Show news from our boys in the A armed service vern D applegate awarded order of purple heart headquarters of the first cavalry division on leyte eriv private a te fi first rs t class avem vern vem D Aple gaite son of jas applegate of f Par carowan parowan Pa rowan Gwan utah has been awarded the order of the purple heart for wounds received in action in the philippines the award was made by major general verne D mudge commanding general of the first cavalry division which vern belonged to the purple heart awarded to vern has been sent home to his father who received it more than a month ago vern was wounded in the battle of leyte on december 19 and although the wound was reported as a minor one he was vvs still in the hospital when he wrote his last letter home on february ath he has moved forward with his division since going over seas two y years ears ago next july to new guinea the admiralty island and thence to leyte on the philippines leonard E hulet made 2nd and lt LI at european troop carrier base A U S troop carrier base europe leonard E hulet of utah has been commissioned as a second lieutenant at this troop carrier airstrip in europe the veteran glider pilot is a member of the troop carrier group a unit of maj general paul L williams U S troop carrier forces he flew aglid er borne troops into normandy on D day plus one day into the riveria in august and holland in september when the first allied airborne army made its battle debut with a thrust at the german flank in the netherlands following these missions he was awarded the air medal with two oak leaf clusters and the troop carrier group received a presidential unit citation for outstanding performance of duty in action against the enemy the utah flyer is a son of mr and mrs R W hulet of parowan carowan Pa rowan and is a graduate of the parowan carowan high school he entered the armed forces in october 1941 and commenced training as a glider pilot in july 1942 in february 1943 he received his wings and commission at dalhart texas and after various training assignments in the united states was sent to england early in 1944 to participated in pro pre invasion maneuvers with his squadron another parowan carowan native enjoys visit with his mother and family the following item concerning a former resident of parowan who is now a member of the eighth air force with headquarters in england was home recently to visit with his mother mrs MM marguerite I 1 fox of circleville Cir cleville mrs fox sent the news item in a couple of weeks ago it ane mislaid millaid mi and we h have ave just found fouad it although sorry for its being late we are still happy to print it now it is as follows hugh son of mrs george fox of cir cleville arrived home recently after completing 35 bombing missions over enemy occupied territory as radio operator and gunner ona B 24 liberator battle dragon he has been based in hi england mgt was overseas for seven months and has the air medal and five oak leaf clusters for combat hours he is a graduate of the piute diute high school and attended the BAC at cedar city prior to his enlistment in the army air corps mrs fox and her son and other members of the family were over to parowan carowan and cedar city one day while hugh was home she states that jay is stationed at a north carolina training camp in the field artillery and that another of her sons dick is in the philippines with macarthurs Mac Arthurs army chaplain L marsden durham describes leyte leyle campaign washington D C to a member of the general commission on army and navy chaplains washington D C chaplain L marsden durham has sent an account of the manner in which his division fared during the 32 days following the early landings on leyte the chaplain who would not exchange the insignia of the cross which he wears on his collar for the five stars of a general considers nothing else so important as throwing about men in the service the moral and spiritual sarfe safeguards of religion chaplain durham is an 0 ordained missionary of the church of jesus jesu christ of latter day saints he is a native of parowan carowan Pa rowan iron county utah following his graduation from the east salt lake high school he be entered the university of utah from which he was graduated with highest honors in 1940 from 1940 1941 chaplain durham was in residence at the graduate school of arts and sciences harvard university while there he was awarded the dante prize by the dante society of boston in september 1941 he was ordained and set apart as a missionary and began serving under the direction of judge gustave A iverson in the eastern states mission while serving the church with continued to back page NEWS FROM SERVICE MEN continued from front page at philadelphia he was a member of the mormon male quartet which made many appearances on religious lous patriotic patri olio otia and social occasions along the atlantic seaboard chaplain durham was president of the east penn district of the eastern states mission when he received a chaplain durham sets forth his hl reasons far his preference for a to that of any other office in the army as follows the division to which I 1 am at landing in the philippines and hel hei c ed d make possible general macar thurs 1 I have returned I 1 came in with my unlit unit which comprised part 0 of f the assault troops in the filth fifth wave in the subsequent thirty two days on the front lines I 1 learned the nature of war sherman was right light war I 1 is hell I 1 know that my guardian angel kept a constant vigil and I 1 am grateful to the lord for the preservation of my life I 1 have been in several tight spots yet feel that I 1 was blessed to look in ithe right direction at the time I 1 have saad from the beginning and I 1 repeat again that I 1 have as a chaplain the best job the army has to offer immediately after my release as a missionary I 1 returned to harvard to attend the chaplain school upon completion of the six week course I 1 was ordered to duty with a division at camp white oregon from camp white we were shunted back and forth through california we left the states in mid july and in due time sailed into honolulu harbor without benefit of flowered leis strummed strummer strum med guitars or grass hula girls all that stopped with pearl harbor we left hawaii with some regrets knowing we were headed for we knew not what and yet a little anxious and eager for combat with the spirit of lets get it over I 1 think we sailed over more miles of water than I 1 imagined or cared to imagine existed it was a new experience peri ence to lose a calendar day by crossing the international date line and even more novel to cross the equator and change my status from a lowly scummy pollywog to that of one of neptunus Nep tunes trusty shell backs in a colorful if slightly painful initiation ceremony in garrison life I 1 learned that a chaplain had a certain worth in combat I 1 found however that worth enhanced and magnified for in corn com chaplain can be the spark bat a plug and nerve center of an organization him ham his the men rely on the battle scene iz is very presence on an asset and a nod to this man i a smile to that a word of pray prayer r with another and a comforting arm thrown about still another combine to fortify and replenish the spiritual needs of the men this has been my experience and and men are more conscious of that need in their life th they e y ask tor for religious religions services conducted 5 yesterday all well attended and ministrations and ive had a lot a 01 joy working with them combat taught us to love one another and it appreciation As in the taught us mission field music has played an important role in my work combat has been rough for nights on end we slept in foxholes fox holes in water up to our head and we were grateful when it rained only two inches a day ive crawled over rice paddles paddies and bogs with mud shoulder deep moving along by placing a stretcher on the surface craw crawling ling its length and then repeating the process you can imagine our difficulties with the wounded but through all the trials I 1 hear a complaint from the men the bonded were heroic in the acceptance of their misfortune and I 1 am all admiration for the pluck and grit of the american soldier |