James Shipley came of age in the once segregated, rural community of Tipton, Missouri. When just a young man working for a local mechanic, a chance meeting at his local post office in the early 1940s inspired his enlistment in the 301st Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group—an all-black organization that would go on to earn the famed moniker of both “Redtails” and “Tuskegee Airmen” during the Second World War. As a mechanic with the 332nd, this book highlights Shipley’s time in training in the United States, follows him through his service at airfields in Italy and his return home after the end of the war. Previous works on the Tuskegee Airmen have often focused on the experience of the pilots and officers who served in the 332nd, but rarely provides insight into the integral contributions of the enlisted mechanics such as Shipley. Together as One shares of the story of Shipley and the unspoken heroes, recording their dedication to the aviation success of the Tuskegee Airmen even when they had to live and work within a military framework that once denied them some of the very freedoms for which they fought.
Bryce Lockwood has amassed a trove of unique military experiences during a brief span of time. Born on a small farm in rural New York State in 1939, he graduated from high school in Afton, New York in 1957. He soon made the decision to enlist in the Marine Corps and, in 1960, married his fiancee, Lois. In the next few years, his military career led to language school in Monterey, California, where he completed Russian linguist training followed by Cold War assignments in locations such as Scotland, Turkey and the former West Germany. However, the most unforgettable moment of his military assignments came with temporary orders for service aboard the USS Liberty - a U.S. intelligence ship. While serving as a Russian linguist aboard the vessel, he lived through an attack by Israeli warplanes and torpedo boats during the Six-Day War, resulting in the deaths of 34 and wounding 174 Americans. As the only U.S. Marine to survive the incident, Lockwood became the recipient of a Silver Star medal for rescuing three sailors trapped in flooded compartments in addition to receiving a Purple Heart for severe burns incurred in a torpedo explosion. Lockwood later served a tour in Vietnam and, in 1971, received a medical retirement after thirteen years of service. In recent years, he has sought the truth behind the unprovoked assault on the USS Liberty, which left many of his friends severely wounded or dead. In recent decades, Lockwood has joined other Liberty survivors in petitioning Congress for an open and thorough investigation of the attack.
In 1908, Camp Clark came into existence when it was established as the State Rifle Range in Nevada, Missouri, and quickly progressed into the primary marksmanship training and encampment site for the Missouri National Guard. On August 5, 1917, when the entire National Guard of the United States was drafted into federal service for World War I, the camp became a mobilization and early training site for more than 10,000 Missouri National Guard soldiers. With the passing of Brig. Gen. Harvey C. Clark, a beloved adjutant general, the location was officially renamed Camp Clark in his honor. Aviator Charles Lindbergh, who acquired worldwide fame for his transatlantic flight in 1927, spent time training at Camp Clark in the 1920s. During World War II, the camp fell under federal control and became an internment site for Italian and German prisoners of war. In the years after the war, the camp underwent various expansions but continues to serve as a training location for various Missouri National Guard units and, in recent years, has even been utilized for pre-mobilization training.
The accounts described within Show-Me Veterans help to inspire an acknowledgment and appreciate of all veterans who have served Missouri and the United States. Many of these men and women voluntarily enlisted, oftentimes through the encouragement of a parent or loved one who served in the military. Others, perhaps, were drafted, thus being compelled into service but performing their assigned duties in an admirable fashion and without qualm or hesitation. These Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen, Coast Guardsmen and Merchant Marines - along with our Gold Star veterans who either came home under a flag-draped coffin or those whose remains were never recovered - all deserve the public's unwavering respect, for they are the pride of the Show-Me State. It is the author's intent that these stories - spanning the Civil War and carrying forth into more recent conflicts - encourage others to search within their own family circles and communities for forgotten military legacies that need to be resurrected and shared with future generations. No single work can, in any way, fully capture the bravery and highlight the sacrifices of our state's military heroes, but this compilation provides an introduction to the lives of the men and women who have gone forth into harm's way, preserving the freedoms that we have enjoyed since Missouri became the twenty-first state admitted to the Union in 1821.
Central Missouri possesses a bounty of history regarding brave men and women who have served in the armed forces. Although no work can capture all aspects of the sacrifices made, this compilation presents many of the heroes that have lived among us.
