Posted: 7/17/02

Many area men went off to war

(Editorís Note: The following Reflections column was first published on May 17, 1984 and is reprinted here as part of the newspaperís on-going coverage during its 100th year.)

Elsie Vogel
Times Correspondent

My story today will be a remembrance about a time that touched the lives of millions of people throughout the world: World War II. More importantly it will also be a story of how this war affected the lives of the people in our area.

40th anniversary of D-Day

This year on June 6, 1984, we will be remembering the day 40 years ago that the Allies landed on the Normandy coast of France, with their eventual destination, Berlin, Germany.

Germany under Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler, the most forceful dictator of our time, plotted to conquer the world. The ìNazi swastikaî of Germany would swiftly become a symbol of domination over people and countries.

On Sept. 1, 1939, the American public read, with alarm, the newspaper headlines about the Nazi ìpanzerî divisions rolling into Poland, while the Nazi planes dropped their bombs. Great Britain and France kept their pledge to defend Poland if attacked. Sept. 3 they declared war on Germany. Canada followed suit on Sept. 10.

Germany next invaded Denmark and Norway in April 1940. The occupation of Norway was aided by a Norwegian traitor, Major Vidkun Qusling, a name that would be applied generically to other traitors. On May 10, they used ìblitzkreigî tactics to invade the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg on their way to their ultimate goal, France.

By June 4, the Germans drove the British out of Europe from Dunkirk. Italy, under the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini, declared war on France and Britain on June 10.

Paris resisted German occupation but fell after four days. France signed an Armistice with Germany on June 22 and two days later with Italy.

Warnings of things to come

The big daily headlines in the newspapers and the troubling nightly radio reports of Edward R. Morrow, Gabriel Heatter and commentator H.V. Kaltenborn kept America informed about the crushing of independent nations.

England alone

At this time Germany was pounding England with an all-out air blitz of bombs. As Britain stood alone they heard Churchillís famous speech. ìWe shall never surrender. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight in the fields, streets and hillsÖfor we shall wage war.î

There was every indication that America would be drawn into this war, so two of the most important steps of preparedness were implemented. They were the Selective Service Act of Sept. 16, 1940, and the Lend-Lease Act of March 1941.

Registering for the draft

Draft boards were formed and it wasnít long before the Forest Lake area fellows, between the ages of 18 and 45, were registering for the draft at Stillwater. A national drawing of numbers, lottery fashion would determine the order of call.

The country started to gear itself for the inevitable. Old Army camps were activated and new ones quickly established.

Lend-lease material

Munitions plants sprang up all over the country. Forest Lake area people were soon filling out applications for work at the New Brighten Arms Plant. Honeywell and Northern Pump, just to name two other big corporations, made a very important contribution to the war effort. A large portion of the material was sent to our allies.

ìLiberty Shipsî were being built in the port of Duluth. (One year the Dionne Quintuplets of Canada christened five ships that were launched simultaneously).

In place of manufacturing motor cars, assembly lines here now built tanks and jeeps.

The Di-Ponties of Forest Lake became involved in the production of gliders. The large B-29 bombers, fast fighter planes and other types of aircraft were assembled in big hangers, especially on the West Coast.

Dec. 7, 1941

On a peaceful Sunday morning, Japanese planes, bearing the insignia of the ìrising sunî bombed Pearl Harbor, inflicting terrible losses on our naval vessels and personnel. President Roosevelt called it a ìdate which will live in infamy.î

Congress declared war on Japan the following day and a declaration of war against Germany and Italy was signed on Dec. 11. America would now be involved in two wars: one in the Pacific and a war to be fought in Africa and Europe.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor there were long lines of young men enlisting in the different branches of the Armed Forces.

These ìdeclarations of war: would change the lives of all Americans, as civilians and fighting men began to live the war. From a time of peace they would all develop into the most formidable fighting force known, as they united to fight for freedom of all people.

Greetings

When the letter arrived with the simple salutation ìGreetings,î signed by the President, the recipient of the letter knew what that meant. He would soon be processed through Fort Snelling.

Classification was important. If it was 1-A, it meant early induction. There were deferments for special skills essential to war work, marital and family status, and physical 4-F categories.

Humorous stories about inductees brightened things. One favorite story was about the fellow who had all his teeth pulled to keep him out of the army, but he was turned down because he had flat feet.

Bus loads of inductees from towns north of Forest Lake, especially from the Range, stopped at the former Hendricksonís Cafe for their noon meal before going on to the fort.

Due to the shortage of help, local ladies volunteered to serve the food. The ladies found the first groups of young men bursting with energy; during the last year the men were much older and quieter.

Farewell parties

The fellows found the last days before reporting to a training camp crowded with tying up loose ends, maybe selling the car, finishing the job, saying goodbye to friends and savoring the precious time with family, wife or girlfriend. There were the farewell parties and the future plans for coming home on leave.

Women go to war, too

Young women also volunteered their services and talents for their country, enduring basic training similar to the men.

