keep our country free.

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Letters from Germany – Part 1

Yesterday I spent a few hours scanning letters that my grandparents wrote to my parents while my grandparents were stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany.  It has been several years since I read them so it was a chance for me to re-read while I was scanning.  I try not to handle these pages from the early 1950s very much in a way to keep them from picking up too much acidic content.  When I received them from my mom, they had been placed in a large manilla folder and kept in her basement.  To be clear, my mom’s basement is finished and air conditioned so they haven’t been in damp, musty or too hot conditions.  All of them are still readable and intact which is rare since most of them were handwritten or typed on very thin onion skin paper.  Remember, they were being sent from Germany to the United States so to pack a lot of pages into one envelope for the regular price of a stamp, they used very thin paper.

My grandparents wrote letters at least once or twice a week and they were in Germany for three years so I have many – MANY – letters to scan.  And that’s just of the Germany letters.  There are also letters they wrote to my parents when my parents were stationed in Japan twice.  Letters my grandfather and grandmother wrote to each other while they were courting, when my grandfather entered military training after they were married, when my grandfather went to France during WWI, and letters from my grandmother’s siblings and mother to her.

Here are some excerpts from the Letters from Germany.

 

Most of the letters are little more than reciting the more mundane chores of daily life or the functions that my grandparents attended.  For genealogical purposes, they provide a window into their lives that I wouldn’t have if not for these letters. My grandparents also took several weekend trips into other regions or countries during their time in Europe.  My grandfather took my grandmother to the area he was in during WWI in France and showed her spots she had only read about in his letters.  My grandmother saw what was left of some of the concentration camps from WWII.  They went to Holland and saw windmills and tulips.  They shopped in Garmisch. One thing that was always consistent in the letters they wrote from Germany: they missed their children and grandchildren terribly.  No matter where the military sent them, their hearts were always wherever their family was.

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