The Greatest Generation (Part Five)

 (Schwender - Yeager)

 For notes and background about this project, please refer to Part One of this series.

NAME: Carl William Schwender 
RANK & BRANCH: Sergeant, U.S. Army
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: November 22, 1909 – August 17, 1982
DATES OF SERVICE: February 3, 1941 – September 3, 1945
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Carl Schwender was the custodian at Plainville High School prior to the war and returned to work there after the war. He served in the Pacific, where he contracted filariasis and malaria. He served in the 147^th Infantry, 37^th Division, an anti-tank company that saw action in Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima.

From the 1946 Plainville High School Yearbook

NAME: Oliver Perry Scott, Jr.
RANK & BRANCH: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: January 3, 1918 – March 22, 1968
DATES OF SERVICE: May 3, 1943 – February 4, 1946
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Oliver Scott served in the 142^nd Ordnance Heavy Maintenance Company. When he returned home to Fairfax in February 1946, his mother threw a combined celebration of Easter, Christmas, and his birthday. She fashioned a Christmas tree out of a poinsettia, colored Easter eggs, baked a birthday cake, and prepared a Christmas dinner. He and his wife bought a house in Fairfax and he lived here for the rest of his life.
 
NAME: Walter Earl Seibert
RANK & BRANCH: Private, U.S. Army
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: March 2, 1906 – March 15, 1985
DATES OF SERVICE: May 3, 1943 – November 1, 1945
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
 
NAME: Howard Shockey
RANK & BRANCH: Technician Fifth Grade, U.S. Army
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: July 10, 1915 – June 11, 1992
DATES OF SERVICE: November 19, 1941 – October 15, 1945
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: A lifelong Fairfax resident, Howard Shockey served in an armored division in North Africa. His brother John served in the Army and Air Force.
 
NAME: John Shockey ⭐
RANK & BRANCH: Master Sergeant, U.S. Army/Air Force
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: August 24, 1922 - May 20, 1959
DATES OF SERVICE: 1941 - May 20, 1959
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: A 1941 graduate of Plainville High School, John Shockey trained at Shepard Field, Texas and Douglass Aircraft Plant in California. He served during the World War II as an airplane crew chief. He remained in the Air Force after the war. He was killed on May 20, 1959 when a U.S. Air Force C130 transport aircraft crashed into his barracks. He was serving with the 483^rd Flightline Maintenance Squadron in Ashiya, Japan at the time of his death.

From the1941 Plainville High School yearbook

NAME: Charles William Sowers, Jr.
RANK & BRANCH: Private, U.S. Army
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: May 9, 1921 – July 12, 1988
DATES OF SERVICE: September 30, 1942 – August 10, 1964
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: After being drafted, Charles Sowers was assigned to the 459^th Engineers and sent to Camp White, Oregon for training.
 
NAME: David Exeres Sparks 
RANK & BRANCH: Private First Class, U.S. Army
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: June 3, 1921 – November 20, 1994
DATES OF SERVICE: September 30, 1942 – October 2, 1945
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: David Sparks was wounded in France when he was hit in the low back by grenade fragments. He was awarded the Purple Heart.

From the Cincinnati Post, August 30, 1944

NAME: George Richard Stein 

RANK & BRANCH: Seaman Second Class, U.S. Navy

DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: June 23, 1928 – April 4, 2000

DATES OF SERVICE: March 5, 1946 – January 7, 1948

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 

From the Cincinnati Post, July 22, 1946

NAME: Robert Lee Stephens
RANK & BRANCH: Private, U.S. Army
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: May 7, 1927 – July 3, 2008
DATES OF SERVICE: December 26, 1945 -
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
 
NAME: Robert Julius Sterman
RANK & BRANCH: Private First Class, U.S. Army
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: January 27, 1919 – May 7, 1996
DATES OF SERVICE: October 28, 1941 – October 10, 1945
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
 
NAME: Edward Michael Stump
RANK & BRANCH: Apprentice Seaman, U.S. Navy
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: March 3, 1914 – March 10, 1962
DATES OF SERVICE: November 25, 1944 – December 23, 1944
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
 
NAME: George Aaron Stump 
RANK & BRANCH: Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Forces
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: July 15, 1920 – April 7, 2009
DATES OF SERVICE:  December 7, 1940 – September 29, 1945
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: A 1939 graduate of Terrace Park High School, George Stump served in the Air Forces ground crew. In 1941 he was assigned to the Panama Canal Zone, where he is seen on the right in the picture below. He also served in Trinidad and Texas.

