‘Loyal to his country’ - Missouri farmer served as munitions handler in Europe during WWII4/22/2020 ![]() When visiting with veterans from any era, it is easy to discern the camaraderie that exists among those who shared a history of grueling experiences. For those who have served overseas during a period of war, being away from loved ones seems to help cement the bond that exists between those in uniform and highlights the reality that veterans oftentimes choose only to share their stories with fellow veterans. When returning from their service, these individuals focused on the civilian endeavors they previously left behind. Although they went on to marry, grow their families and build respectable careers, many passed away years later, leaving behind few insights into their military experiences, as was the case with the late August Rockelman. Born on a farm near Russellville, Missouri, on August 19, 1916, Rockelman was within the age range that mandated his registration for the military draft in late 1941. In the next few weeks, the United States was drawn into World War II and began the largest mobilization of troops in the nation’s history. “He belonged to the VFW in California and the American Legion post in Russellville after war, but he never talked to me much about his service,” said his wife, the late Dorothy Rockelman. “Since he was really active with those groups, I’m sure they shared their stories with each other.” According to Rockelman’s military discharge papers, the ubiquitous draft finally snatched the young farmer only a few months after the declaration of war, necessitating his induction into the Army at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis on April 30, 1942. The recruit was later assigned to the 13th Chemical Maintenance Company (CMC), which, according to the Center of Military History for the United States Army, was activated at Camp Rucker, Alabama, on June 1, 1942. While there, Rockelman underwent the training to become a munitions handler, learning to safely handle different types of ammunition and explosives. Rockelman’s company remained at Camp Rucker through February 1943, at which time they traveled to Camp Young, California, for training to prepare them for overseas service in the coming months. As explained by the U.S Army’s Center of Military History in the book “The Chemical Warfare Service: Organizing for War,” training was a key reality for these soldiers since “units had to know how to live in the field as well as how to perform their technical functions in the field. They had to be able to pack and transport their equipment—whether a chemical laboratory or a smoke generator—and to set up and begin operations where needed in the combat zone.” This book goes on to explain that the 13th CMC to which Rockelman was assigned, was considered a ground service unit “intended to perform technical or service functions of noncombatant nature with the field force” and with the focus of limiting “the effectiveness of hostile gas attacks…” In the fall of 1943, with their training complete, Rockelman and his fellow soldiers departed their training site in California and went on to serve nearly two years in Europe. The veteran would earn five bronze campaign stars in support of operations including the Ardennes, Normandy, Rhineland, Central Europe and Northern France. Although the 13th CMC was not a frontline combat unit such as those glamorized and glorified through scores of Hollywood blockbuster war films, the company’s efforts were recognized by the military leadership as having played an essential role in averting a potentially deadly threat. In postwar reflection, the U.S. Army Center of Military History acknowledged that one might question whether so many chemical units were necessary since the outcome for which they trained never surfaced. However, the center noted, a delay in the “activation of chemical troops would have been dangerous in that it could easily have encouraged the Axis powers, especially Germany, to initiate gas warfare.” The war ended in Europe with the surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945, but the 13th CMC remained in Germany as part of the occupational forces. Rockelman returned to the United States and received his discharge from the Army on October 16, 1945. The veteran soon shifted his focus back to raising cattle, crop farming and earned an Institutional On-Farm Training Certificate through night courses offered by the Department of Education at Russellville High School in 1951. The following year, he married Dorothy Hiemeyer, with whom he raised two children. In the years after the war, Rockelman continued to pursue available educational opportunities and put into practice many of the lessons learned on his farm. In addition to his agricultural endeavors, he remained actively involved with Trinity Lutheran Church in Russellville; however, provided little reflection into the details of his overseas service in World War II. “He always remained very active and dedicated to the VFW and the American Legion and even served as the flag bearer in several parades,” explained Rockelman’s wife. “But even through all of that involvement, he never talked much about the war and he certainly never wanted to travel to Europe again.” Gently, she added, “Regardless, he was always very loyal to his country, church and community.” August “Augie” Rockelman passed away on May 13, 2006 and was laid to rest with military honors in Trinity Lutheran Cemetery near Russellville. Dorothy passed away August 14, 2017 and was laid to rest alongside her husband. Jeremy P. Ämick writes on behalf of the Silver Star Families of America.
