Miscellaneous World War II Participants From Warren County

We shall at this time review some of the World War II participants that helped keep the torch lit for our country during this tragedy. This column cannot carry all the names and incidents of the men and women who served in the Armed Forces during the war, but we shall focus on some as space allows.
(Contents for this article were taken from a compilation of Western Star newspaper clippings of World War II participants gathered by the Warren County Genealogical Society.)

The sons of Mr. and Mrs. H.C. "Dad" Goforth of Mason certainly did their part in serving our country, a total of seven enlisting.
George W. Goforth was a flight commander with the A.A.F., while Roscoe was a member of the attack forces that invaded Normandy.
L.E. Goforth served in the Infantry, spending most of his time in the South Pacific. Charles was wounded while serving in the Air Force and received an honorable discharge.
Edward was a member of a B-29 bomber crew. Donald and Jack also served in the Air Force.

Mr. and Mrs. A.C. Jones of Lebanon produced a five-star family. Each of the sons served in a different branch of the Armed Forces.
Kenneth L. Jones enlisted in the Air Force in January 1943. He was formerly associated with the Standard Oil Company in Lebanon.
Albert C. entered into the Army in February 1943, and served in the anti-aircraft division. He was previously associated with the Kroger Grocery and Baking Company in Lebanon.
Eugene joined the Marines in March 1943. He was formerly employed at Remington Arms, Inc., at Kings Mills.
Robert L. enlisted in the Navy in July 1943. Before the war he worked at the Sohio Station in Lebanon. Willard served as Chief Petty Officer in the Merchant Marines. Prior to his enlistment he worked as a machinist at the Meis Shoe Company at Lebanon.

Mr. and Mrs. E.L. Poff were parents of a three-star family. Their Daughter, Dorothy, served at the Naval Base Hospital in San Diego, Ca., while her two brothers, John D. and Charles also served in the Armed Forces.

Chester Dunn, President of the Genealogical Society in Lebanon, and William "Willie," local C.P.A. representative, were the sons of Mr. and Mrs. Carleton Dunn of Lebanon. Chester joined the Marines October 6, 1942, and served in the South Pacific.
"Willie" enlisted on February 20, 1943, and took radio training at the U.S. Naval Air Station at Jacksonville, Florida. He was later assigned a position in the communications department in India.

Mrs. Bessie Ratliff, of Lebanon, was the mother of six who served in the Armed Forces. Her eldest son, William C., served in the Army, whereas Ernest Lee, Gerald Dean, Harvey Dale and Edward all served in the Navy.
Another son, Howard Douglas, spent his time in the Marines. He was killed on Okinawa June 21, 1945. He, along with his comrades, were getting ready to board their ship to come home when they were fired upon by Japanese foot soldiers. Ratliff was hit by a hand grenade and lived about two hours.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Bogan (the writers' grandparents), of Harveysburg, were the parents of four who served during World War II. Harold R. (Buck) was a bombardier in the 11th Air Depot Group. Carl R. (Bill) was in the 692nd Ambulance Company in Europe and Japan.
Robert S. (Bob) Bogan served in the 134th Parachute Maintenance Co. Charles W., Jr. (Becky), served in the 1918th Service Command Unit.

Pfc. Merriel H. Johnson, and his son, Pfc. Kenneth P. Johnson, of Mason, both joined the Armed Forces on the same day, December 8, 1942. Merriel graduated from the U.S. Army Postal School, while Kenneth undertook Radio Operators School at Scott Field, Ill.

Mr. and Mrs. Earl Sams, of near Lebanon, had three sons in the service, all three sergeants. Earl Everett Sams joined the Marines on March 4, 1942, and took his training at Parris Island.
Alvin Sams was inducted into the service in October 1942, and took training at Camp Livingston, La. Hubert was inducted in January 1943, and received training in the Armored Field Artillery at Camp Campbell, Ky.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles McComas were the parents of a four-star family. Robert, Mike, and Thomas served in the Marines while Paul served in the Army.

The three sons of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Russell, of near Lebanon, served in the Armed Forces. They were all top athletes in their time. Cecil was stationed at the Fresno Air Base as a gunner on a bomber.
Alvin joined the Army and served in the Infantry, whereas Heber served in the Field Artillery.

Two sons and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L.D. Harrold of Lebanon served in the Armed Forces. First Lt. Mary C. Harrold, a registered nurse, served with the Army Medical Corp.
Major Joseph Wiler Harrold served in the South Pacific with the Fighting 147th Infantry. Paul was inducted into the U.S. Navy.

The famous brother baseball battery team of "Orv" and "Vern," sons of Mr. and Mrs. M.R. Reynolds, were inducted into the Armed Forces January 6, 1943, at Fort Thomas, Ky. Vernon served in the Engineering Corps, while Orval served as an aerial gunner.

Charles Elmer Tietmeyer and his brother, Francis Eugene, were the sons of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Tietmeyer of Harveysburg. Both were stars on the Harveysburg championship basketball team many years ago.
Elmer was employed at the Farm Bureau at Glendale prior to his induction into the Army on July 15, 1942. Eugene was working at the N.C.R. in Dayton previous to his induction into the Army on January 18, 1943.

FOOTNOTES: [a place to add additional information that you might want to submit]

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This page created 14 September 2004 and last updated 28 September, 2008
© 2004 Arne H Trelvik  All rights reserved