As I began to write about the local boys going off to World War II, it quickly became obvious that the news articles were making the War sound pretty romantic and I was having great difficulty in determining the Patriots who were volunteering instead of being drafted. I found the following statistics for the entire United States on men who were Inductees: 1940-18,633 1941-923,842 1942-3,033,361 1943-3,323,970 1944-1,591,942 1945-945,862 1946-183,383 1947-0
After 2,400 servicemen and civilians were killed at Pearl Harbor, our December Military Force grew to 2.2 million Soldiers, Airmen, Marines and Sailors versus the 174, 000 personnel in 1937. A total of 50 million men registered following the conscription guidelines in 1940 of ages 21-35 and then expanding from 18 to 65 . By the end of the War there had been 93,941 Americans held in War Camps in Germany. Of the 16 Million who served more than 120,000 were held at sometime, as Prisoners of War.
In Japan 27,465 Americans were captured and 11,107 did not return home. 92,820 Americans lived to tell of their experiences with the Germans. In Montana the War casualties are listed as Dead from Combat 100; Prison Camps 8; Missing 9; Wounded 415; Released prisoners 25. These numbers include Army-Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. And the total number cited as Dead is 737 which does not total correctly.
As any of our Service Men know the Government records leave a lot to be desired and because a major fire happened at one of the record keeping facilities after the War, it is virtually impossible to recreate a large number of our World War II veteran’s records. There were 139 POW’s executed in Palawan (Philippines) in December 1944. Among the 27,000 POW’s in the Pacific over 77 American Military Nurses were “Angels of Baataan and Corregidor” during 1942-1945 and received little recognition. Most said they were just doing their jobs as they cared for the Allied POW’s in Santa Tomas and Los Banas Internment Camps there. I was privileged to met 7 of these Angels in full white nursing uniforms and capes at Washington DC, when Colin Powell spoke at the Vietnam Nurses Memorial Monument Dedication Ceremony on Veteran’s Day in the early 90’s.
A major memory the civilians have about the War was the rationing of foods and essentials and the procurement of War Bonds. Remember there still was no Federal Income Tax to pay for the war effort. Rations of sugar was 2 pounds per month per person in America; 1 pound per person in France and 11 ounces per person in Italy. We also rationed Butter, eggs, spices, bourbon, meat, cooking oil, coffee, and canned goods. Spam became a very popular meat product. Chicory and Postum were coffee substitutes. All used oils were given to the butcher who rendered them for the making of explosives. By 1943 the United States had planted more than 20 million Victory Gardens, where the gardeners with green thumbs keep our population in fruit and vegetables. This was the time when Nucoa margarine became popular. Us kids fought over who got to mix the orange tablet into the white greasy brick to turn it into a yellow product that looked like butter. The dairy farmers had lobbied and placed a tax on margarine when it first appeared in the 1920’s and the law stated it could not be dyed to look like butter. So it was sold white with a tablet of dye and later placed in a plastic bag with a liquid pellet to be broken and mixed by squeezing the bag many times until the color was mixed throughout the greasy substance.
My research has been able to determine fourteen Patriots from Granite County lost their lives sometime between 1941 and 1945.
The first death was Joseph Marling Seaman 2c USN on December 7, 1941. His mother was Mrs. Hazel Flansburg of Philipsburg.
Melville Burkholder serving in the USMC died on July 1, 1943 and his mother Mrs. Helen Burkholder lived at Bear Creek.
Clifford O'Brian Pfc died on 12-2-1943
Ralph Williams of the Arm-Air Force died February 2, 1944.
William Cuthburt of the Army-Air Force died April 20, 1944;
Peter Mungas, from the Army died July 4, 1944,
Harvey Grant Edwards, Army July 1944,
Steen Cook from the Army died October 24, 1944;
Gilbert Chandler, Army Air Force lost his life November 11, 1944;
John Pace Pfc USMC died December 2, 1944;
Henry Luthje from the Army died December 11, 1944;
Elmer Steffan from the Army died April 16, 1945.