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‘Would do it again’ Veteran served as weapons technician aboard Air Force gunship in Vietnam4/22/2020 ![]() When Larry Alderson finished his high school education at Worth County R-1 near Grant City, Missouri, in the spring of 1966, he felt that his greatest competency was in drafting. He went on to spend a year in drafting courses at a local business college before applying his skills while employed in the office of a farm implement company in Independence. “I was there for about eight months or so when I got my draft notice,” said Alderson. “That’s when I went and talked to an Air Force recruiter and he advised me to take my induction physical and then come see him.” He added, “The recruiter said he’d take care of everything else from there.” The recruiter was true to his word and Alderson was inducted into the U.S. Air Force in Kansas City on July 25, 1968. He was then sent to Amarillo Air Base, Texas, to complete several weeks of basic training. As Alderson explained, he was one of the last classes to finish their training at the base before it was deactivated later that year. “After basic, they sent me to Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado, for the weapons mechanic course,” he explained. “That lasted several months and we mostly learned to maintain, load and unload the guns, missiles and rockets used on different types of aircraft.” His first permanent duty assignment came in January 1969 when he received orders for England Air Force Base near Alexandria, Louisiana. For the next 18 months, he helped load and unload the munitions from fighter aircraft used to train members of the South Vietnamese air force. “It seemed like everyone I had gone to basic with was getting orders for Vietnam to load bombs on F-4s (Phantoms)—and that, I was told, amounted to 14-hour days spent in the hot sun,” he said. “But I had a friend that came back from Vietnam, who had been on gunships. and said if I volunteered for that duty, you get air-conditioning and chow hall privileges.” Volunteering for the gunship mission, Alderson spent several weeks in the Airborne Weapons Technician Course at Lockbourne Air Force Base (now Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base) in Ohio. He learned to load and maintain the weapons on the AC-119K Stinger—a side-firing gunship fulfilling several roles such as defense of ground positions, armed reconnaissance and interdiction. His next stop was Spokane, Washington, for a couple of weeks of survival training before traveling to Clark Air Base in the Philippines, for additional survival training focused on jungle-like conditions. From there, he flew into Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam, in October 1970 and hitched a ride on a small plane to his duty assignment at Phan Rang Air Base, South Vietnam. “I spent my first month there in training and then flew an actual mission as a gunner,” he said. “During that first mission, there was a sergeant that reviewed my performance to make sure I was prepared to do my job on the AC-119K,” he added. The veteran noted he was responsible for loading and maintaining the weapons on the AC-119K. It had both a Starlight and infrared scope used by the pilot to maneuver the aircraft to line up the four mini-guns or the two 20mm guns to fire on a target. Additionally, the gunship had a rudimentary onboard computer that calculated wind speeds to ensure better accuracy in firing. “They sent me to the air base in Nakhon Phanom in Thailand and we began flying mostly night missions from there,” he said. “We were doing about five missions a week and attacking enemy trucks that were running from North Vietnam and Laos along the Ho Chi Minh Trail carrying weapons and supplies.” Alderson added, “On one mission, after we had transferred to Da Nang, we had a journalist flying with us. On that night, artillery was fired at us and came up behind the cockpit and in front of the wing, exploding above us. That,” he continued, “would have been deadly had it hit our wing or the fuselage.” In other situations, the former airman recalls, artillery exploded in close proximity, creating the sound of “pinging” from shrapnel striking against the aircraft’s metal exterior. Completing more than 100 missions, he returned to the states in October 1971 and was assigned to McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas, where he maintained mini-guns on the F-105 Thunderchief. During a special function at the base, he was presented a Distinguished Flying Cross for demonstrating “professional competence” and “aerial skill” in a dangerous mission in