Henry Conway Oldham (1895-1929)
Army Air Corps, WWI – pilot Henry was in the Aviation Service in WWI. He fought in Europe and was rumored to have flown through the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. After the war he was married to Myrl Walters of Marceline and they had three children, Henry George, Charles, and Jo Anne (Campbell). While they were living in North Platte, Nebraska he worked as a flight instructor and was killed there in a plane crash. Myrl returned to Marceline with the children and moved back to her parents’ farm. From there she drove back and forth to Kirksville until she got her teaching certificate. She eventually became the principal of the elementary school in Marceline, where she served for 18 years.
Warren F. Haley (1925-2008)
US Army, 1945-1946 My dad, Warren Haley, son of Earl and Jessie Riley Haley, was born August 13, 1925 in rural Marceline. He was in the 11th Army Air Force, Cargo Resupply Unit, serving as crew chief of supply drops. His unit was in the South Pacific, island hopping through New Guinea, the Philippines and more, moving supplies to military forces and civilians. After an R&R in Australia, Warren joined his unit in the CBI Theater (China-Burma-India) providing strategic air supply missions in the area. Warren’s plane was shot down somewhere near the China-Burma Hump (his words). Pilot and co-pilot died in the crash, one man was hurt bad but survived. Three days later they were rescued. Dad told the story that one day he saw a soldier walking who had more baggage than he could handle. Warren yelled at the guy to offer to help him, he turned around and it was Delmar Foley, also of Marceline! At home, the families were best of friends and ran around together. Two families, like one through the years. Today there are just two of us left but we are still like one family and still close. Mike Haley Warren Haley’s Medals:
Michael R. Haley (born 1947)
US Army, 1966-1968 My name is Michael Roy Haley, born August 9, 1947 at the old old St. Francis Hospital in Marceline. My parents were Warren F. Haley and Pearl Lourene Cowser Haley. After the death of a cousin the family broke up. Uncle Howard, a WWII veteran of Europe, moved back to Hammond, IN. Dad, a WWII veteran of the South Pacific, became a preacher and moved to Mexico, MO. My grandparents Earl and Jessie Haley stayed on the farm outside of Marceline. I graduated from Mexico High School in May 1965 and was thinking about joining the Marines. But one day when I got home there was a military car at our house. Two Marines were going with Dad to a church member’s home whose son had been killed unloading heavy equipment in Viet Nam. Dad told me the boy’s plane crew had volunteered to fly extra flights, and on the 10th trip were shot. Dad told me “don’t volunteer, but if picked for duty then do your best”. I met Linda Hodge in 1966. We got married and I was drafted. For a farm boy I did not know this world was so big. On R&R, Linda met me in Hawaii and it was different — clean, smelled great. Over the years we’ve gone back a couple of times, but there is no place like home. I volunteered for convoys just to see the country and the people. Montagnards and Vietnamese could not get along with each other, but the Montagnards were strong supporters of US forces. I received Marksman Medals with pistol, M14, M60 and grenade, the National Defense Ribbon, 2 Vietnam Service Medals, and the Missouri Medal of Service. There were many long term friendships but those friendships are getting fewer. Jimmy Folco was a good friend. Our convoy was stopped to let an armored convoy go ahead, and a roadside papasan had his goods to sell. Jimmy wanted something to eat and got what looked like a hamburger. Jimmy said it was good and wanted to know what it was. Papasan pulled out a live monkey, saying “Same! Same!” Poor Jimmy up-chucked his dinner. If I had to go back I would go back with the same guys. We were a team that worked together. When we left out of Vietnam we came out under heavy fire because the Tet Offensive was still going on.
James Flynn
US Army Air Force, (1942 – 1945) – pilot, POW, WWII James Flynn, from Marceline, MO, registered for the draft in 1940, but it was late in 1942 before his number came up. As he had always had a desire to fly, he signed up for the US Army Air Force. He married Betty Othic, also from Marceline, while he was stationed in Sikeston, MO during training. After more training at different bases across the country, he was finally sent to Italy to fly a B-24 bomber on missions to attack “oil refineries, airdromes, rail centers, and other vital German-held targets in southern and central Europe.” On Aug 29th, his plane was on a bombing run to Czechoslovakia to hit a tank factory. When they began to have engine trouble, they dropped out of formation, tried to bring the plane in for a landing, fought to keep the plane aloft, and finally decided to ditch the plane and parachute to the ground. James was soon captured and spent most of the rest of the war in German POW camps, in Yugoslavia, Hungary and finally Germany. His family was first informed that he was missing, and then that he was a POW. He was liberated by American forces in April 29th, 1945. James wrote down his memoirs in a book called “The Big One: World War II” which is available to be checked out from the Brookfield Library. In the foreword he wrote: “I wrote this book for my three children, Kathleen, Kevin, and Mary Felice, and my two grandchildren, Amy and Marissa. I did this so they would have an idea as to what I did and where I was in the service during World War II from June of 1942 through October of 1945.”