Ground breaking for Camp Crowder occurred on August 30, 1941, led by the engineering firm of Burns and McDonnell, of Kansas City, Missouri. During World War II, Camp Crowder became the duty location for contingents of the Women's Army Corps, the home to a Signal Corps Replacement Training Center, and provided basic training to new recruits. While thousands of Signal Corps recruits trained on the nearly 43,000-acre site, a prisoner of war camp was created to house more than 2,000 prisoners, the majority of whom were captured German soldiers. Camp Crowder's legacy has been perpetuated through the decades by the late Mort Walker, creator of the iconic Beetle Bailey comic strip, who received inspiration for his fictional Camp Swampy while stationed at the camp in 1943. Additionally, episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show paid homage to Camp Crowder since the show's creator, Carl Reiner, spent time there in World War II. In later years, much of the camp's original property became home to Crowder College while 4,358 acres has been retained by the Missouri National Guard for use as a training site.
Missouri veterans continue to demonstrate their unwavering dedication to both the state and the nation. Theirs is a legacy that stretches forth from the Revolutionary War service of frontiersman Daniel Boone to William Clark, of the famed Lewis and Clark Expedition. During the Civil War, the state became a hotbed of opposing views, as men--such as the notorious Jesse James--joined bands of guerilla fighters who fought to further the cause of the Confederacy. Years later, famed generals, such as William Tecumseh Sherman, chose the state as their final resting site following their dedicated service to the Union during the Civil War. It is a tradition emphasized by the military service of a future president, Harry S. Truman, who enlisted to serve his nation as an artillery officer in the First World War. Found in this book are the images that demonstrate many of the memorials and monuments situated throughout Missouri, highlighting the plentiful and impressive military legacy of the Show-Me State.
In 1993, a rural Missouri community becomes the bloody backdrop for the crime thriller Wounds of Injustice. John Gerber, a Marine Corps veteran who served as a sniper during the Vietnam War, is married to his second wife, Carol, who becomes involved in a sordid affair with a local sheriff's deputy. Fearful her husband will file for divorce and attempt to seize custody of their young son if the illicit relationship is discovered, Carol and the deputy stage a litany of events designed to place John behind bars, thereby granting her full custody of her son and the freedom to continue the relationship with her new lover. When John later learns of the relationship and recognizes the plans designed to remove him from his son's life, he embarks upon a crusade to restore the justice he believes is being stripped from him. The consequences of depraved decisions leave several families devastated by murders while a young boy later comes of age, unintentionally following in the footsteps of a father he was taught to despise
The aold-timersa of the Midwest have often claimed that a talent usually skips a generation or two, but this is certainly not the case considering the poetic prowess of Donley and Jeremy Amick. This fantastic collection of poetry from a phenomenal father and son team proves that although still waters often run deep, this duo has left a choppy wake of poetic influence that cannot be easily dismissed. Serve hot, lightly pepper and enjoy this rare genetically influenced treat with your favorite adult beverage.
The Houses Lutherans Built Large groups of German immigrants began arriving in Cole County in the 1830s. By 1843, thirty-seven of them banded together to establish the first Lutheran church in the county--Zion Church. The following year, the second Lutheran church was founded near Taos, while the pastors at Zion helped establish a third congregation in Lohman in the 1850s. Doctrinal disputes inspired members to leave the church in Lohman and establish a new Lutheran congregation in Stringtown after the Civil War. Over the generations, Zion--the "Mother Church"--disbanded but other Lutheran congregations developed in Centertown, Honey Creek, Russellville, Jefferson City and near Brazito. Local author Jeremy Amick details the rich history of Lutherans in Cole County.
Hank Stratman's life is one characterized by leadership opportunities. Coming of age during the Vietnam War and the Cold War in Europe, he attended college, deferring his military service and achieving an ROTC commission to grant himself some control over his fate if deployed to Vietnam. Cadet Stratman excelled at ROTC Summer Camp and qualified to lead Lincoln University's ROTC battalion in his senior year and, in December 1972, was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Field Artillery. Married with one child and another on the way, he and his wife ventured into the uncertain military service world, confident - yet apprehensive about what they might encounter in the Army. The officer embraced many challenging assignments, earning the trust and confidence of his senior officers, who inspired him to remain in the Army. As a soldier, he made the transition from a tactical nuclear missile system to cannon artillery, served in Germany and South Korea during the Cold War, and was later selected for battalion command - a milestone achievement surpassed only by his unit's combat performance in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. In the years after the collapse of Yugoslavia, he serviced two peacekeeping missions in Bosnia. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, he fulfilled key roles in the defeat of the Taliban in Afghanistan and establishment of the combat theater in the Middle East for Operation Iraqi Freedom. His final tour of duty was in Baghdad, serving with the U.S. Embassy to establish Iraq's governance. In 2006, he retired as a major general with three decades of military service, demonstrating that a farm boy from rural Vienna, Missouri, could take on the many diverse, global challenges and consistently succeed. HOOAH!
