This is the Lauris Norstad's Story
Lauris Norstad was born in Minneapolis in 1907, began his formal education in Jewell, Iowa between the ages of five and twelve, and carried it through high school in Red Wing where he graduated in 1925. Norstad's father, the Rev. Martin Norstad, pastor of St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Red Wing, often engaged in discussion on world affairs with his son “Loll”, as he was known throughout his high school years. He was his senior class vice-president, was elected to the honor society and participated in football and basketball where he earned the nickname “Slippery Norsk”.
After graduation, he applied for and received an appointment to attend West Point from Congressmen August Andresen. At West Point he became “Larry”. He graduated and transferred to the Army Air Corps and was station in Hawaii for further training as a pursuit pilot. During the next five years, prior to WW II, Air Corps duties took him from fighters to bombers, from flying to staff work in combat intelligence, and from Air Corps politics to exposure to Washington policy making.
On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor Day, Norstad began the day as a combat intelligence officer. He ended the day as one-half of the “advisory council” to Air Corps Commanding General Henry “Hap” Arnold. In 1942 he was sent to London and then to Oran, Algeria to help plan air operations in preparation for invasion of North Africa. It was here in Oran that he began a life-long association with Gen Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander of Allied operation in North Africa. A month later, Norstad was assigned to Eisenhower's headquarters in Algiers. In the fall of 1944 he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General at the age of 36, one of America's youngest generals.
Hap Arnold recalled Norstad to Washington. Arnold was building the 20th Air Force as the long-range strategic bombing force of the Pacific and required Norstad's talents. Norstad was involved in much of the strategic planning which resulted in the eventual surrender of Japan. Norstad finished the war with the rank of Major General, and one of several high ranking people that negotiated the reform of the military establishment to form the Air Force as an independent branch of service, equal to the Army and Navy, but all part of the Department of Defense.
General Norstad heads NATO in Europe
In July of 1947, the National Security Act was formally adopted, the creation of the post of Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations was called for, it was assigned to Norstad. He also headed Air Communications and the new guided missile branch. He was promoted to Lieutenant General in October, 1947. General Eisenhower returned to active duty in 1950 to assume command of military forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Norstad followed in January of 1951 to command the American component of NATO air forces and remained in Europe for the next 12 years.
Norstad was promoted to Full General (four stars) in July 1952. Eisenhower resigned his position as NATO commander to run for President. After several retirements in 1955, Lauris Norstad was appointed Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, a position he held until January of 1963.
Norstad had a lifelong interest in learning. He once said “the only weapon against an idea is a better idea.” He died in 1988. Excerpted by Mary Lee Wallin from Lauris Norstad: From Red Wing to Paris, by Thomas Buckley from an article in the Winter, 1990 issue of Minnesota Flight Log. Mr. Buckley's complete history of General Norstad's career is available to read at the Goodhue County Historical Museum. Our thanks to the GC Historical Museum for the article in Goodhue County Historical News, November 1991.
Lauris Norstad was born in Minneapolis in 1907, began his formal education in Jewell, Iowa between the ages of five and twelve, and carried it through high school in Red Wing where he graduated in 1925. Norstad's father, the Rev. Martin Norstad, pastor of St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Red Wing, often engaged in discussion on world affairs with his son “Loll”, as he was known throughout his high school years. He was his senior class vice-president, was elected to the honor society and participated in football and basketball where he earned the nickname “Slippery Norsk”.
After graduation, he applied for and received an appointment to attend West Point from Congressmen August Andresen. At West Point he became “Larry”. He graduated and transferred to the Army Air Corps and was station in Hawaii for further training as a pursuit pilot. During the next five years, prior to WW II, Air Corps duties took him from fighters to bombers, from flying to staff work in combat intelligence, and from Air Corps politics to exposure to Washington policy making.
On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor Day, Norstad began the day as a combat intelligence officer. He ended the day as one-half of the “advisory council” to Air Corps Commanding General Henry “Hap” Arnold. In 1942 he was sent to London and then to Oran, Algeria to help plan air operations in preparation for invasion of North Africa. It was here in Oran that he began a life-long association with Gen Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander of Allied operation in North Africa. A month later, Norstad was assigned to Eisenhower's headquarters in Algiers. In the fall of 1944 he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General at the age of 36, one of America's youngest generals.