Captain Victor Kenneth Olinger
United States Army My father entered the US Army at Fort Logan Colorado on January 7, 1942, later assigned to Ft. Riley. On June 25, 1942 he was promoted to Corporal, and assigned to the 5 Training Squadron at the Calvary Replacement Training Center, Fort Riley Kansas. From Fort Riley he was transferred to Company O 24 Engineer School Regiment, Fort Belvoir, Virginia as an Officer Candidate. I suspect he was transferred to Officers Candidate School due to his mining, railroad and pipeline experience. On September 15,1942 he was, at the convenience of government Honorably Discharged as a Corporal to accept a officer commission and immediate active duty. Following graduation, he was dispatched to Camp Claiborne, a training camp for railroad, artillery and aviation. My father would become the Platoon Leader and subsequent Company Commander in the 390″ Engineer Regiment. : From Camp Claiborne it was over the big pond to England to rebuild rail lines destroyed by the Germans and prepare for the D-Day invasion. Once mission accomplished it was, over the Channel we go! The following are his campaigns: Campaign Normandy, Campaign Northern France, Campaign Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge) and Campaign Rhineland It would appear from records that he returned to the US on or about November 25, 1945 as Captain, Corps of Engineers, with four Bronze Stars and a British wife. What? A British wife? While in New Castle Under Lyme my father was headed to the Castle Hotel for an officer’s function and while in the underground tunnel there was a black out, when the lights came back on, there they met. As it happens my mother was going to the same function. My father when off to Europe but made his way back to the UK and they were married on June 3, 1944. My mother Ivy came to the USA aboard the SS Washington; landed in New York, boarded trains and made her way to Marceline. There you have it, the condensed version of my father’s military experience and how it is that I would wind up being born in Marceline. Sgt. Michael L. OlingerUnited States Army 1st Infantry Division Viet Nam 1966-675th Army Ft. Des Moines AFEES 1967-69
John Wylie Othic (1946 – )
US Army, 1964-1967 – 69th Engineers Battalion After high school graduation I couldn’t find a decent job because of my age (17.) So I joined the Army. The only problem was I didn’t weigh enough. I needed to be 117 pounds. So an Army recruiter took me aside and said, “Hey, wait here. I’ll be back.” He came back with a bunch of bananas. He led me over to the water fountain and told me to eat as many bananas and drink as much water as I could. I did and weighed in at 117 pounds. I thought about that a lot during my stint in the Army. My first duty station was in Germany. I was a heavy equipment mechanic, but I usually drove gasoline trucks. Then from Germany I went to Ft Hood, TX, on my way to Vietnam. My Vietnam experience started in California. We went from Ft Hood, TX to Oakland, CA by troop train. At each railroad crossing there were people protesting the war. At one crossing we stopped right in the crossing with about 50 protestors begging us to jump off and go with them. Of course no one did and as the train pulled out they ran along side screaming “I hope they kill you.” After a couple of months in country my platoon leader and I had a difference of opinion which resulted in me being sent out in the field assigned to the Australian army. Our job was to clear the jungle away from villages and roads with bulldozers. The military knew that the Tet Offensive was coming and they were trying to prepare for it. After I got back to my unit we moved up river to as place called Can Tho. It turned out to be a hot spot after I left. At the end of my duty I went to Saigon and left on a plane with a tired body and a head full of memories.