Vietnam on April 22, 1971. “I was able to get an early discharge in May 1972—about a month early—to return to Missouri and enroll in college,” he said. “I was accepted at Missouri Southern State College (now University) in Joplin and used my GI Bill to graduate in 1976 with my bachelor’s degree in Environmental Health Technology.” The veteran moved to Jefferson City in 1979 and went on to retire from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources in 2004. He and his wife, Deborah, have remained active with Roscoe Enloe American Legion Post 5, which, he recognizes, affords him opportunities to continue his service. “Like most, I am proud of my military service and would do it again if I wasn’t an old man,” he laughed. “It’s nice that I can still serve with organizations like the American Legion Riders to support events such as welcoming back veterans who have gone to Washington, D.C., with the (Central Missouri) Honor Flight.” He concluded, “When I signed up for gunships in Vietnam, I thought it sounded exciting but I quickly realized how dangerous it really was when we started encountering anti-aircraft fire. I was one of the lucky ones that made it safely through; unfortunately, there were too many air crews who weren’t so lucky.” Jeremy P. Ämick writes on behalf of the Silver Star Families of America. Desert adventure - Marine trains as radar technician, later escapes from Iraq-occupied Kuwait4/17/2020 ![]() Inspired by his father and two uncles who served in the Marine Corps, Steve Diemler enlisted in the delayed entry program during his senior year at Helias Catholic High School. The week following his graduation in May 1973, the recruit headed to basic training to begin an adventure that years later culminated in a daring escape from Kuwait during the opening stages of the Persian Gulf War. “Once I finished my basic training at MCRD (Marine Corps Recruit Depot) in San Diego in August (1973), they sent me to the Marine Communications and Electronics School at Twentynine Palms, California,” he said. For the next few weeks, he was introduced to basic electronics followed by the fundamentals of digital logic. The class was then divided into separate training groups—several Marines were sent to radio training while Diemler and others were sent to radar school. “It was during the radar fundamentals course that we learned to work on the ANTPS-32,” he explained. “It was a long-range, air search, three-dimensional radar system. It had the capabilities of identifying the range, direction and height of aircraft,” he added. When the training was completed, he transferred to the Marine Corps Air Station at Tustin, California, which was a sub-unit of the Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity (MCTSSA) at Camp Pendleton, California. While there, his 20-man unit tested new defensive radar equipment being introduced into the Marine Corps. Additionally, the crews used the radar to track aircraft on training missions originating from the former Naval Air Station Point Mugu, while Diemler helped troubleshoot any problems that arose, performing the necessary repairs. While assigned to the station, the young Marine met Rita, whom he married in January 1975. The following May, the couple welcomed their first son, Sean. In April 1976, Diemler left Tustin when his sub-unit was sent to Camp Pendleton to rejoin the Tactical Systems Support Activity. It was from here that he finished out his enlistment and received his discharge from the Marine Corps on May 30, 1977. “My wife, son and I returned to Jefferson City and I began attending Lincoln University full-time while also working full-time as a repair technician for a local office supply company,” Diemler said. “After finishing my junior year in the summer of 1980, we went on a trip to California to visit my wife’s family and I stopped by Camp Pendleton to visit some of the guys I had worked with in the Marines.” During his visit to the base, Diemler was advised of a contract position with ITT Corporation—the company that built the radars he had worked with in the past. They were in need of instructors to teach the systems to foreign nations who purchased such equipment through foreign military sales contracts. He was soon hired by the company and sent to Kuwait in the fall of 1980. The day after his arrival, Iran began bombing oil tankers in the Persian Gulf in what became known as the Iran-Iraq War. From that point forward, Diemler explained, the Kuwait Air Defense, which would normally shut down around 2 p.m., began operating on a 24-hour cycle. Briefly returning to the ITT plant in California in the fall of 1981, he traveled back to Kuwait in 1982. His second son, Joshua, was born in Lancaster, California, in September 1982, shortly before his family joined him in Kuwait City. “Although I first helped teach the radar system to Kuwaiti nationals, I later became one of the tech reps that helped maintain the two radar sites,” he said. “Our third son, A.J., was born while we were living in Kuwait in 1985,” he added. During the summer months, his family returned to United States while Diemler remained in Kuwait. Fortunately, his