Hap Arnold recalled Norstad to Washington. Arnold was building the 20th Air Force as the long-range strategic bombing force of the Pacific and required Norstad's talents. Norstad was involved in much of the strategic planning which resulted in the eventual surrender of Japan. Norstad finished the war with the rank of Major General, and one of several high ranking people that negotiated the reform of the military establishment to form the Air Force as an independent branch of service, equal to the Army and Navy, but all part of the Department of Defense.
General Norstad heads NATO in Europe
In July of 1947, the National Security Act was formally adopted, the creation of the post of Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations was called for, it was assigned to Norstad. He also headed Air Communications and the new guided missile branch. He was promoted to Lieutenant General in October, 1947. General Eisenhower returned to active duty in 1950 to assume command of military forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Norstad followed in January of 1951 to command the American component of NATO air forces and remained in Europe for the next 12 years.
Norstad was promoted to Full General (four stars) in July 1952. Eisenhower resigned his position as NATO commander to run for President. After several retirements in 1955, Lauris Norstad was appointed Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, a position he held until January of 1963.
Norstad had a lifelong interest in learning. He once said “the only weapon against an idea is a better idea.” He died in 1988. Excerpted by Mary Lee Wallin from Lauris Norstad: From Red Wing to Paris, by Thomas Buckley from an article in the Winter, 1990 issue of Minnesota Flight Log. Mr. Buckley's complete history of General Norstad's career is available to read at the Goodhue County Historical Museum. Our thanks to the GC Historical Museum for the article in Goodhue County Historical News, November 1991.
This is the Lou Chicquette Story
Lou Chicquette was a tall, rangy youth, barely 18 years old, when he and his boyhood pal, Corky Darrington, enlisted in the Army Air Corps Cadet Program in the summer of 1942. It would be another few weeks before they were called and by that time, it was necessary to take another physical examination. To his dismay, the exam found his left eye to be below the required standards. “I was devastated,” Lou said. “I soon enlisted in the U.S. Army and took another exam and passed."
"I learned to fly and soloed, but before that phase of training was completed, the entire squadron was “wiped out” because the government was training women to take our place as ferry pilots.” Lou passed up Officer Candidate School because he knew that he would be desk bound. Longing for action, he, along with 16 others, asked for B29 engine and /or gunnery school and training. "We received mostly gunnery training. I was 6'1” tall and weighed 165 pounds at that time. I was designated tail gunner in spite of my size. I tested the escape hatch and barely fit through it."
The B-29 was the first operational pressurized military aircraft. There were five gun turrets on the aircraft; four with two guns and one with four guns. The gunners could control more than one turret, creating an isolated field of fire. Each crew member was trained to be support for another crewmen, Lou's being that of flight engineer, so he spent extra time in engine classes. He and his crew were assigned to airplane number 53 and they named it “Flak Alley Sally”. They left for the Pacific early in 1945 and landed on Tinian - an island in the Marianas. Tinian is a small, flat, semitropical island formed by pre-historic volcanoes and coral. It is the fourth largest of 15 islands that comprise the Marianas, being four miles wide and 11 miles long.
“During the first phase of our tour we constantly bombed the larger Japanese cities, dropping general purpose and incendiary clusters on Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe and Yawata. Later we laid mines in the straits to impede Japanese shipping. We dropped them at night by radar and I should add, they had to be in precise location, as we might later be navigating that same area,” Lou remembered. “We lost two crews from our squadron on the first trip in Shimonoseki Straits. It was a wicked trip at low altitude, flying through that narrow gap with the enemy artillery trained on us from both sides of the strait. We flew into a hail of shells and it seemed as if there was no chance of survival.
"Our bomb group , the Sixth, as well as other groups in our wing did suffer losses of several crews on missions making this run. During April, we attacked the airfields on the southern tip of Kyushu in a series of low altitude missions to neutralize the airfields. The enemy was staging aerial attacks against our Naval units who were supporting ground forces during the Okinawan Campaign. The Japs would drop phosphorous into our formation. The B29 wings were our gas tanks, filled with high octane gas. The phosphorous would stick to the thin aluminum skin and burn through, the aircraft would immediately explode in mid-air with usually no survivors. I lost a buddy this way whom I just waved to when the aircraft exploded and disappeared."