In the fall of 1944, with a number of battles unfolding throughout Europe and the Pacific, Roger Dean Buchta quietly entered the world at a time when the turmoil of World War II consumed newspaper headlines. Born on his family's farm near the rural German-Lutheran community of Lohman, Missouri, he graduated from Russellville High School in 1962, then choosing to continue his education at Lincoln University in Jefferson City. Finishing his bachelor's degree in the spring of 1966, he was soon snared by the draft and sent to Fort Hood, Texas for basic combat training. From there, he trained as a combat medic at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The Vietnam War was in full swing and Buchta was among thousands of troops deployed overseas. He arrived at a military base located near Qui Nhon, South Vietnam in October 1967, and, weeks later, transferred to the base at Cu Chi while attached to the 542nd Medical Company It was here that he experienced the Christmas miracle of the birth of Vietnamese twins. The hospital to which he was attached moved to a new base at Lai Khe, where, in late January 1968, the medic received his baptism by fire during the famed Tet Offensive. In the coming months, he witnessed the worst of humanity while treating a variety of patients, wounds and injuries. Following his discharge in late 1968, Buchta earned his master's degree and taught at Russellville High School for twenty-seven years. Thanks in part to detailed letters he wrote home before and during the war, this biography provides a clear depiction of his experiences in a combat zone and reveals insight to the quiet and reserved nature that came to define him in the years after the war.
Jefferson City has a unique and enduring legacy of brave individuals banding together to answer the nation's call to arms. The Missouri National Guard's Company L, 2nd Infantry mobilized in support of the Mexican Border War in 1916 and later federalized for deployment during the Great War. Local youth scrambled to recruiting stations for a chance to join in the fray against Germany and Japan during World War II. Later, brave residents found themselves in the Korea peninsula or the jungles of Vietnam. It is clear that the Jefferson City community has a history of embracing the groundswell of patriotic pride that emerges in support of those who chose to fight--and sometimes lay down their lives--for a cause they view as greater than themselves.
Found in this book are the postcards that demonstrate the military tradition of the state of Missouri and the people and events that represent the stories, which are woven together into the colorful tapestry that has become our shared history"--Provided by publisher.
The state of Missouri played a unique role in World War I--as the birthplace of Gen. John J. Pershing, the commanding officer of the American Expeditionary Forces, and Maj. Gen. Enoch Crowder, the primary author of the military draft--and it is an impressive legacy featuring a colorful cast of characters, events, and communities. Missouri was home to two flying aces of the war as well as Bennett Champ Clark, the youngest colonel in the American Expeditionary Forces and the first national commander of the American Legion. During the war, the state was home to farms and ranches that provided an army of mules that assisted Allied forces in hauling critical materials and equipment in the harshest of conditions. Additionally, 156,000 of the state's citizens served in the military with approximately 10,000 wounded or killed in action.
Over fifty years ago, a beautiful plot of ground just north of Mocksville, North Carolina was a cornfield that produced a bountiful harvest. Over the last five decades, a harvest of a different kind has taken place. This land has been transformed into a field ripe with opportunities to reach lost people and equip believers in Christ. What began as a vision to start a mission in 1960 has developed into a life-changing, world-reaching organization of people who share a common bond in Christ Jesus. While the soil on the ground is the same as in yesteryear, the people have been touched by the hand of God and appointed for His service .... They are Blaise Baptist Church. Blaise Baptist Church is... ..".always striving to be the hands and feet of Jesus to people, here, near and far."-Debbie Drayton ..". a light upon a hill."-Loyd Rollins ..".a church that revolves around a love for God, and a love for others."-Austin Bearden ..". a church that strives to please the Lord and a wonderful Christian home for us: especially for our children to learn and live the Truth."-Luwonna Oakes ..". a church that is a good church that I love. I can learn about Jesus and I like it."-Keelyn Oakes, age 5 ..". a lighthouse in an increasingly dark and stormy world."-Steve Garnett ..". the place where God has grown me, taught me, shaped me, convinced me of His love."-Jordan Reavis Plowing New Ground is a compilation that includes historical perspectives from each decade, leadership spotlights, descriptions of ministries that have developed, and the testimonies of over one hundred people affiliated with this church.