family was back in the states in August 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait and Diemler and other westerners became trapped; they were ordered to remain in Kuwait City and denied permission to leave the country by the Iraqi military. “I didn’t want to go to the America Embassy because the Iraqi military was watching it and if they wanted to capture you, then you’re already caught if you were there,” he said. “I ended up connecting with other contractors and, through their connections, plans were made for us to escape into Saudi Arabia.” Diemler, American contractors and other Arabic locals formed a convoy of 13 military vehicles that escaped watch by the Iraqi military and began the “70-something-mile” trek across the desert. Eventually, Diemler observed dots on the horizon that soon formed into a fearful reality as they approached. “I realized they were Iraqi tanks,” he said. “I thought for sure the Iraqi’s would open fire on us but the guide kept going and drove us right between them. As we passed by, there were soldiers sitting around and our guide stopped everyone after we got a mile or so past them.” The guide informed the group to wait there because he had to go back and find a vehicle that had been lost from the group. “When the guide returned with the vehicle,” Diemler explained, “he said that it had been stuck in the sand and the Iraqi soldiers helped push it out. He also said the soldiers told him, ‘That Saddam Hussein is crazy and we don’t want to be here.’” The group finally made it to the safety of the Saudi Arabian border and, with the help of a member of the Associated Press in their group, were provided airline tickets back to the United States to reunite with their families. Diemler eventually settled in his native Jefferson City and spent several years in law enforcement. Earlier this year, he retired from the Missouri Department of Social Service where he was employed as an investigator for Medicaid fraud. The greatest danger of his past career, the veteran noted, came with his service as a contractor in the years after his discharge; however, Diemler affirms that both his own military service and that of his children helps highlight what has been the greatest source of his professional pride. “All three of my sons have gone on to become Marines just as I followed in my own father’s footsteps,” he said. “That certainly makes me one proud father,” he grinned. “And the old saying ‘Once a Marine, always a Marine’ is the reason that I chose to be a member of the Marine Corps League—it doesn’t matter what you did while you were in the service because it was a title that you had to earn.” Jeremy P. Ämick writes on behalf of the Silver Star Families of America. Blazing trails - Daughter of Foreign Service Officer served with WAC in WWII, and later in CIA4/15/2020 ![]() Bruce Berger, of Jefferson City, Missouri, has a number of reasons to take pride in the memory of his mother. Not only did she demonstrate her patriotism while supporting her country in the Women’s Army Corps in World War II, years later, after her husband passed away, she was able to raise three sons while at the same time completing a career in an American intelligence agency. Born November 19, 1915 in Brooklyn, New York, Doris Van Wickel was the daughter of Jesse Van Wickel, who was at the time serving as a Foreign Service Officer for the United States. Due to his chosen career field, his daughter was exposed to many cultures while growing up in several different countries. “My mother lived in several places in her youth to include Shanghai, China; Jakarta, Indonesia; The Hague; Netherlands East Indies; and England,” said Berger. “Until 1939, most of her time was spent outside of the United States,” he added. Records maintained by Van Wickel indicate that in the early 1930s, she attended the Malvern Girls’ College in Great Malvern England and later completed coursework at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and Columbia University in New York. During her early years abroad, she acquired proficiency in seven languages to include German, French, Dutch and Chinese. She also worked for companies in Holland before returning to the United States, where she was hired in 1941 by the Military Intelligence Division of the War Department in New York. “The work she did with the War Department was confidential,” said Berger. “In 1942, she became an assistant economic analyst with the Board of Economic Warfare in Washington, D.C. There she acted as an assistant chief for the Southwest Pacific Unit and researched conditions of the occupied Netherlands, East Indies and (British) Malaya.” In October 1943, she made the decision to enlist in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC)—an organization created during World War II to allow women to support the war effort by serving in non-combat positions. As Berger explained, his mother completed her WAC boot camp at Ft. Des Moines, Iowa. Military records indicate Van Wickel was discharged at the rank of technical sergeant on February 16, 1945 and the following day was appointed a second lieutenant. She remained on active duty as