“Two of the Sixth roughest incendiary missions were directed at Tokyo on the nights of 25/26 of May. Seventeen B29ers were lost by the four Wings participating. Flak Alley Sally was on the second mission. Anti aircraft and enemy fighters were numerous as they fought to save their capitol. Sally had some holes but brought us safely home to Tinian. When we left the target, it seemed like the whole city was aflame. We staged a daylight incendiary strike on Yokohama with 27 Sixth planes participating. Enemy fighters were in force, but antiaircraft fire was not as heavy as usual. Mount Fugi was our initial point and I snapped photos with my Brownie. Our flight engineer, Deb Gruver, was hit on his wrist by flak, leaving his hand dangling. I moved into his seat and we did what we could for him. We landed on Iwo Jima. My blood was used for a transfusion as our blood types were the same."
"The mission results were excellent and that night the crew slept in or under Sally. We flew a mission which included Korea ... a 20 hour flight of 4,400 miles. It was the longest mission of WWII at that time, each member of our crew was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. On August 6, 1945, Colonel Paul Tibbets, 609th Group Commander, piloting the “Enola Gay' with our insignia, the circle R on the tail, took off from our runway on the now historic mission, dropping the first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. Three days later a similar bomb was dropped on Nagasaki."
General Hap Arnold when he summed up the war with Japan said it was not necessarily the atom bomb that ended the war. In other raids, the B29s hit some 60 Japanese cities with regular high explosive and incendiary bombs. The B29s prevented the arrival of incoming shipments of critical items. Many Japanese leaders gave credit to the B29 attacks on their mainland interior and industrial cities as the greatest single factor in forcing their surrender.
Lou was discharged at Fort McCoy on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22, 1945. "We had a great Thanksgiving meal and we gave our thanks for being safely home." In January, 1952, Lou married Inez Nordenskjold, from Red Wing. They had 2 children Louis Jeffrey and Carol Anne, and now live in a town house in Hi Park complex. “I carry a piece of flak in my right arm and have several medals. I don't consider myself a hero. The real heroes are the fellows who did not come back.”
Our thanks to Today Magazine for supplying the story & pictures of our Greatest Generation-Red Wing ... Lou Chicquette
Lou Chicquette was a tall, rangy youth, barely 18 years old, when he and his boyhood pal, Corky Darrington, enlisted in the Army Air Corps Cadet Program in the summer of 1942. It would be another few weeks before they were called and by that time, it was necessary to take another physical examination. To his dismay, the exam found his left eye to be below the required standards. “I was devastated,” Lou said. “I soon enlisted in the U.S. Army and took another exam and passed."
"I learned to fly and soloed, but before that phase of training was completed, the entire squadron was “wiped out” because the government was training women to take our place as ferry pilots.” Lou passed up Officer Candidate School because he knew that he would be desk bound. Longing for action, he, along with 16 others, asked for B29 engine and /or gunnery school and training. "We received mostly gunnery training. I was 6'1” tall and weighed 165 pounds at that time. I was designated tail gunner in spite of my size. I tested the escape hatch and barely fit through it."
The B-29 was the first operational pressurized military aircraft. There were five gun turrets on the aircraft; four with two guns and one with four guns. The gunners could control more than one turret, creating an isolated field of fire. Each crew member was trained to be support for another crewmen, Lou's being that of flight engineer, so he spent extra time in engine classes. He and his crew were assigned to airplane number 53 and they named it “Flak Alley Sally”. They left for the Pacific early in 1945 and landed on Tinian - an island in the Marianas. Tinian is a small, flat, semitropical island formed by pre-historic volcanoes and coral. It is the fourth largest of 15 islands that comprise the Marianas, being four miles wide and 11 miles long.
“During the first phase of our tour we constantly bombed the larger Japanese cities, dropping general purpose and incendiary clusters on Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe and Yawata. Later we laid mines in the straits to impede Japanese shipping. We dropped them at night by radar and I should add, they had to be in precise location, as we might later be navigating that same area,” Lou remembered. “We lost two crews from our squadron on the first trip in Shimonoseki Straits. It was a wicked trip at low altitude, flying through that narrow gap with the enemy artillery trained on us from both sides of the strait. We flew into a hail of shells and it seemed as if there was no chance of survival.