NAME: Frank Bearl Sutherland
RANK & BRANCH: Seaman Second Class, U.S. Navy
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: June 14, 1913 – October 26, 1970
DATES OF SERVICE: October 1943 -
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
 
NAME: Joseph Richard Sweeney
RANK & BRANCH: U.S. Navy
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: November 5, 1918 – November 20, 1986
DATES OF SERVICE: September 25, 1942 – November 24, 1945
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
 
NAME: Robert A. Taylor
RANK & BRANCH: Private, U.S. Army Air Forces
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: September 1, 1924 – September 11, 1975
DATES OF SERVICE: December 2, 1942 – December 2, 1945
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
 
NAME: Trevon Jerome Taylor
RANK & BRANCH: Private, U.S. Marine Corps
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: April 11, 1918 – May 1, 1985
DATES OF SERVICE: October 14, 1942 – November 5, 1945
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
 
NAME: James Elmer Towles
RANK & BRANCH: Private First Class, U.S. Army
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: January 27, 1906 – January 26, 1972
DATES OF SERVICE: August 24, 1942 – June 21, 1943
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
 
NAME: Harry Mead Turpin
RANK & BRANCH: Coxswain, U.S. Navy
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: August 3, 1921 – October 14, 1990
DATES OF SERVICE: April 27, 1944 – May 10, 1946; July 17, 1947 – March 13, 1950
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
 
NAME: William Robert Verdon
RANK & BRANCH: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Forces
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: December 16, 1922 – March 16, 2000
DATES OF SERVICE: January 20, 1943 – January 1, 1946
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: William Verdon served in the Philippines.
 
NAME: Elias Monsour Wakim
RANK & BRANCH: Private, U.S. Army Air Forces
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: February 8, 1923 – December 17, 1982
DATES OF SERVICE: September 27, 1943 – March 8, 1946
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Elias Wakim was the son of Syrian immigrants who moved to Fairfax by 1930. His sister Norma and brother William also served during the war.

NAME: Norma Helen Wakim Stykes 
RANK & BRANCH: Private, Women’s Army Corps
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: April 8, 1918 – September 7, 1990
DATES OF SERVICE: December 30, 1942 – September 22, 1945
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: In March 1943, Norma Wakim received the Good Conduct ribbon at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, where she served at the assistant to the supply sergeant.

From the Cincinnati Enquirer, March 28, 1944

NAME: William Joseph Wakim
RANK & BRANCH: Corporal, U.S. Army
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: August 4, 1915 – February 15, 1989
DATES OF SERVICE: August 10, 1942 – October 30, 1945
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: William Wakim served in Europe and sustained a bruised kidney and fractured ribs in battle.
 
NAME: Robert Milton Whitney 
RANK & BRANCH: Private, U.S. Army
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: September 22, 1927 - March 28, 2022
DATES OF SERVICE: January 7, 1946 -
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Robert Whitney is a 1945 graduate of Plainville High School.

From 1945 Plainville High School yearbook

NAME: Louis George Wieland, Jr.
RANK & BRANCH: Ship’s Cook Third Class, U.S. Navy
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: September 2, 1916 – May 24, 1992
DATES OF SERVICE: May 11, 1943 – November 29, 1944
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Louis Wieland served on the USS McConnell, a destroyer escort, in the Pacific. He worked at his father’s restaurant, which doubtless led to his serving as a cook in the Navy.
 
