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Albert H. Arenowitz20 viewsShot down on his 29th mission over Germany. He was a P.O.W. until the war was over 1945, 388th Squadron of the 8th AF
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11 viewsPiloted B-26(s) - Martin Marauders out of no, Africa - 40 Missions; Born in Whittier- Whittier Schools & Whittier College; Married Barbara Stambaugh; Now living at Morningside in Fullerton
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C. Paul Cram13 views
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Edgar B. Dick12 viewsServed with 500th Bomb Group in Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations. Supervised work of 10 Enlisted men
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Joseph E. Kiskis11 views
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Harold G. Rahn17 viewsBorn: August 6, 1923 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Education and Work Experience
Harold graduated from Washington Grade School in 1938. In 1942, in the midst of World War Two, after taking and passing high school graduation equivalency tests, to receive his diploma, he left North High School in the middle of his senior year and went to work. Defense jobs were plentiful and workers were needed so Harold jumped at the chance to work with his Uncle Bill who worked for The Grinnell Sprinkler Company, installing fire protection sprinklers in industrial building at various locations around the country.
He lived and traveled with his Uncle Bill, Aunt Gusty, and Cousin Dick in a 30-foot house trailer. Although, Dick and Harold were cousins, they were more like brothers since they were the same age and at times their families had lived together.
Following jobs they traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, Buffalo, New York and Detroit, Michigan. During this time Harold and Dick had the typical fun of two teen-agers who were making money. Dick bought a 1936 Ford Hard Tip Business Coupe for $100.00 dollars while Harold paid the license fee. They chipped their money together to pay for gas. However, many times Uncle Bill was stuck paying for it until their paychecks came in.
They worked seven days a week, 12-16 hours a day and never complained. Making money was better than the depression years, when money was scarce, and jobs were hard to find. Dick and Harold worked as a pipe fitters installing pipe for sprinkler systems. Many times their job required them to climb as high 100 to 150ft. in the air without the benefit of safety devices. This was before OSHA and the safety devices that are now mandatory. Hard hats and steel tip shoes were unknown. Using gloves to prevent friction burns and cuts was the extent of safety requirements. They wore bib overalls because they needed all those pockets to keep their tools of the trade. Each pocket contained something of importance. A couple of times Harold slipped, one time falling 20 feet and fracturing his heel. The next day, in spite of the pain, he showed up for work. Every week he sent money home to his parents to be used, as they needed.
Military History
It was Christmas time and Harold, who was working in Detroit, wanted to go home and see his parents. His uncle told him not to go because he had a 100% draft deferment because of his defense job. He didn’t listen to his uncle’s advice. He went home on December 23, and was quickly drafted on December 26. Evidently someone had seen him at home and resenting the fact that he had not been called up for military duty turned him in the local draft board. So, he never went back to Detroit but stayed at home until he left for the military on January 21, 1942.
The draftees had to gather at the Sheboygan post office and march one mile to the railroad station in 21 degrees below zero. There they boarded the train to Fort Sheridan, Illinois where they were inducted into the military. They were ushered into a building and ordered to remove all their civilian clothes. Nude, and shivering in the subzero weather they were told to box up their civilian clothes to ship back home. In the bitter cold, they then had to walk or run to numerous buildings to pick up their clothing allotment, stopping at times, to partially dress, for warmth. The next few days were spent learning the courtesies of the military; such as to when to salute and how to follow orders.
Four days later Harold was on his way to Camp Kearny in Salt Lake City. There, because of the exposure to the cold etc., he landed in the hospital, where he spent five days recuperating from pneumonia. While he was recovering, his platoon went to the Rangers Combat Unit and Harold was assigned to the medical corps. This was fortunate for Harold, because later the Rangers were involved in a lot of fierce fighting, resulting in many casualties.
Harold then went to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas for fourth months. There he was trained as a Surgical Technician. Next, he was transferred to Tinker Field, Oklahoma. This was the major embankment point for aircraft and crews for shipment to Europe. His job was to give all the required inoculations to the embarking service men. Harold enjoyed telling how many of the men fainted as they came through the path of bed sheets strung up on lines. As they walked through the bed sheet openings each arm was grabbed by a medic, given a shot, and instructed to proceed to the next bed sheet opening.
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H.G. (Bill) Rosenburger, Jr. M.D.14 viewsUnited States Army Air Force & United States Army Air Corps
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Everett L. Sanders14 views
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Ignacio Sandoval11 views
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Edward C. Saunders13 viewsServed in South Pacific as a meteorologist. Participated in five landings, including D-day at Normandy.
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George Vernon Stambaugh17 viewsHe served in the USAAC and USAAF in WW-II, and was ranked as Captain. His service dates were 1940 to 1954. He was involved with Carrier AF; Flew P-SI in Pacific and Fighter Protection for Berlin Airlift in 1948.
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15 views
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