"Our bomb group , the Sixth, as well as other groups in our wing did suffer losses of several crews on missions making this run. During April, we attacked the airfields on the southern tip of Kyushu in a series of low altitude missions to neutralize the airfields. The enemy was staging aerial attacks against our Naval units who were supporting ground forces during the Okinawan Campaign. The Japs would drop phosphorous into our formation. The B29 wings were our gas tanks, filled with high octane gas. The phosphorous would stick to the thin aluminum skin and burn through, the aircraft would immediately explode in mid-air with usually no survivors. I lost a buddy this way whom I just waved to when the aircraft exploded and disappeared."
“Two of the Sixth roughest incendiary missions were directed at Tokyo on the nights of 25/26 of May. Seventeen B29ers were lost by the four Wings participating. Flak Alley Sally was on the second mission. Anti aircraft and enemy fighters were numerous as they fought to save their capitol. Sally had some holes but brought us safely home to Tinian. When we left the target, it seemed like the whole city was aflame. We staged a daylight incendiary strike on Yokohama with 27 Sixth planes participating. Enemy fighters were in force, but antiaircraft fire was not as heavy as usual. Mount Fugi was our initial point and I snapped photos with my Brownie. Our flight engineer, Deb Gruver, was hit on his wrist by flak, leaving his hand dangling. I moved into his seat and we did what we could for him. We landed on Iwo Jima. My blood was used for a transfusion as our blood types were the same."
"The mission results were excellent and that night the crew slept in or under Sally. We flew a mission which included Korea ... a 20 hour flight of 4,400 miles. It was the longest mission of WWII at that time, each member of our crew was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. On August 6, 1945, Colonel Paul Tibbets, 609th Group Commander, piloting the “Enola Gay' with our insignia, the circle R on the tail, took off from our runway on the now historic mission, dropping the first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. Three days later a similar bomb was dropped on Nagasaki."
General Hap Arnold when he summed up the war with Japan said it was not necessarily the atom bomb that ended the war. In other raids, the B29s hit some 60 Japanese cities with regular high explosive and incendiary bombs. The B29s prevented the arrival of incoming shipments of critical items. Many Japanese leaders gave credit to the B29 attacks on their mainland interior and industrial cities as the greatest single factor in forcing their surrender.
Lou was discharged at Fort McCoy on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22, 1945. "We had a great Thanksgiving meal and we gave our thanks for being safely home." In January, 1952, Lou married Inez Nordenskjold, from Red Wing. They had 2 children Louis Jeffrey and Carol Anne, and now live in a town house in Hi Park complex. “I carry a piece of flak in my right arm and have several medals. I don't consider myself a hero. The real heroes are the fellows who did not come back.”
Our thanks to Today Magazine for supplying the story & pictures of our Greatest Generation-Red Wing ... Lou Chicquette
This is the Morris Callstrom Story
Morris R. Callstrom (September 26, 1920 - January 21, 2002) was the son of Claus and Carrie Callstrom of the White Rock area. Morris went to school in and graduated from Cannon Falls High School in 1940. Morris graduated from Normal Training Class in 1941. He taught rural school for 1 year before being drafted. He met Delores L. Callstrom at Cannon Falls High school in 1939 and they were married September 2, 1942, one month before being drafted in the United States Army. He served our country 39 months total, 15 months overseas in Europe. Morris and Delores' daughter Karen married Arnie Strusz and their daughters, Kari, (Kevin Wartick) and Nicole, (Bill Mueller) each have two children, McCabe and Laken Wartick and Molly and Macy Mueller. Morris worked for National Bushing 3 years and worked and retired after 30 years with Central Research in Red Wing.