John B. Krumpelman
This is my Story… I graduated from Marceline high school in 1961 and farmed with my dad until being drafted May 17, 1966. I was inducted in the army at the induction station in Kansas City and got orders to go to Fort Leonard Wood, MO for basic training. While at the reception center I enlisted for 3 years in the Army to become a communication center specialist. I completed basic training in Fort Leonard Wood with Co B, 1st BN, 2nd BCT. We were the first group staying in the new 3 story brick barracks. 1st platoon Sgt. Grenier wanted someone who had legible hand printing capabilities to print names and serial numbers on combat boots, belts and helmet sweat bands for the upcoming : IG inspection. My drafting in high school developed my printing ability and I volunteered to do the printing for our platoon after training hours. | I was awarded the Distinguished Trainee Award for achieving a score of 90 out of 100 points and the 425 Club for achieving 436 points out of 500 in the Physical Combat Proficiency Test. I received orders to report to Fort Gordon, GA for AIT for 11 weeks along with David Teeter from Cape Girardeau who was also from my platoon. We reported July 29, 1966, for training as a Com Center Specialist. I needed a secret clearance to enter the classified section of this school. The military ran background checks and not everybody received a clearance. What you did growing up during high school days with speeding tickets or DUI’s counted against you. We were trained to use crypto equipment. Upon completion of this training in November 1966, we were assigned to the 45th artillery Air Defense Headquarter Brigade in Arlington Heights, IL, part of NORAD. I had a top secret crypto clearance to work in the com center there. Orders were posted that we were assigned to Arlington Hall, VA, but that was changed after 1 day. | I received the rank of E3 on November 30, 1966, and E4 on May 17, 1967. While in Arlington Heights I also worked part time at the Northwest Community Hospital as a custodial engineer. On June 24, 1967, I received orders to serve in Vietnam with the 1st Signal Brigade USASTRATCOM, Nha Trang Signal Battalion. I flew from Kansas City to Oakland, California, Army base then on to Hawai, Phillipines and to Bien Hoa, Vietnam. I took a bus to Lang Bien and then flew up the coast to Nha Trang. I worked in supply the first night in country and there was a constant shaking of the ground. I was told that was from the saturation bombing with B52 bombers along the border of Vietnam and Cambodia. About half of our battalion stayed in ten man tents; the rest stayed in 2 story barracks. My job in Vietnam was in a torn tape relay station, similar to a regional post office, where we sent and received messages from around the world. We were up for 36 hours during the 1968 TET offensive. We worked 12 hours in com center and 12 hours perimeter defense and then another 12 hours in the com center. The Korean White Horse Division kept the VC from over-running our com center. I was awarded the Certificate of achievement for my long and arduous hours to overcome an extremely heavy back log of service messages: When North Korea seized the Navy ship USS Pueblo in 1968, we had to change all the crypto cards because the Pueblo had classified crypto equipment. Nha Trang was a fairly secure area. We still had mortar rounds about once a week, but it wasn’t close to the com center. Nha Trang was aR & R area for the French Army. We could tour around the city and beach as long as there were two of us. I never fired my M14 rifle except during familiarization at the rifle range. I made ES in June 1968, just before being assigned to the Phu Lam Signal Battalion. I was able to go on R & R to Sidney, Australia, my last week in Vietnam. When I got off R & R, my orders to return to the States were posted and I was assigned to 206 Signal Co at Fort Bragg, NC. I received the following medals: National Defense Service Medal; Vietnam Service Medal and Vietnam Campaign Medal. I was discharged in February of 1969 and returned home to farm with my Dad. I joined the VFW shortly after and have been active in that veteran’s organization every since. John is a lifetime member of the Marceline VFW Post #1471 and is involved in their activities whenever possible. He presently is serving his tenth term (not simultaneously) as Commander and is Chaplain of VFW District 1 and has served 2 years as commander of District 1. John has been chairman of the local and district Voice of Democracy. and Patriots Pen Essay contests for over 35 years.
Stephen “Squint” Douglas Still (1946 – )
US ARMY 45th Signal Battalion (1966-1969) In 1966, after getting in a little bit of trouble, Gary Wylie and I decided to join the Army on the buddy system. He decided he wanted to go into the Green Berets. Not me. I went to AIT (advanced individual training) at Ft. Gordon, GA as a teletype operator. Most hated job ever. Working in a telecom wasn’t for me. Wished I had went with Wylie. I got to Vietnam sometime in the fall of 1966, 90th replacement, hold over three weeks. Made friends there. Stationed at Nha Trang. Worked at Com Center three months. Old Sgt took pity on me and put me in the air courier department. I loved it there and every day saw so much beautiful country. I was a door gunner courier. Had to have a secret clearance (but that’s another story.) I delivered documents all over the Central Highlands. I thanked God I wasn’t stationed in some of the places, like Mang Buc. We flew into the 2nd Battle of Dak To. I loved my job. Besides the obvious we were always worried in the chopper about birds. Leaving Nam for Cam Ranh Bay we hit a flock of birds in the chopper: one day more and I was done. Birds! Ft. Hamilton, Brooklyn, 9 months more. Ft. Meade, MD till I was out. Made it okay, got out, steaks and home. I cried the day Wylie left Vietnam. He and I went to college together later. We were best friends until he died.