Bryce Lockwood has amassed a trove of unique military experiences during a brief span of time. Born on a small farm in rural New York State in 1939, he graduated from high school in Afton, New York in 1957. He soon made the decision to enlist in the Marine Corps and, in 1960, married his fiancee, Lois. In the next few years, his military career led to language school in Monterey, California, where he completed Russian linguist training followed by Cold War assignments in locations such as Scotland, Turkey and the former West Germany. However, the most unforgettable moment of his military assignments came with temporary orders for service aboard the USS Liberty - a U.S. intelligence ship. While serving as a Russian linguist aboard the vessel, he lived through an attack by Israeli warplanes and torpedo boats during the Six-Day War, resulting in the deaths of 34 and wounding 174 Americans. As the only U.S. Marine to survive the incident, Lockwood became the recipient of a Silver Star medal for rescuing three sailors trapped in flooded compartments in addition to receiving a Purple Heart for severe burns incurred in a torpedo explosion. Lockwood later served a tour in Vietnam and, in 1971, received a medical retirement after thirteen years of service. In recent years, he has sought the truth behind the unprovoked assault on the USS Liberty, which left many of his friends severely wounded or dead. In recent decades, Lockwood has joined other Liberty survivors in petitioning Congress for an open and thorough investigation of the attack.
Life is like the inspirational words of wisdom and insanity you find scrawled by a late-night drunk upon the stalls of a dingy bathroom inside a homely bar. You often expect to glean much from it, but wind up disappointed and chagrined when, in actuality, it fails to meet your expectations. Other times, you are pleasantly surprised by the profound insights and perceptions you encounter, which are based upon experience and other questionable influences. This eventually leaves you to embrace the insanity that will bring it all into a convoluted focus. Let these poems guide you through this disjointed journey and assist you in joining the masses parading through this confused, yet oftentimes satisfying, nightmare we tend to call aLife.a
The Midwestern experience is often viewed from the outside as somewhat pedestrian and dull. This collection of poems outlines the oscillation between the pleasures and burdens that can occur almost on a daily basis in this most eccentric region of the American landscape. From lost love and the questioning of a higher power, to sex and the raising of children, or even thoughts about Vikings and Scottish castles, this book highlights many of the experiences that we have all shared and binds us together with a common understanding of what it really is to be human.
Two months prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a young man from the rural farming community of Henley, Missouri received his draft notice and, within the passage of days, was inducted as a soldier in the U.S. Army. Though Norbert Gerling entered the service for a one-year term, Pearl Harbor changed everything, thus compelling him to remain in the military for the duration of the war. This book chronicles Gerling's initial training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and his eventual assignment to Company C, 609th Tank Destroyer Battalion. The veteran describes his experiences traveling 1,200 miles across the battered European landscape as a gunner aboard an M-18 Hellcat tank destroyer. Based upon reflections and interviews with the late Sergeant Gerling, and cross-referenced with scores of historical resources, this book affords the reader the opportunity to follow Gerling from the receipt of his draft notice to his landing on Utah Beach in September 1944. It continues with his participation in the Battle of the Bulge, his receipt of a Bronze Star medal for his role in the rescue of a stranded tank and concludes with his time spent as a member of the occupational forces in Germany prior to his return home. This is a story of a young man who experienced the hardships of combat with a tank destroyer battalion- a unique military organization that was born and phased-out all within the period of World War II.
History provides many notable examples of individuals rising above tragedy to accomplish great things in their lives, never allowing worry or regret to prevent them from seizing an opportunity. The life of the late Don D. Pittman serves as an ideal example of someone who refused to falter when faced with a challenge and, through perseverance, went on to serve in several key positions in the U.S. Air Force during the Cold War. Born on Halloween of 1925, Pittman's mother passed away in childbirth and his father soon left town, leaving the infant boy to be raised by his grandparents in Jefferson City, Missouri. He would go on to graduate from a local Catholic high school and enlist as an aviation cadet in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. Earning his wings as a transport pilot, he participated in relief flights during the famed Berlin Airlift before making the transition to jet aircraft and later completing two tours as a command pilot in the Vietnam War. Demonstrating his capacity for leadership, Pittman ascended through the offi cer ranks, eventually commanding U.S. Air Forces, Korea and the 24th NORAD Region. When his thirtyfive year career ended in 1978, he had achieved the esteemed rank of two-star general. Major General Pittman's service characterizes the dedication of a member of the "Greatest Generation" -- a patriotic citizen whose life was defined by accomplishment and, through his uniformed service, ascended hardship and misfortune to achieve great success in his military career.