"Every piece of “info” that comes to the battalion must pass through the able hands of Sgt Major Morris Callstrom”
From the “Catfish”... History of 1254th Engineer Combat Battalion
Able hands should have been the moniker for Sgt Major Morris Callstrom. From the time he left basic training to the time he was assigned to run the office at 1254th Engineer Combat Battalion his promotions were nearly one per month, until Morris reached the top rank of non commissioned officer as Sgt. Major. Every thing, every order, every direction, every bit of information went through the hands of Sgt. Major Morris Callstrom at the Headquarters of the Engineer Combat Battalion.. His orders from the states to the European theater were as follows.
l Oct 8, 1942 ... left Fort Snelling for Camp White, Oregon, 91st Infantry. Less than a month later he was called to work in Regimental Headquarters for Colonel Broedlow.
l Dec 1943 ... transferred to Camp Cooke, California, 1254th Engineer Battalion
l May 1944 ... sent to Adjutant Generals' School in Maryland for 2 months
l July 1944 ... to Camp Livingston, Louisiana then to Camp Kilmer, N.J for Europe
l Nov 1944 ... to England for 4 months at Wincanton
l Feb 1945 ... across English Channel and on to France, Holland, Belgium and into Germany on March 11
l May 7 1945 ... End of War in Europe. Seven day furlough to Switzerland
l Dec 1943 ... Sailed for USA and arrived in New Jersey on Christmas Eve. Phoned Delores, the first phone call in 15 months, although they did write letters every day. Postage was free for those in military service.
l Arrived in Cannon Falls via bus from Camp McCoy where De and Karen met him ”
Morris R. Callstrom (September 26, 1920 - January 21, 2002) was the son of Claus and Carrie Callstrom of the White Rock area. Morris went to school in and graduated from Cannon Falls High School in 1940. Morris graduated from Normal Training Class in 1941. He taught rural school for 1 year before being drafted. He met Delores L. Callstrom at Cannon Falls High school in 1939 and they were married September 2, 1942, one month before being drafted in the United States Army. He served our country 39 months total, 15 months overseas in Europe. Morris and Delores' daughter Karen married Arnie Strusz and their daughters, Kari, (Kevin Wartick) and Nicole, (Bill Mueller) each have two children, McCabe and Laken Wartick and Molly and Macy Mueller. Morris worked for National Bushing 3 years and worked and retired after 30 years with Central Research in Red Wing.
"Every piece of “info” that comes to the battalion must pass through the able hands of Sgt Major Morris Callstrom”
From the “Catfish”... History of 1254th Engineer Combat Battalion
Able hands should have been the moniker for Sgt Major Morris Callstrom. From the time he left basic training to the time he was assigned to run the office at 1254th Engineer Combat Battalion his promotions were nearly one per month, until Morris reached the top rank of non commissioned officer as Sgt. Major. Every thing, every order, every direction, every bit of information went through the hands of Sgt. Major Morris Callstrom at the Headquarters of the Engineer Combat Battalion.. His orders from the states to the European theater were as follows.
l Oct 8, 1942 ... left Fort Snelling for Camp White, Oregon, 91st Infantry. Less than a month later he was called to work in Regimental Headquarters for Colonel Broedlow.
l Dec 1943 ... transferred to Camp Cooke, California, 1254th Engineer Battalion
l May 1944 ... sent to Adjutant Generals' School in Maryland for 2 months
l July 1944 ... to Camp Livingston, Louisiana then to Camp Kilmer, N.J for Europe
l Nov 1944 ... to England for 4 months at Wincanton
l Feb 1945 ... across English Channel and on to France, Holland, Belgium and into Germany on March 11
l May 7 1945 ... End of War in Europe. Seven day furlough to Switzerland
l Dec 1943 ... Sailed for USA and arrived in New Jersey on Christmas Eve. Phoned Delores, the first phone call in 15 months, although they did write letters every day. Postage was free for those in military service.
l Arrived in Cannon Falls via bus from Camp McCoy where De and Karen met him ”
This is Sammy Bjornstad's Story
Eloise “Sammy” Bjornstad wanted to be nurse from the time she was a little girl. Her dream came true in 1940 which brought her to Red Wing. After completing her Nurses Training in Red Wing, she worked at Midway Hospital in St. Paul, MN on the obstetrics floor.
Sammy was born and raised in Claremont, MN. Her father and uncle owned a Hardware Store and an Implement dealership. Her brother was in the Air Corps. He was shot down and killed in a B-25 over Borneo. They were bombing air fields and he was a tail gunner. This was Sammy's inspiration to join the Army Nurses Corps. She was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and received her basic training at Camp Carson in Colorado. (Later she was promoted to First Lt.)