NAME: Robert Frederick Wieland
RANK & BRANCH: Baker Second Class, U.S. Navy
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: October 20, 1923 – April 19, 2016
DATES OF SERVICE: February 16, 1943 – Spring 1946
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Robert Wieland was interviewed about his World War II service by the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library for the Veterans History Project: https://digital.cincinnatilibrary.org/digital/collection/p16998coll27/id/3481.
 
NAME: Bearl Earl Williams 
RANK & BRANCH: Sergeant, U.S. Army
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: August 8, 1919 - July 22, 1999
DATES OF SERVICE: January 26, 1942 – September 28, 1945
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Bearl “Bill” Williams was initially stationed at Fort Riley and Camp Funston, Kansas. He later served in a quartermaster company in France that was commended by General George Patton for outstanding work under fire. His brothers Goebel and Harvey also served in the war.

From the Cincinnati Post, February 8, 1945

NAME: Goebel Elwood Williams

RANK & BRANCH: Technician Third Grade, U.S. Army

DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: March 7, 1917 – October 7, 2002

DATES OF SERVICE: November 19, 1941 – October 13, 1945

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: In 1942, Goebel Williams was stationed with the Second Armored Division at Fort Benning, Georgia. He later served in Germany.

NAME: William Joseph Williams
RANK & BRANCH: Technician Fifth Grade, U.S. Army
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: September 18, 1923 – December 7, 2000
DATES OF SERVICE: January 1943- February 1946
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
 
NAME: Donald Hugh Winder
RANK & BRANCH: Motor Machinist’s Mate Second Class, U.S. Navy
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: July 15, 1925 – December 21, 2002
DATES OF SERVICE: October 12, 1942 – November 18, 1945
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
 
NAME: Francis Herman Wood
RANK & BRANCH: Technician Fifth Grade, U.S. Army
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: May 4, 1923 – March 9, 1999
DATES OF SERVICE: December 30, 1942 – January 2, 1946
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Francis Wood served in the 871^st Airborne Engineer Battalion.
 
NAME: George Henry Wood
RANK & BRANCH: Coxswain, U.S. Navy
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: April 24, 1924 – February 20, 1998
DATES OF SERVICE: May 25, 1942 – November 24, 1946
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: George Wood’s brothers Robert, Walter, and William and brothers-in-law Donald Bronson and Louis Wood also served during the war. He was stationed at New Orleans, Louisiana and later served at sea.

From the Cincinnati Times Star, November 1, 1944

 
NAME: Robert Arthur Wood 
RANK & BRANCH: Sergeant, U.S. Army
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: July 21, 1921 – January 22, 1995
DATES OF SERVICE: August 10, 1942 – October 24, 1945
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: In 1942, Robert Wood was stationed at Fort Gruber, Oklahoma. He went overseas in November 1943, serving in the infantry. Robert was wounded in action in Italy on May 12, 1944. He returned to Fairfax after the war.

From the Cincinnati Post, June 8, 1944

NAME: Walter Edward Wood
RANK & BRANCH: Seaman First Class, U.S. Navy
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: February 8, 1926 – July 3, 1996
DATES OF SERVICE: May 24, 1944 – March 15, 1946
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

From the Cincinnati Times Star, November 1, 1944

 
NAME: William Bernard Wood
RANK & BRANCH: Technician Fifth Grade, U.S. Army
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: May 15, 1920 – October 20, 1997
DATES OF SERVICE: 1943 -
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: William Wood was stationed at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas and later served overseas.

From Cincinnati Times Star, November 1, 1944

NAME: Jack Coogan Yeager
RANK & BRANCH: Seaman First Class, U.S. Navy
DATES OF BIRTH & DEATH: September 29, 1923 - August 26, 2012
DATES OF SERVICE: 1943 -
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Jack Yeager served on the USS Guam in 1944 and 1945, which saw duty in the Pacific theater toward the end of the war. After the war, he lived in Fairfax for most of the rest of his life.