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Show July, 1945 THE CENTERVILLE NEWSE7TE War Department News Releases Service News and Notes From the Mail Bug CENTERVILLE Wilford Sparks, a former Cen- terville boy, writes from Kitz-buhe- l, Austria: You will probably be very surprised at hearing from me as I have been away from Centerville for quite a while, but I still like to think of it as my home town as I have so many friends there and lived there for so long. your paper The Newsette every time it comes out, and I cant express my apreciation for it. I think it is really a swell paper and I really enjoy reading of the people I know so well, and used to pal around with. If you arent already figuring on it, I would suggest that you keep it going after the war, as even the end of the war is not going to bring all of us Centervillites back to the town we call our there was a lot of celebration there when the news came of Germanys surrender. It was indeed an important step to peace and security and I hope that it wont be long until Japan is also on her knees in total defeat, as Germany is now. After seeing the way they treated the people of the countries she conquered we can all thank God that the war is over here instead of in our own country. The division I am in came up through the Siegfried line and entered Germany at Daun and hit Schweinfurt, Wurzburg, besides Munchen Nurnberg and the smaller towns between. We were also in the liberating of the concentration Dachau camp, where they found 4000 dead bodies besides the people by the thousands that were only walking skeletons. These are the things that should be brought to light in the world to make sure that there is never another Nazi setup like this one. I am now in Kitzbuhel, Austria, the Hollywood of Europe. It is a beautiful city in the Alps, but of course it cant come near comparing with home. I dont know whether I will stay here, or go to the Pacific but hope to get home on a furlough before many months and then try the Pacific for a while. I often think of the good times I have had in Centerville, and as it is impossible to keep in contact through mail with my friends from there, it is really interesting to read about them in the Newsette. Take my word for it, it is a swell paper, and I wish you the best of luck, and keep up the good work. Field, Ardmore, D. Hogan, Eric Cpl. grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Arch Duncan of Centerville, Utah, is assigned to this 2nd A A F flying field, where he is completing the final phase of training as a gunner of a heavy bombardment unit. Cpl. Hogan entered the service on Feb. 18, 1943. He received Army Air Force gunnery training at A A F Las Vegas, Oka. Word was recently received that Pfc. Domnick Divino has been wounded in Germany. Domnick entered the service in July, 1943, and went overseas last January. This community joins Dom-nick- s grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Tony Pulli, in the hope that the Nev. V boys wounds are not serious. Air Base, Cairo, Egypt Sgt. Jay Streeper, recently was assigned to John H. Payne Field, Cairo, Egypt, for duty as an air- his latest letter to the Pullis 3 since the mis- & t$S5!$ h?p: Just ping you a line to let you know I am all right and hope you are the same. I plane mechanic. Payne field, the huge air terminal at Cairo, is the center for U S A A F Air Transport command traffic movements through the Middle East to the Asiatic theater of operations. With redeployment of material and . guess you probably know I am n the hospital by the time you get this letter. My bud d i e wrote you a letter last night telling what happened. I hit a 35 pound box mine and it threw me 15 feet up in the air. I didnt know where I was until I hit the ground. All the boys come over to see me at night. The company commander came over to see me yesterday and today. Well, Grandpa, all I have to say is, I am glad to be alive today. I guess God was with me when that mine went off, because there were 5 mines where I hit the ground, and if just one of them went off I wouldnt be writing this letter to you tonight. I am hoping you dont worry, because I will be all right one of these days. I am going to sleep right now if I can, but the pain does keep me awake all the . The nurses time surely do take care of me here. Also wounded at about the same time was Domnicks brother, Tony Divino, on Luzon. . . o . Z.V 11 . Ojj'll UN I) II ROLL v A T C We quote from home. I guess Army Air BOY WOUNDED My sister, LaVelle, sends me Page Three i The Newsette Honor Roll took a big jump last month. Shirley Randall, Oren Red Randall and Keith Shipley are all at Camp Hood, Texas, with the infantry, and Allen RedTingey is with the Merchant Marine on Catalina island. Meanwhile Lt. Dale P. Randall and Machinists Mate Wallace Smith have been released from the service. Wallace received a medical discharge, and Dale is temporarily released from active duty. manpower from Europe to the war against the Japanese, Sgt. Streeper will play a big part in the increased activity of the North African division of the Air Transport command. Sgt. Streeper is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Streeper of Centerville, Utah. Frank Tingey is on a furlough after being in the service since September, 1943. A member of the N A C ground crew, he went to Farragut, Sand Point, Wash., Bremerton, Wash., and overseas Dec. 7, 1943. He spent most of his time in the Hawaiian islands and on the aircraft carrier, the Ranger. His ship also dropped supplies on Okinawa after its invasion. Following his furlough, Frank will go to P B Y school at MemAMM 3-- c phis, Tenn. Dale Randall Released After 35 Missions Over Nazi Europe Back to civilian togs after over three years in the 8th A A F is Lt. Dale P. Randall, holder of the Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters and the Presidential Unit Citation, and pilot of the 7 Stormy Weather. Dale participated in 35 missions, was released from active duty last month. Besides flying in Stormy Weather he flew five or six missions in a plane with the nickname of Mary Jo Sugar-foo- t and also one named Ruth Marie. He entered the service June 9, 1942, and went overseas July 1, B-1- 1944. Most of Dales missions were over the heavily-bombe- d Ruhr valley, including such targets as Cologne, Dusseldorf, Schweinfurt, Hannover, Essen, Leipzig and others. My biggest impreshe said, was watching sion, the hundreds of bombers take off and head for Germany, on my first mission. Dale had several close escapes and a few amusing experiences. On our first mission, he relates, we lost one engine and decided to turn around and head for home rather than continue to the target. We were in the battle area so we dropped our eggs and headed back. In a lit1 tle while four Mustangs P-5- Turn to puge jour tue, a replica of a large statue which stands in Brussels, Belgium. We are sorry to learn that Lt. Col. Edgar W. Barber, of Denver, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Raguel Barber, has been sent to Bush-nehospital for treatment of injury to the vertabrae of the back. Lt. Col. Barbers injury was suffered at Guadalcanal after 19 months service in the South Pacific. His right arm is partially paralyzed as a result. He sent us a generous contribution for the Newsette which we humbly accept, and our assurance goes to him that Centerville is pulling for his injury to respond to treatment. ll j: Veteran of five battles in Europe with the famed First' Army, Cpl. Osro J. Smith is y home on a furlough before embarking for the Pacific. Osro did not have much to tell this correspondent about his experiences but it is known that the First Army, under Lt. General Courtney H. Hodges, distinguished itself no little. This was the army which led the drive through Belgium, secured the Remagen beachhead across the Rhine and linked up with the Russians in eastern Germany. Cpl. Smith saw few people from home while he was overseas. There were only two other Utahns in his group in the First Army. He did, however, have the good fortune of meeting and riding home from New York with Dale Smith. Osro has several souvenirs. They include a German flag which he personally climbed the flagpole to cut down, and for which he was offered $35 in New York; a German officers cap, a 30-da- German helmet, a German bayonet and a miniature bronze sta- - Friends of Sanona Hart Day, formerly of Centerville, will be saddened to learn of the death of her husband, Alma II. Day, Murray, on Okinawa, April 25. Sanona and her daughter, Alma Kayleen, live in Bountiful at present. Sgt. Franklin Walton was home for a few days last month before leaving for Lincoln, Neb., where he will train for overseas. The Medical Badge, along with the Silver Star, was awarded to S Sgt. Harold Stuart Steed, a member of the Army medical corps. |