She didn't care for doing push ups, especially at 6 am. In the morning in the cool breezes of the mountains. From Colorado, she was transferred to the warm climate of San Diego and then to Hawaii for six weeks. “We were given the choice of staying in Hawaii or move forward.” Sammy said “All I could think about was my brother and chose to move on. We were assigned to a small island off Okinawa, named Ie Shima.” While we were flying into Ie Shima, the Captain of our plane told us that the Atom Bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima. “Our mood took an incredibly somber tone. Our superiors told us of the utter destruction.
Sammy and her fellow nurses were sent directly to the field medical facility. We were the closest hospital to Japan. We were living in tents and the Japanese planes often strafed or bombed our area. There were slit trenches near the tents and we were to get in the trenches when the Japs came in. One night the alarm went off, I jumped into the trench and I stepped on a corral snake. I chose the bombs over the snake and got out “NOW”.
“I was stationed on Ie Shima until the end of the war and got to see many of the dignitaries of the surrender. The Japanese commander and representative were briefed at our location before being loaded onto a US military plane and taken to the Missouri for the final signing. I saw all the bigwigs before the original signing.” After the Armistice was signed ... Sammy was transferred to a large warehouse in Tokyo to take care of personnel waiting for discharge. “We were an occupational force, with the duty to remain for another six months before the journey home. Stationed in Japan under such dangerous circumstances was very difficult. The Japanese would ignore us and would not make eye contact.”
She was transferred to Korea and was eagerly greeted by Korean children. She was discharged and came home in July of 1946. She felt she served her country well and we all agree. Sammy will remember those war-time experiences all her life.
Editors note: We all think you served your country well and now you join the ranks of the other veterans of World War II in the Greatest Generation, Red Wing. Thank you Sammy! Our thanks to the staff of the “Today Magazine”. The article was in their September 2006 magazine. Much of Sammy's story is from that article.
Eloise “Sammy” Bjornstad wanted to be nurse from the time she was a little girl. Her dream came true in 1940 which brought her to Red Wing. After completing her Nurses Training in Red Wing, she worked at Midway Hospital in St. Paul, MN on the obstetrics floor.
Sammy was born and raised in Claremont, MN. Her father and uncle owned a Hardware Store and an Implement dealership. Her brother was in the Air Corps. He was shot down and killed in a B-25 over Borneo. They were bombing air fields and he was a tail gunner. This was Sammy's inspiration to join the Army Nurses Corps. She was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and received her basic training at Camp Carson in Colorado. (Later she was promoted to First Lt.)
She didn't care for doing push ups, especially at 6 am. In the morning in the cool breezes of the mountains. From Colorado, she was transferred to the warm climate of San Diego and then to Hawaii for six weeks. “We were given the choice of staying in Hawaii or move forward.” Sammy said “All I could think about was my brother and chose to move on. We were assigned to a small island off Okinawa, named Ie Shima.” While we were flying into Ie Shima, the Captain of our plane told us that the Atom Bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima. “Our mood took an incredibly somber tone. Our superiors told us of the utter destruction.
Sammy and her fellow nurses were sent directly to the field medical facility. We were the closest hospital to Japan. We were living in tents and the Japanese planes often strafed or bombed our area. There were slit trenches near the tents and we were to get in the trenches when the Japs came in. One night the alarm went off, I jumped into the trench and I stepped on a corral snake. I chose the bombs over the snake and got out “NOW”.
“I was stationed on Ie Shima until the end of the war and got to see many of the dignitaries of the surrender. The Japanese commander and representative were briefed at our location before being loaded onto a US military plane and taken to the Missouri for the final signing. I saw all the bigwigs before the original signing.” After the Armistice was signed ... Sammy was transferred to a large warehouse in Tokyo to take care of personnel waiting for discharge. “We were an occupational force, with the duty to remain for another six months before the journey home. Stationed in Japan under such dangerous circumstances was very difficult. The Japanese would ignore us and would not make eye contact.”
She was transferred to Korea and was eagerly greeted by Korean children. She was discharged and came home in July of 1946. She felt she served her country well and we all agree. Sammy will remember those war-time experiences all her life.
Editors note: We all think you served your country well and now you join the ranks of the other veterans of World War II in the Greatest Generation, Red Wing. Thank you Sammy! Our thanks to the staff of the “Today Magazine”. The article was in their September 2006 magazine. Much of Sammy's story is from that article.
