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Show Volume IX Issue VIII The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 9 February 1, 2004 Eight Brothers Served for Peace By Sherman L. Hislop The Ogden Standard-Examiner headline on March 7, 1936 read “Germans Retake Rhineland.” Sunday dinner in Huntsville at the Hislop home was a big event. Dinner to the citizens of Ogden Valley meant the “noon meal.” It took place after Sunday morning meetings were over. March was the month for the birthdays of parents Henry and Mable Hislop, and their youngest daughter Jane. Mother had made a special effort for this Sunday dinner. It included mashed potatoes, gravy, roast beef, peas, carrots, a large chocolate cake for the three birthdays, and a two-quart jar of raspberries. Raspberries in the Valley were a delightful desert, especially to go with chocolate cake. A couple of days before this Sunday dinner, the newspaper had the details of the German Army moving back into the Rhineland. At the dinner table Henry stated, “This doesn’t look good. There will be another war, and some of our boys will have to go.” Of their ten boys, six were sitting around the table. Two of their sons were married and had families of their own, and two others, Jack and Que, were away working. Mable responded “That is not good. With so many boys, probably one or two of them may have to go.” My father p a u s e d b e f o r e responding Jack Hislop “With all the boys, just having one or two go into the army might not be so bad. But with the family we have, it may be at least three or four.” To those of us sitting around the table, a future war didn’t bother us much. We had all been born after WWI. War was something we saw in movies, or when we played cowboys and Indians in the neighborhood. But the war did come—on December 6, 1941. It was not three or four of Henry and Mable’s sons who would go away to war. The war was too big, and they had too many healthy boys who were mentally and physically capable of fighting for and defending their county. Eight sons would serve in WWII. They would serve in all theaters, from the Pacific Islands, Australia, New Guinea, the Philippines, Mariana; and to Okinawa and Japan. They would have a son serve in the China/Burma theater with the Combat Engineers building the Lado road to carry supplies into China. One son would serve in the Merchant Marines ferrying supplies to the Aleutian Islands where the Japanese had actually put troops on American soil. Two sons would also serve in England and in Europe. Following is a summary of each son’s service. The Government established the draft in 1940 to increase the size of the army. Such a recruit was supposed to serve for twelve months, and then he could return to civilian life. Jack, b e i n g recently divorced, decided to get his one year of service over immediately. He entered the Army In Que Hislop July of 1941 and was assigned to the Coast Artillery in California. An advantage of the assignment was that when the war started, the concern of a possible invasion by the Japanese gave the Coast Artillery a high priority. After serving in California for over two years, Jack believed he was not adequately serving his country. The way to get a new assignment was to volunteer for “high priority training.” That included the paratroopers. Jack was transferred to the paratroopers at Fort Bennin, Georgia. Jack later said, “One parachute jump cured me of that desire, because parachute jumping was more dangerous than any bucking horse I’d ever tried to ride!” Jack resigned from the paratroopers and was assigned to General Patton’s army, which invaded France three days of D-day. Jack served over one and a half years in Patton’s army, from the French coast to the Elbe River where they would eventually meet the Russians. Jack was a staff sergeant and was assigned as a platoon leader. During the Battle of the Bulge, Patton had part of his army move from central France to aid in the battle. They never had to attack because the Germans were surrounded and surrendered. Jack’s platoon was the first to find and enter a concentration camp. It was on the outskirts of a German city. Jack, at first, thought it was a military encampment that had been evacuated. He told of coming to a THINK OF THE FUTURE The Ogden Valley Land Trust a non-profit organization For more information, Call (801) 745-2048 barbed-wire enclosure where there were many barracks-like buildings. There were no guards or other security. His platoon broke through the gate and tore open the doors to some of the barracks. He tells of finding stacked bunks packed and filled with the sick and dying, with many already dead. At least one half were already deceased. Most of the others were too weak to move. They were living in their own filth. The situation was such that even some battle hardened veterans couldn’t stand the conditions. Many went outside the barracks and lost control of their stomachs. Some stronger inmates crawled outside the barracks and ate grass. The American soldiers offered to share their rations, but he prisoners couldn’t hold down any solid foods due to their poor physical condition. Senior officers arrived and took immediate action. They brought the town Burgermeister (mayor), his wife, and some town members to see the conditions of the camp. They claimed they didn’t know what was going on. However, the Burgermeister and his wife went home and committed suicide. When Jack’s platoon reached the Elbe River, German resistance had nearly ceased. Jack’s platoon actually crossed the Elbe, but were called back, as the Russians were to control everything east of the river. At the Elbe, Jack noted the following. In the beginning they patrolled the west bank against possible German counter attacks. However, Germans would come to the east BROTHERS cont. on page 10 Historical Photo George Madsen’s Ice Cream Parlor in 1918. Photo courtesy of Gordon K. Madsen of Granada Hills, California. The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS is looking for Ogden Valley and Ogden Canyon historical biographies, stories, and photos to use in its publication. Please mail, email, or call Shanna at 745-2688, or Jeannie at 745-2879 if you have material that you would be willing to share. KEN TURNER OGDEN VALLEY SPECIALIST Multi-Million Dollar Producer President’s Club Award Winner - Sales Master 801.710.8800 turner@relia.net Eden Office at Valley Market SOLD! SOLD! Lot #3 Emerson Hills Lot #49 Radford Hills For more properties visit: www.OgdenValleyProperties.com |