an intelligence research analyst until February 18, 1946, spending her entire period of military service at the Pentagon and achieving the rank of first lieutenant. “While my mother was with the WACs, she met my father in Washington, D.C. after he whistled at her as she walked into a hotel,” said Berger. “Apparently, they dated for awhile and then married.” He added, “My father had served in the Army and after the war worked for the Census Bureau. My mother was eventually discharged from the WACs after she became pregnant with my oldest brother.” The family remained living in the Washington, D.C. area where Van Wickel Berger’s first son, Ken, was born in 1946; a second son, Darrell, born in 1948; and Bruce, the youngest, was born in 1949. Sadly, Berger explained, his father passed away from Hodgkin’s disease in January 1953, leaving behind their mother to raise three young boys. “After my dad passed, my mother worked a couple of months for the Census Bureau and was then hired by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the spring of 1953,” Berger said. “She went on temporary duty assignments to places like Iran, Hong Kong and Thailand while us boys went to boarding school at Girard College in Philadelphia.” The intrigue of their mother’s new chosen career field soon drew the boys into an exciting adventure when she brought them to live in Saigon in early 1962. While her sons were attending school during the day, Van Wickel Berger was involved in operations that remain shrouded in relative secrecy. “She never talked too much about what she did and always joked that if she told us, she would have to kill us,” Berger chuckled. Berger and his brothers have pieced together many facets of her service in Vietnam, which included her involvement in coordinating flights for “Air America”—a covert passenger and cargo operation operated by the CIA during the Vietnam War. The pilots, Berger noted, would deliver goods needed by various hamlets and bring their produce back into towns, collecting military intelligence during the process. When the situation in Saigon grew more dangerous in early 1965 following bombings of locations such as a movie theater, Van Wickel Berger sent her children back to California to live with her brother. In 1967, she was sent to Udorn, Thailand, where she worked closely with the 7th Radio Research Field Station and was involved with radio intercepts. “My mother returned to the United States in 1970 and worked at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, retiring later the same year,” said Berger. “She then went on to work for them as a contractor for a couple of years before retiring to Florida.” The former member of the WACs and CIA agent passed away in 1989 from emphysema and was laid to rest alongside her husband in Arlington National Cemetery. As Berger went on to explain, although his mother may have at one time embraced the possibility of a “traditional” lifestyle of raising a family, the adventure that became her life demonstrates she was a woman before her time. “When my father died, I think that my mother felt the American dream wasn’t really holding true for her—being married, having a nice house and raising children. But,” he paused, “I’m not really sure that ideal would have lasted for her.” He continued, “My mother would joke during the 1960s and 1970s, at the time when women were burning their bras for equality as part of the women’s liberation movement, that she was working as a field operative for the CIA in several war zones. “She was a trailblazer as a woman, not only because she served her country in uniform in the WACs, but she went on to demonstrate the value women could offer by working for the CIA at a time when women really had to fight to get a job that wasn’t just clerical in nature.” Jeremy P. Ämick writes on behalf of the Silver Star Families of America. ‘Through the pain’ - U.S. Army veteran, teacher regains health through DDPY fitness program4/7/2020 ![]() Arthur Boorman’s inspirational story has essentially ascended to celebrity status, gaining close to 50 million views on YouTube in recent years. A veteran of the U.S. Army, his health fell into a state of neglect following his discharge and he was on a path to an early grave. He acknowledges that an unintended discovery during an internet search connected him to an individual who helped turn his life around and inspired his achievement of fitness goals once thought unattainable. A native of Maryland, Boorman enlisted in the U.S. Army in the late 1970s because “it was what my family did,” he remarked of the motivation behind his decision to serve. Completing his basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, he attended additional training at Ft. Devens, Massachussetts, Ft. Benning, Georgia, and other posts. The soldier participated in multiple overseas tours in Europe and the Middle East in addition to other deployments. Stateside, he served at locations such as Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. As a paratrooper, he served with reconnaissance teams who monitored enemy activity but were not intended to engage the enemy. He added, “Our