Found in this book are the postcards that demonstrate the military tradition of the state of Missouri and the people and events that represent the stories, which are woven together into the colorful tapestry that has become our shared history"--Provided by publisher.
Missouri veterans continue to demonstrate their unwavering dedication to both the state and the nation. Theirs is a legacy that stretches forth from the Revolutionary War service of frontiersman Daniel Boone to William Clark, of the famed Lewis and Clark Expedition. During the Civil War, the state became a hotbed of opposing views, as men--such as the notorious Jesse James--joined bands of guerilla fighters who fought to further the cause of the Confederacy. Years later, famed generals, such as William Tecumseh Sherman, chose the state as their final resting site following their dedicated service to the Union during the Civil War. It is a tradition emphasized by the military service of a future president, Harry S. Truman, who enlisted to serve his nation as an artillery officer in the First World War. Found in this book are the images that demonstrate many of the memorials and monuments situated throughout Missouri, highlighting the plentiful and impressive military legacy of the Show-Me State.
James Shipley came of age in the once segregated, rural community of Tipton, Missouri. When just a young man working for a local mechanic, a chance meeting at his local post office in the early 1940s inspired his enlistment in the 301st Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group—an all-black organization that would go on to earn the famed moniker of both “Redtails” and “Tuskegee Airmen” during the Second World War. As a mechanic with the 332nd, this book highlights Shipley’s time in training in the United States, follows him through his service at airfields in Italy and his return home after the end of the war. Previous works on the Tuskegee Airmen have often focused on the experience of the pilots and officers who served in the 332nd, but rarely provides insight into the integral contributions of the enlisted mechanics such as Shipley. Together as One shares of the story of Shipley and the unspoken heroes, recording their dedication to the aviation success of the Tuskegee Airmen even when they had to live and work within a military framework that once denied them some of the very freedoms for which they fought.
Jefferson City has a unique and enduring legacy of brave individuals banding together to answer the nation's call to arms. The Missouri National Guard's Company L, 2nd Infantry mobilized in support of the Mexican Border War in 1916 and later federalized for deployment during the Great War. Local youth scrambled to recruiting stations for a chance to join in the fray against Germany and Japan during World War II. Later, brave residents found themselves in the Korea peninsula or the jungles of Vietnam. It is clear that the Jefferson City community has a history of embracing the groundswell of patriotic pride that emerges in support of those who chose to fight--and sometimes lay down their lives--for a cause they view as greater than themselves.
In 1908, Camp Clark came into existence when it was established as the State Rifle Range in Nevada, Missouri, and quickly progressed into the primary marksmanship training and encampment site for the Missouri National Guard. On August 5, 1917, when the entire National Guard of the United States was drafted into federal service for World War I, the camp became a mobilization and early training site for more than 10,000 Missouri National Guard soldiers. With the passing of Brig. Gen. Harvey C. Clark, a beloved adjutant general, the location was officially renamed Camp Clark in his honor. Aviator Charles Lindbergh, who acquired worldwide fame for his transatlantic flight in 1927, spent time training at Camp Clark in the 1920s. During World War II, the camp fell under federal control and became an internment site for Italian and German prisoners of war. In the years after the war, the camp underwent various expansions but continues to serve as a training location for various Missouri National Guard units and, in recent years, has even been utilized for pre-mobilization training.
The state of Missouri played a unique role in World War I--as the birthplace of Gen. John J. Pershing, the commanding officer of the American Expeditionary Forces, and Maj. Gen. Enoch Crowder, the primary author of the military draft--and it is an impressive legacy featuring a colorful cast of characters, events, and communities. Missouri was home to two flying aces of the war as well as Bennett Champ Clark, the youngest colonel in the American Expeditionary Forces and the first national commander of the American Legion. During the war, the state was home to farms and ranches that provided an army of mules that assisted Allied forces in hauling critical materials and equipment in the harshest of conditions. Additionally, 156,000 of the state's citizens served in the military with approximately 10,000 wounded or killed in action.
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