This is the “Stu” Schmidt Story
Most people know Stuart “Sparks” Schmidt from his years working at the post office. He started at the Red Wing branch in 1948, and made his way up the ranks to superintendent of operations in Red Wing, and acting postmaster in Lake City and Faribault, Minnesota, and Hudson, Wisconsin. After Pearl Harbor and while Stu was working at Red Wing Shoe putting lining in Combat boots he wanted to go in the service and his mother said “You will finish school” and she meant it. "The school had a special program. If I finished boot camp during my senior year, I would receive class credits. At graduation time, I was on my way to becoming a radioman in the Navy. My sister picked up my diploma."
“Training was somewhat easy for me. I graduated first in my section and second in my class, and was promoted to radioman third class. My first assignment was at Treasure Island, California as a radioman on the USS Beaverhead K161. This vessel was an Alamosa class cargo ship. In San Diego, I met my best friend, Willard Stewart. We have seen each other several times over the years. Our mission was to bring food and supplies to the larger ships that were spread out all over the Asiatic front. I was manning the radio when it was announced that the war was over, and again, when we received our orders to return to Norfolk, Virginia. That trip from Asia took sixty-five days. When I began my first duty assignment, we sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge. We returned through the Panama Canal and our trip ended as we passed the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. I returned home at the end of my naval career."
"The USS Beaverhead was decommissioned on March 8, 1946. Throughout the years, I have tried to keep up with the new technology. Today, I love to be on the computer, which is how I discovered the town of Dillon, Montana. Dillon is the Beaverhead County, Montana, county seat. The city was working on a memorial and celebration for the USS Beaverhad. I contacted the people working on the memorial and gave them my full history on that ship. They, in turn said they would like to honor me with an eight-by-eight inch block with my name and service record engraved on it. The ceremony took place in the summer of 2007.
Sparks gets an unexpected “Thank You”
"While shopping at a local store, I spoke to a woman and mentioned that I had been on the Asiatic front during the war. The lady looked at me and said, 'Thank you for your service'. That was the first time anyone had said that to me, and those few words really meant a lot. After attending nursing school, my wife, Arlin Rosalie, worked in a Marine hospital in Seattle, Washington, as a student nurse. She understands when I talk about the war, the pride I have and for the pride I have for the other brave men and women who were willing to put their lives on the line for their country. "
Stu wrote the history of the USS Beaverhead as he served on that ship from the time it was christened to the time it was decommissioned. Beaverhead was a county in Montana and during the ceremony, they honored a sailor who was one of those people who during WWII helped preserve our freedom. His name was Stuart Schmidt, known to friends as Stu or Sparks, from Red Wing, Minnesota. The Beaverhead was part of an amphibious force taking part in the liberation of the Phillippines as supply ship. With Stuart's relentless energy to researching, writing and printing the history of the Beaverhead, the Mayor of Dillon, the county seat of Beaverhead County proclaimed July 20, 2007 as Stuart Sparks Schmidt Day. "I was totally elated and humbled by their generous gift to me."
We sailed 25,506 miles with the US Navy in the south Pacific suppling our fighting men and women with the supplies they needed to bring the war to a successful conclusion. Stu was a Radioman 2/c (Petty Officer), received the following medals Asiatic Pacific Medal, Philippine Liberation Medal, American Theater Medal, Victory Medal, World War II Medal. Stu is proud of his service to his country and so are we!
THE GREATEST GENERATION
This is the Russ Fechter Story
FIRST LT. RUSS FECHTER GUIDES A FLYING FORTRESS SQUADRON AND RAISES THE IRE OF THE GERMANS!
Late in World War II, Russ Fechter, now of Red Wing, Minnesota was the lead pilot in a raid over Germany. Russ was in the U.S. Army Air Force and flew a B-17 Flying Fortress. His squadron objective was to bomb Frankfort, Germany. His plane was new, just shipped to England, and in the original bright silver, all the other planes in his squadron where painted the dark camouflage. Being the lead pilot, he was in the V formation and with the bright silver, stood out like a soar thumb.
This is my story...