Harold Brown Reed (1890 – 1970)
US ARMY, 1918 – Army CO G 07 Infantry Division Harold Brown Reed was born September 20, 1890 in Pleasant Hill, Missouri to Thomas Brown Reed and Iva Nora Gillespie. In the lean years of the early 1900’s many young men hopped trains in search of work. HB hopped off the train in Garden City, Kansas. The boarding house that he lived in was next- door to Miss Mary V Schrock, his soon to be wife. He said he could look into her room from his. When the work ran out he left and ended up in Columbus, Ohio. Mary V was not one to be left behind and so at the ripe old age of 20 she followed him. They were married on August 18, 1917. He was inducted into the Army CO G 07 Infantry Division August 8, 1918. The commanding officer asked if any of the new inductees could cook. HB raised his hand and became the company cook. Due to the Spanish flu and the signing of the Armistice in November 1918 his Regiment disbanded early. Private Reed was honorably discharged on December 16, 1918, never seeing combat but with acquired cooking skills. The family moved to Hammond, Indiana. Two sons, Thomas (Mabel Tomlin) and Tully (Mary Ann Owen) were born. HB went on to develop and patent a product called Black Beauty from coal slag. This abrasive is the original coal slag grit that is used in the marketplace, leading the industry for nearly 80 years. The product is used in roofing and in road blacktop surfaces. There are four companies across the US that produce this product. He also developed a home insulation and cinder blocks used in building. He retired to Hale, Missouri to raise black Angus cattle. He died November 9, 1970. submitted by Mary Ann Reed
Tully Brown Reed (1982 – 2021)
US ARMY – Army Artillery Division, Korean War, First Lieutenant Tully Brown Reed was born to H. B. and Mary V. Schrock Reed on August 27th, 1932 in Hammond, IN. He soon moved with his parents and older brother Thomas to Linn County, MO, graduating from Linneus High School in 1950. He studied Agricultural Science at the University of Missouri-Columbia where he was a member of Farmhouse Fraternity and ROTC. After graduation he was in the Army Artillery Division stationed at the DMZ during the Korean War and became a First Lieutenant. He returned home to further his studies in Minerals and Soils at MU, choosing next to run the family farm in Purdin, MO raising Angus cattle and growing Scotch Pine and walnut trees. He was well-known across the county for his Christmas trees, donating a number each year to ensure those who needed one did not go without. His sense of empathy led him throughout life to constantly help others, whenever he saw a need. While in the Army Tully taught himself to play the banjo, much to the chagrin of his fellow soldiers, he always said. He eventually mastered the instrument, joining the Kansas City Ararat Rockets Dixieland Band, recording several albums and making lifelong friends. His children also enjoyed nightly serenades growing up as Tully used bath time for banjo practice. The Masonic Lodge played a significant role in Tully’s life following college. He was active for more than 61 years both as a faithful member and pass master of Jackson Lodge #82 and a dual member with Brookfield #86. Tully met Mary Ann Owen during one of many Colorado ski trips, marrying and then introducing the city-born girl to farm life in 1970. As their four children grew up, Tully taught them and many of their friends to play chess, camp, ride horseback, canoe, sail, skate and ski, to drive a stick shift on the farm and freeway, collect rocks and to generally try anything new at least once including scuba. In addition to the banjo Tully played the piano, violin and harmonica with music and by ear, instilling a lifelong love of music in his children, and turning family gatherings into impromptu concerts. After retiring from the farm, Tully worked as the caretaker for Immaculate Conception Church, using the basement as a stained glass repair shop for the church windows, and finding a new talent and hobby. Throughout his incredible life Tully was known for his notoriously dry humor, his gentle quiet demeanor and his ability to talk to anyone about anything. He loved his family and his family loved him beyond compare. He died on February 20, 2021. He is survived by his wife Mary Ann and his four children: Amy (Jason) Montgomery, Nancy (Tim) Deily, Andrew (Stacy) Reed, and Julie (Corey) Freeman and six grandchildren.