World War II : D Day Research

Do you have relatives or friends that participated in the D Day operations in Europe during World War II?

There have been many viewpoints written about this epic day in history.  So many died on the beaches during this unprecedented invasion. And, yet, so many were fortunate to survive.  For them, it was a memory that I am sure they never wanted to repeat.

There are some great publications written by many of these survivors.  And, many researchers are now able to find information about the behind the scenes actions since many of the files have become declassified. One of these books is written by Kenneth H. Garn, The Secret D-Day, 2004.

www.heritagebooks.com, available for sale through www.ancestorstuff.com

The author was part of a defense platoon in Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion of the 531st Engineer Shore Regiment.  He unravels the truth behind the D-Day invasion.

This book is highly recommended for those who enjoy reading first hand accounts of war.

AncestorStuff.com sells at a discount off of list price, and is giving FREE SHIPPING to customers when they buy 3 Military Catalog items until June 13.  You might want to take advantage of this offer.  It would be a good savings to anyone.

The Civil War Pension Papers of Owen Young of Schuyler County

Several months ago, I wrote about Gilmer Young, who died in the Battle of Wilson's Creek in Missouri during the Civil War.  Recently, I stumbled upon the pension papers of his brother, Owen Young, who also served his country during the Civil War.  Unfortunately, Owen, like his brother Gilmer, did not return home alive.  He passed away in a military hospital camp in Brownsville, Texas.

Owen's  pension packet consists of about 34 pages. There are some very good pieces of information about Owen and his family in this packet.  www.Fold3.com has many pension packets digitized on their website.

What can you find in a pension packet?  Well, for one thing, if a soldier was married, there would be some proof of that marriage in the packet contents.  Here's the certificate of marriage for Owen and his wife, Mandana Blodget, along with a certification from the Clerk of the County, which was officiated by Peter Vance, J.P. of Schuyler County :

certification of  marriage for Owen Young WC122477 Page 11 Civil War Widows Pensions at Fold3.com

State of Illinois Marriage Certificate included in the pension packet for Owen Young, Fold3.com

There is a statement from the commanding officer of Owen Young's unit, Company K, 28th Illinois Volunteers.  It was written at the Army offices in St. Louis, Missouri, stating the circumstances of Private Young's illness and death.  Apparently he suffered from Flux and Typhoid, which was hindered by his home sickness.....being hospitalized in the military hospital in Texas where he eventually passed away....

Page 21 Owen Young, Civil War Widows Pension File, Fold3.com

There is also a short note from the Surgeon General that testifies that Owen Young, of the Illinois Volunteers,  passed away on the 29th of August, 1865 in Brownsville, Texas, of Flux and Typhoid.

War Department, Surgeon General, Owen Young Civil War Pension File, page 8, Fold3.com

additional note from the Adjutant General's Office, Washington, D.C., 1866, states that Owen died on Sept. 1.

Paging further into the packet contents, I find notes about the only surviving heirs to Owen Young...two children.  What happened to his wife, Mandana?  She passed away in1866, less than a year after her husband, Owen, left this earth.  So sad.  So, what happens to the children?  Well, apparently their grandfather, Harvey Blodget (father of Mandana) assumed responsibility for the tots.  He was appointed the guardian for the children.  Read on to see what papers had to be filed for these children to receive some monetary assistance from their father's military pension....

Declaration of Minor Children for Pension, filed by Harvey Blodget, Owen Young Civil War Pension file, page 5

Now this is even more interesting....note that Harvey states that Owen died in August of 1865, which has already been established, and further states that his wife is no longer living....but added in the lines "again married George Whitehead in March 1866" and she died on the 17th of June, 1866.  She probably never received a widow's pension....maybe she applied, but instead was remarried.  How sad that she died only months after being married to Mr. Whitehead.  

A statement from Dr. Benjamin Walton accounts  for his assistance with the birth of her children, Lovina and Thomas B. Young, and that he is aware of the death of Owen, and the appointment of Harvey Blodget as the guardian of the children.

The children are identified as being the only legitimate offspring of Owen, and their vital information is stated as follows : Lovina Young,  born on the 13th day of March 1858, and Thomas B. Young, born on the 24th day of October 1860, Harvey also concurs that the parents of these children were married on the 3rd of April 1857 in Schuyler County, by Peter Vance, JP.  He also replied that he did not aid or abet the rebellion of the United States.  Two witnesses, John Phelps and Hiram Geer, signed off on the document as being "intimate acquaintances for the last ten years"  of Owen Young, the deceased soldier, and know of no other children belonging to him.

Claim for Minor Pension, Owen Young Civil War Pension File, page 3, Fold3.com

I am not sure why Quincy is hand written at the top of the page, but perhaps that was the closest Army Pension office at the time.  Nevertheless, the children were approved for support from their father's pension.  Lovina Young and Thomas B. Young were to receive Two Dollars per month, until they each reach the age of 16 years.  Lovina's benefit will last her until March 12 of 1874.  Thomas B. will collect his benefit until October 23 of 1876.  The above document restates all of the evidence previously submitted to support the claim for pension assistance.  Harvey Blodget will be issued the usual Eight Dollars per month, covering Sept. 2, 1865 until October 23, 1876, as was the common widow's claim amount, and the children's pension would also be paid out to Harvey, commencing July 23, 1866,  so that he may look after his grandchildren until their 16th birthdays.  