function was to patrol and conduct surveillance in areas prior to the troops coming in.” His service continued through the Gulf War; however, the pace of his military activities led to injuries resulting in his disability discharge in the mid-1990s. At the point of discharge, he had invested seventeen years of his life to the U.S. Army. “I was hurt and had slowed down a lot,” Boorman recalled. “I did not want to get out of the Army but I had no real choice.” Solemnly, he added, “It was a frightening period because the Army was my career and I did not know how I would take care of my family.” Married with two sons, the next few years were full of ups and downs for the erstwhile soldier while he made the transition to a new career. Possessing a bachelor’s degree, he returned to school to complete a master’s degree in education. He became a certified special educator and a math teacher, a position he holds to this day. “I was trading one mission for another—leaving the Army and embarking upon a new purpose in teaching,” he said. “The people who I saw making the most difference in the lives of young persons were teachers and that’s something I wanted to do as well.” Despite the satisfaction that came with pursuing a calling in education, Boorman admittedly struggled with issues related to post-traumatic stress and physical injuries from his military service. Although he did not seek escape through drugs or alcohol, he became sedentary and was eating excessively. His unhealthy lifestyle resulted in the evolution from a former 185-pound soldier to a 390-pound veteran riddled with mobility issues. Within a short period, he reached the point that he required leg braces and other supportive devices to walk and was unable to perform such simple tasks as wrestling around with his children. “I was eating myself into a grave and making bad choices,” he starkly recalled. “I realized my actions were demonstrating that I valued food more than my family, and I did not like what I was doing … I did not like me.” In the quest for assistance, he began scouring the internet for methods to relieve the pains he was experiencing and happened upon information regarding a fitness program developed by professional wrestler Diamond Dallas Page (often referred to as “DDP”). “At that time, he had a program called YRG but it has since become DDPY,” he said. “There was an article about the program and how it was helping others so I ordered the DVDs to try it for myself. DDP sent me an email and we began communicating back and forth.” Initially, DDP requested some pictures of Boorman in his excessively obese condition to garner an idea of his current physical capabilities. DDP then tailored an eating and exercise program that worked around Boorman’s disabilities in addition to ensuring he was committed putting in the work. Within ten months, Boorman was able to shed 100 pounds. “My body started changing … but it didn’t happen overnight,” he said. “It wasn’t the DDPY fitness program alone; it was the associated eating plan as well. It’s been a battle to keep the weight off and DDPY isn’t a one-time deal, it’s a lifelong commitment.” Boorman was eventually able to regain his physical independence and no longer requires the supportive braces. His amazing transformation was captured in a YouTube video that has inspired countless others—including disabled veterans—to pursue their own weight loss and fitness goals. The veteran is now employed as a special education teacher and proudly self-identifies as a “geek,” running a science-fiction club at his school, writing science-fiction stories in his spare time and has even dedicated a room in his home to his massive comic book collection. When reflecting on the viral YouTube video that has made him an unexpected fitness inspiration, Boorman admits that it has at times felt like a burden; however, he believes he has a responsibility to help others just as he was given assistance during his time of need. “Diamond Dallas Page saved my life, there’s no doubt about that in my mind,” he said. “When the YouTube video shared my story with the world, it became a little terrifying for me because I started getting all of these phone calls and messages—and I still get them.” Pausing, he added, “I wouldn’t be the person I am now if I hadn’t gone through the pain, but succeeding through DDPY has been a great experience that has encouraged me to help others through their fitness struggles just as Dallas was there for me.” DDP supports veterans by offering a 50% discount on all DVDs and the DDPYogaNow app. For more information, visit www.ddpyoga.com or www.DDPY.com. Jeremy P. Ämick writes on behalf of the Silver Star Families of America. ![]() The Allied nations prevailed during World War II by working in concert to defeat the tyranny entangling several European and Pacific locations. However, what few people realize, one local veteran affirmed, is that not only did the men and women of the military help the Allies succeed, but there were also contributions made by “man’s best friend.” Born and raised in the Brazito community, Ralph Popp was in his senior year of high school at Eugene when he