The remaining young men lost their lives either while missing or on unknown dates. They are:
Henry P. Bradshaw, Army, Unknown date,
Chester E. Watson, Army, unknown date,
and Perry Morgan, Army. Unknown date.
Researching the lives of the young men that were lost in Granite County during WWII has been tedious as the Military Records are sparse and haphazard. Because the Philipsburg Mail has not been digitized past the 1920’s in the Library of Congress it is difficult to find in-depth obituaries for a number of these Patriots. Sadly, a number of them I do not know their family descendants to contact. So if you have any additional information it is welcomed.
Henry Parker Bradshaw was born on July 25, 1920 in Utah and came with his parents, prior to his 7 year old sister Seda’s birth, to New Chicago in Granite County according to the 1930 Federal Census. His parents were: Charles S. and Isabel (Elizabeth Hendry Parker) Bradshaw and siblings were: Louise K. age 16, Margaret age 14, Charles age 11, Leda age 7, Galen age 4 and Baby Lowell all detailed in the 1930 Census. Henry entered the US Army Air Force in 1942 and was an Aviation Cadet in Belen Valencia, New Mexico and was training to be a fighter pilot when he lost his life on April 26, 1943. His body was interred at the Logan Utah Cemetery.
Gilbert E. Chandler was born May 13, 1921 in Sidney, Montana to Burton H. (1897-1965) and Mary Roserir Cottor (sp.?) Chandler (1901-1981). His siblings were: Lester Eugene Chandler (1925- 1959) and Melvin B. Chandler (1931-1977). Gilbert was working for Consolidated Aircraft in February 1942 and Enlisted June 25, 1942 in Salt Lake as a Private in the US Army. He died on November 11, 1944 and is buried in the Florence American Cemetery in Florence, Italy. On the Tablet of the Missing he is listed as Sgt. 84 BOMB 5Q 47 BOMB GO (L) Montana. I have been unable to determine his connection to Granite County, except for his name being filed there in the Montana Military roll.
John W. Pace was born in 1914 in Georgia. The 1940 Federal Census shows John at the age of 26 living in Detroit Michigan with his widowed father John Pace age 53, and siblings: 1 month old Claudette, 1 year old Marie, 3 year old Lavina, 4 year old Flossie and 20 year old Martha. I find John listed as a Private in the US Marine Corp and also in the Army Air Force, but no enlistment date. He was Killed in Action on December 2, 1944 while a Sgt. Gunner in Germany. He is buried in Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial at Saint-Avold Maselle, Lorraine France. I believe the reason he is listed as a Granite County Patriot is because his next of kin notified of his death was Martha Pace Baker (his sister) who lived in Drummond, Montana at the time of John’s death. His baby siblings Claudette and Marie are listed as being born in Michigan while the rest were born in Georgia. At this time I have failed to find sister Martha in any other records. Sadly the 1950 census is still not available.
Elmer Emil Steffan was born in Pioneer on October 24, 1909 to Emil Charles (1874-1941) and Minnie (Steiner) Steffan Noble (?). The 1930 Federal census has Emil age 54 and Minnie age 49 with children: Elmer Emil age 20, Thelma age 18, Willard age 16, Montana age 14, Vernon age 12, Clyde age 10, Helen age 8. Ancestry shows that Esther was born in 1932 and Bertha was born in 1934. By the 1940 Federal census Emil is living widowed with Vernon and Willard on Broadway in Philipsburg. He died in 1941. In Ancestry I find Minnie Viola Steiner Noble born in 1888 and dying in 1968. There is no Minnie Steffan buried in the Philipsburg Cemetery. Archives show Elmer married Signe Elizabeth Hagen in Butte on March 1, 1938 and the 1940 census showed her age as 31 living with Elmer and child Shirley Ann age 1. The family was living at Pearl and Harrison in Philipsburg. Elmer died on April 16, 1945 in Epimal Vasges, Lorraine, France and the records show his children only as son Jerry Howard. Did Shirley die at a young age? Do any of the Steffan siblings families have a picture of Elmer or know his children’s history?
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