Well, there you  have it.  Quite a story, sad as it is.  A father goes to war, gets ill while in  the service of his country, and dies.  His widow, left with two children ages 7 years and 5 years, remarries just 6 months later, and then she dies three months after that.  Her two school-aged children are taken in by their grandfather.  He applies for the pension benefits of his son-in-law to support the children.  Pension benefits only last until the 16th birthday of each child.  Hopefully they lived happily with their grandfather.  And, hopefully, they heard of their father's bravery and sacrifice during the Civil War, which took the lives of so many husbands and fathers.  

I think I will do a bit more research, and find out what Lovina and Thomas did with their lives.  

Meanwhile, if you have any family members that were participants in the Civil War, I hope that I have inspired you to look into their service and pension files.  Discover the family stories that aren't told in vital records alone. 

Free Access to Civil War Databases on Fold3

It is Easter weekend.  Hopefully most of you will be spending some time with friends and family for the holiday....sharing meals, hunting for eggs, attending church services, and picking through your basket left by the big bunny.

But if things get a little dull, pull out your laptop, tablet or smart phone and take a look at what is free to view on Fold3 at www.fold3.com  Until April 30th, free access to the Civil War databases will be available to the public.  This is usually available only to paid subscribers.

This site provides images of Civil War Widow's Pension index cards. Many Civil War photos are available to browse.  Registers of Enlistments and Civil War maps are also available. Confederate casualty reports and amnesty papers are indexed.

Take a look at what is FREE until the end of the month.  Have fun, and Happy Easter.

World War I Army Nurses Serving in France

A group of photographs from the collection of my husband's grandfather includes images of the nurses who tended to the sick and injured servicemen of World War One.

Can you imagine what it must have been like?  Serving in a foreign land, tending to the injured soldiers, many of whom did not speak English, must have been very stressful.  These young women did their best to provide good medical care, while they were reminded that they were only appointed to the ANC, and did not receive the respect that male medics received.  

From the website : Women in the U.S. Army  http://www.army.mil/women/nurses.html

The Army Nurse Corps

WORLD WAR I (1917-1918) AND AFTER

On April 6, 1917, the United States entered World War I. There were 403 nurses on active duty, including 170 reserve nurses who had been ordered to duty in twelve Army hospitals in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico.

By 1918, more than 12,000 nurses were on active duty serving at 198 stations worldwide. In May 1917, six base (general) hospitals with more than 400 nurses sailed for France for service in the British Expeditionary Forces.

On Oct. 2, 1917, Gen. John J. Pershing sent a cabled request “for a competent member of the Nurse Corps” to supervise nursing activities in the American Expeditionary Forces. Bessie S. Bell, then Chief Nurse of Walter Reed General Hospital, reported to serve on Nov. 13, 1917.

On May 25, 1918, the Army School of Nursing was authorized by the Secretary of War as an alternative to utilizing nurses’ aides in Army hospitals. Courses of instruction opened at several Army hospitals in July 1918. Annie W. Goodrich was appointed under contract as Chief Inspector Nurse for the Army; she became the first dean of the Army School of Nursing.

Army nurses during World War I did not have officer status. They were not commissioned, but appointed into the ANC. Medics sometimes refused to accept nurses’ authority on the wards. After the war, Congress, to show their appreciation, gave nurses officer status by allotting them “Relative Rank,” meaning that an Army nurse first lieutenant, for example, received less pay and status than a male first lieutenant.

As a sign of their valiant contribution in the Great War, Army nurses were awarded numerous medals – including the Distinguished Service Cross (an award ranked second only to the Medal of Honor).

Old World War I Photos From The Collection of a Soldier Who Served Well

The suitcase, full of papers and photos, contains some history that may not have been told by any other source....well, maybe.  To me, these are one of a kind.

 The suitcase, handed over to my husband from his mother on Thanksgiving on 2013, is filled with wonderful images of the War To End All Wars....World War I.  LeRoy Hessler Reif, grandfather of my husband, served as a medic in the U.S.Army during this conflict in Europe.  He saved many of the photos that he had snapped, and others that were acquired through other means, during his service to our nation in Europe.

LeRoy Hessler Reif in France 1918

My late father-in-law, Ken Reif, wrote an article in 1967 for the Veterans Day issue of a company newsletter.  He outlined the duties and experiences of his father's participation in the War.  As a medic, he saw unspeakable injuries inflicted on his fellow servicemen.  So many suffered.  So many perished.

U.S. Army ambulance used to transport the injured

U.S. Army hospital ward in France 1918

Nurses who diligently cared for the sick and injured during the War

Perhaps we always think that wounds heal  after time, but with injuries that were sustained on both sides, I can only imagine that they never truly heal.  Here is a man who did survive, but only after a new jaw was constructed from silver to replace the one that he no longer had......

And, then there were those who did not survive, but were buried with dignity and grace in a foreign land where they gave the ultimate sacrifice.  A freshly laid cemetery for those who did not return....

It is Valentines Day.  I hope that the Valentines of these servicemen were comforted in a way that helped them to carry on their lives.  What sorrow they must have experienced.  How proud they should be of those laid to rest in foreign lands.  Happy Valentines Day to all those who served, are serving and who will serve and sacrifice.  May God and St. Valentine watch over you.