received his draft notice in January 1945. “I was 18 years old at the time and didn’t even get to finish high school before they sent me to Camp Hood, Texas, for basic training,” said Popp. When his boot camp was finished, Popp explained, most of the recruits were immediately sent to fight in overseas locations, but he was instead assigned to a rather unique section of the U.S. Army. “They put me in the K-9 Corps to train dogs for scouting purposes,” he said. “The only reason I can think that I was even selected for such a thing was when I had been asked about my hobbies, I told them that I was interested in coon hunting and hunting dogs,” he added. Popp then traveled to Ft. Robinson in the northwestern corner of Nebraska, becoming part of the Army’s War Dog program. The program was born out of an initiative first “intended to train dogs to perform sentry duty for the army along the coast of the United States,” as noted in an article by Dr. Arthur Bergeron, Jr., accessed through the U.S. Army Military History Institute website. As part of the Quartermaster Corps, the program later became the “K-9 Corps” and was expanded to train scouting and patrol dogs, messenger dogs and canines that could detect trip wires, booby traps and mines. During the months he spent at Ft. Robinson, Popp explained, he was placed in a platoon with more than two dozen soldiers and assigned two dogs that he would train for scouting purposes. “The primary dogs we trained on the post were Doberman Pinschers and German Shepherds,” Popp said. “The dogs I trained were German Shepherds and they were so smart that you could teach them to count the number of fingers you held up by barking,” he grinned. The soldier also remarked that the dogs, in anticipation of the invasion of the mainland of Japan, were trained to become “fierce fighting dogs,” and the only ones that could handle them were the individual soldiers to which they were assigned. “We taught the dogs how to detect people hiding in caves or up in trees,” Popp added. “The time we spent in Nebraska was kind of like a basic training for the dogs.” In April 1945, his platoon placed their dogs in cages and boarded rail cars bound for Camp Butner, N.C., where they joined the Fourth Division, which had recently returned from combat service in Europe. “We had to take care of our own dogs the entire time because no one else could handle them,” Popp said, “or else they’d attack.” While stationed in North Carolina, they continued training in preparation for the invasion until Japan surrendered weeks later, which meant the end of the war and thus heralded the conclusion of the K-9 Corps. “Everything was dissolved in the K-9 Corps and the dogs were taken somewhere to be ‘deactivated,’ they called it,” said Popp. “I’m not sure what happened to my two dogs but they tried to get all of them back to the original owners because they had only been loaned to the Army by their owners.” Many of the dogs, the veteran said, were unable be separated from the ferocity that had been ingrained during their training, resulting in them having to be euthanized to avoid any potential dangers they might pose to civilians. “I had to take part in bringing some of the dogs to a veterinarian—the ones they couldn’t deactivate,” Popp solemnly noted. “That was a very difficult thing for me to have to do.” With nearly a year remaining in his term of service, the soldier was transferred to Ft. Sill, Okla., where he became a supply sergeant with an artillery battery until receiving his discharge in 1946. He returned to Mid-Missouri, finished earning his high school diploma and, in 1947, married Irma Sommerer, the woman who had patiently awaited his return from the service. Raising one daughter, Lora, the couple was married for 61 years when Irma passed away in 2007. In 1959, the veteran founded Popp’s Lawn and Garden Center in Jefferson City, operating the company for four decades. Though he is now retired, he enjoys spending his free time gardening, working around his farm and supporting Immanuel Lutheran Church at Honey Creek. His military service, he adds, might not possess the flare and excitement of many of the combat veterans of the Second World War but, he affirms, his is a story that truly represents a unique type of sacrifice made by our canine friends. “Really, it was a sacrifice for so many citizens to give up their dogs for military service during World War II,” he said. “I know I was very close to my dogs and I miss them as much as anything.” He added, “For many people, I’m sure saying goodbye to their dogs was like saying goodbye to a son heading off to war … not knowing if they would ever return home.” The 90-year-old veteran passed away on December 4, 2016 and was laid to rest with Full Military Honors in the Immanuel Church Cemetery in Honey Creek. Jeremy P. Ämick writes on behalf of the Silver Star Families of America ![]() The Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands is the visage of paradise—lovely beaches, palm trees and brilliantly colored fish swimming through stunning blue waters. Yet this hidden gem situated between Hawaii and Australia in the South Pacific was