Doris Boehm and Catherine Heisler donned the olive-drab uniform of the WACS (Womens Army Corp). Gertrude Moen and Margorie Taylor joined the SPARS (Coast Guard). Dee Kunshier and Eileen Miller preferred the WAVES (Navy) and Stella Songstad joined the Womenís Reserve of the U.S. Marine Corp.

There is no substitute for the care the nurses gave the wounded. Their work led them to field hospitals in many countries. Mary Easter Broadbent and Helen Koester were Army Nurses. Lt. Koester served in France and Germany. Violet Glyer, Army Air Force nurse, was attached to a group through Africa and Italy.

Medical skills

Dr. George M. Ruggles attained the rank of Major before the war was over. He used his medical skills in the Pacific Theatre of operations. Dentist Dr. O.H. Anderson was also called to duty. Dr. Poirier, M.D., and Dr. C.D. Larson, D.D.S., were left to take care of the home folks.

ìPartingsî and ìreunionsî became the way of life for this generation caught up in the war.

There was a sense of urgency on the part of the servicemen and the lady of his choice to have the stability of marriage to carry them through whatever lay ahead. Many couples were married far from home, sometimes without friends or family to witness this most important event in their lives.

I have the story of one ìwar brideî to share. It is quite typical of the experience of other war brides.

Paul and Lucille Lind, Forest Lake, will be celebrating their 42nd wedding anniversary, Sept. 19, 1984. It is a long span of time since Lucille boarded the train for St. Louis, MO, to become a Navy wife. She found the train crowded with servicemen and also many young mothers, with babies, on their way to join or visit their husbands. For many this was the first time the father would see his child.

The Linds were married in the Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church. Paulís ìbest manî was a hometown friend stationed nearby. The parish secretary ìstood upî for Lucille.

Paul left for 18 months duty in the Pacific and Lucille did what so many war brides did. She joined her folks, who lived in Ohio at that time. She became a real ìRosie, the Riveter,î operating a drill press at Wright Aeronautical, which made parts for B-52 Bombers.

Just a small town

It is easy for older residents to remember when Forest lake was the size that it was in the 1940s. Everybody knew everybody.

The Forest Lake Times played a very important role as it kept the public informed, in a personal way, about the people involved in the war.

We read the notices of the next group of fellows reporting for the draft call, whether it was only two ñ Lloyd Anderson and Leonard Skoglund ñ or a large group ñ Stan Simmons, Merton Houle, Clifford Berggren, Louis Carroll, Melvin Marier, August Kreiner, Jere Noreen and Vernon Johnson.

Servicemen letters

Servicemen wrote letters that were published for all the villagers to share. We read with amusement Private Warren Pattersonís description of life in the army at Camp Claiborn, LA. They lived in tents and during the rainy season it was a sea of sticky red clay, so they pronounced the camp name as Clay-born.

Soon the published letters were written from different parts of the world. Steve Hendrickson wrote from New Caledonia. Verne Marier wrote from somewhere in Ireland, where life was pretty good at the moment, while his brother Warrenís dateline was somewhere in Canada. He told of getting a pay raise, but there was no place to spend it at shows or places of amusement. The food consisted of powdered eggs and canned food.

Cpl. Bob Kunshier, stationed in North Africa, sent a newspaper to the Times, all in Arabic.

The notices in the Times changed as the war continued. We read with sadness that Lt. Ronald Hilken and Wallace Swanson were missing in action. Several of our young men, including Hilken and Swanson would be war casualties, R. Derby, Russell Boody, Tony Heisler, Lionel Lord, Harland Christianson, Donald Sandgren, Clyde Lindahl and Owen Meade. Many men would suffer serious injuries and some would be prisoners of war.

A special thanks to
Eva Wagner

I believe recognition of Eva Wagnerís picture collection is long overdue. The collection could be titled ìForest Lake Goes to World War II.î

At that time Eva and her husband Frank owned Wagnerís Hamburger Shop, which was a busy, popular 24-hour restaurant.

Eva started collecting pictures of the servicemen and service women and soon the whole south wall of the restaurant had framed picture sections.

They were pictures of the greatest young people of our area. Some were so serious in their new uniforms, some had happy grins. Every branch of the service was represented.

Now the collection of 208 pictures is on permanent display in the banquet room of the American Legion Clubrooms and as the years pass they are more memorable.

They remember

In addition to the picture collection, Eva corresponded with at least 25 servicemen. She wrote about their friends, even who stopped in for coffee that day, and all the little tidbits the men were anxious to hear about. She also sent cookies and candy to many of ìher boys.î

It isnít often that you are privileged to witness a heart-warming continuation of a relationship such as Eva had with her boys, but I feel that time is here to share this.

Jeff Leppink of the Times and I went to Evaís apartment to take her picture for this story last Valentineís Day.

In answer to a knock on the door, we found Carryl Banta with a big box of Whitmanís chocolates for Eva.

Carryl said it was a token gift in remembrance for all the letters and candy she remembered him with when he was so far from home. Yes, Evaís friends do remember those gestures of friendliness extended over 40 years ago.

Next week will be a continuation of the war story.

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