"I was heading for the target, my crew was ready, the squadron of 500 or so Flying Fortresses back of me where ready for our bombardier to release the bombs.. The Bombay doors were open, the bombs released and just then, all hell broke loose. Our plane was hit by an anti-aircraft shell.
I told the crew to bail out which they did and I was trying to get the plane right side up, the plane blew up with me in it. It's like being inside a balloon when it blows. I was thrown clear and pulled the rip cord. The chute opened above me and I was now one lucky guy.
I'm going through white fluffy clouds and I looked down and the field below was full of German soldiers with rifles in hand. All rifles were aimed at me. I realized that the pistol in my suit would not be well received by the Germans. I grabbed the 45 and threw it as far as I could. I landed unscratched in the only tree in the field, broke it at the trunk, and soldiers surrounded me and we goose stepped to the local jail. I realized that the German townspeople would not be very friendly to one of the pilots that just bombed their beautiful city. I was concerned that they would want to kill me.
The streets that we marched through, were full of angry Germans, jeering, waving sticks and one little old lady decided that I should be whipped with her cane. She was bent on killing, not just whipping. A German soldier stopped her from the beating cause it was towards the end of the war and soldiers did not want to be accused of war crimes. In jail over night, the townspeople peaked through the bars to see the captured American. I spent the rest of the War, about 90 day as a Prisoner of War, but when I look back, I was one lucky guy.
Note: Russ Fechter, after the war moved to Red Wing where he became the head Football Coach for the Red Wing Wingers. His working career ended at Red Wing Shoe Company where he was Vice President, Distribution. Russ, 87 years old at this writing , is still active in Red Wing sports, especially Red Wing Aces Baseball. He spear headed the drive to raise funds for the baseball stadium and was the Athletic Field's grounds-keeper for many years. A wonderful story and a wonderful addition to the many Greatest Generation Red Wing heroes from World War II.
FIRST LT. RUSS FECHTER GUIDES A FLYING FORTRESS SQUADRON AND RAISES THE IRE OF THE GERMANS!
Late in World War II, Russ Fechter, now of Red Wing, Minnesota was the lead pilot in a raid over Germany. Russ was in the U.S. Army Air Force and flew a B-17 Flying Fortress. His squadron objective was to bomb Frankfort, Germany. His plane was new, just shipped to England, and in the original bright silver, all the other planes in his squadron where painted the dark camouflage. Being the lead pilot, he was in the V formation and with the bright silver, stood out like a soar thumb.
This is my story...
"I was heading for the target, my crew was ready, the squadron of 500 or so Flying Fortresses back of me where ready for our bombardier to release the bombs.. The Bombay doors were open, the bombs released and just then, all hell broke loose. Our plane was hit by an anti-aircraft shell.
I told the crew to bail out which they did and I was trying to get the plane right side up, the plane blew up with me in it. It's like being inside a balloon when it blows. I was thrown clear and pulled the rip cord. The chute opened above me and I was now one lucky guy.
I'm going through white fluffy clouds and I looked down and the field below was full of German soldiers with rifles in hand. All rifles were aimed at me. I realized that the pistol in my suit would not be well received by the Germans. I grabbed the 45 and threw it as far as I could. I landed unscratched in the only tree in the field, broke it at the trunk, and soldiers surrounded me and we goose stepped to the local jail. I realized that the German townspeople would not be very friendly to one of the pilots that just bombed their beautiful city. I was concerned that they would want to kill me.
The streets that we marched through, were full of angry Germans, jeering, waving sticks and one little old lady decided that I should be whipped with her cane. She was bent on killing, not just whipping. A German soldier stopped her from the beating cause it was towards the end of the war and soldiers did not want to be accused of war crimes. In jail over night, the townspeople peaked through the bars to see the captured American. I spent the rest of the War, about 90 day as a Prisoner of War, but when I look back, I was one lucky guy.
Note: Russ Fechter, after the war moved to Red Wing where he became the head Football Coach for the Red Wing Wingers. His working career ended at Red Wing Shoe Company where he was Vice President, Distribution. Russ, 87 years old at this writing , is still active in Red Wing sports, especially Red Wing Aces Baseball. He spear headed the drive to raise funds for the baseball stadium and was the Athletic Field's grounds-keeper for many years. A wonderful story and a wonderful addition to the many Greatest Generation Red Wing heroes from World War II.