once “ground zero” for the testing of nuclear weapons by the United States, an event witnessed firsthand by Mid-Missouri resident Louis “Leroy” Poire. Born in 1927 in the small community of Hale, Missouri, Poire attended “a little country school” and, after completing the ninth grade, left his studies to help with the never-ending list of chores on his family’s farm. “It was during the latter part of World War II and I decided to enlist in the Navy four days before I had to register for the draft,” Poire recalled. With a grin, he added, “I didn’t want to end up in the Army or Marines.” The 22-year-old recruit began his active service on October 31, 1945, traveling to the Naval Training Center in San Diego to complete several weeks of basic training. From there, the former sailor explained, he boarded the USS Alabama and sailed up the coast of California to San Francisco. “Once we got to San Francisco, the Navy put a bunch of us on a plane and flew us to Pearl Harbor,” he said. “Then, they put us all up in barracks and within a few days, everyone shipped out of there for various assignments—all except me,” he added. The day following the departure of his fellow sailors, Poire recalls sitting in the barracks when Delbert Poire—his older brother who was also serving in the Navy—walked in to greet him. “I found out that my brother was serving aboard the (USS) PGM-32 and he and the skipper arranged to have me held back so that I could be assigned to his ship,” Poire said. Commissioned February 9, 1945, the USS PGM-32 was classified a “motor gunboat” and could sustain a complement of 65 crewmembers. Once aboard the ship in early 1946,, Poire and the crew of the gunboat departed Pearl Harbor to participate in an event of major consequence possessing a legacy that has been obscured by the passage of decades. “We sailed for the Bikini Atoll and once we arrived, we anchored for several days,” said Poire. “Then when they got ready to drop the atomic bomb, we pulled anchor and sailed in a circle about 11 miles from where the bomb exploded” Named “Operation Crossroads,” in 1946 the U.S. would “test the effect of nuclear weapons on naval warships,” noted the Atomic Heritage Foundation. The operation consisted of two tests—the first test occurred on July 1, 1946 with the detonation of a bomb “over the target fleet at an altitude of 520 feet with a yield of 23 kilotons.” On July 25, 1946, a second and final test was performed when an atomic bomb exploded 90 feet underwater. This test, the aforementioned foundation described, created “a 900-foot ‘base surge’ (of falling water) which rolled over many of the target ships, painting them with radioactivity that could not be removed.” In describing the first detonation, Poire said, “They wouldn’t let us look at the explosion or take any pictures. It really wasn’t a loud explosion, but you could kind of feel it. I remember looking at the mushroom cloud rise into the air and thinking that it would eventually cover us up!” Following the underwater detonation that occurred several days later, the former sailor recalls sailing back into the target area where the six scientists they were carrying aboard their ship began taking samples of the water to test for lingering radiation levels. “After a day or so in the target area, they put the Geiger counter on us and we had to abandon ship because of the radiation in the bilges,” he said. “They took us to a transport carrier and we stayed there about five days.” He continued, “Two men would then spend three hours at a time aboard our ship to keep anyone from bothering it.” In August of 1946, Poire left the Bikini Atoll aboard a cargo ship, returning to San Diego and then traveling to Chicago where he received his discharge from the Navy several weeks later. Spending only a year in active service, the sailor received a five-year reserve commitment, receiving his final discharge in 1951. Returning to his father’s farm, he went on to marry the former Marjorie Muller in 1947 and the couple raised four children. In the decades following his naval service, Poire entered the construction trades and moved to Jefferson City, Missouri, in 1969, where he and his wife continue to reside. When asked if he believes his presence at the historic testing of nuclear technologies was a unique and rare experience, Poire affirmed, “I never really thought much about being involved in the experiment—it was one of those situations where I went where I was told and did what I was told to do.” He added, “I do feel like we were kind of guinea pigs in a sense, even if we weren’t directly in the target area. With the effects of radiation, I believe it was the reason my brother had kidney problems before he died and why I’ve had kidney issues as well.” Following a brief silence, he concluded, “I don’t think the government really even wants to recognize us for having been there.” Jeremy P. Ämick writes on behalf of the Silver Star Families of America |
AuthorJeremy P. Ämick is an award-winning author and historian and dedicated to preserving music, military and local histories. Archives
July 2024
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