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Digital Stories of Our Heroes from Seth Paine Elementary |
| Discover the stories of these veterans |
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| Dale Blau
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An oral history of Mr. Dale Blau, a World War II veteran, was conducted by students in our l.m.c. class. Mr. Blau served in World War II. He was stationed in Australia, New Guinea, the Philippines, and Okinawa. He was in the U.S. Army Medical Corps and was assigned to the Air Force. He was in the 27th Air Depot Group. He began his military service on February 3, 1942. He was a medical technician and part of his job was to give shots. His highest rank was Corporal. We enjoyed having him here and are glad that we had the chance to hear about the important things that he did during World War II.
Mr. Blau has many memories involving World War II. He remembers that he was twenty-one when he started his service and that he enlisted at Fort Sheridan on Feb. 3, 1942. Mr. Blau remembers thinking that the experiences that he had as a barber before he enlisted helped him with his medical training. Two of his wisdom teeth were pulled when he entered the military. He remembers that there were nine hundred men in the 27th Air Depot group and that his job was to take care of the soldiers. He was nicknamed Doc. He got malaria while he was in the service. Mr. Blau remembers playing softball at Finchhaven, New Guinea on white coral. He flew from New Guinea to Australia three times. He says that he'll never forget hearing the song "Sentimental Journey" when he was on the ship to Okinawa. He ran into two people from Lake Zurich when he was in Okinawa. The people that he saw were both in the Navy See Bees. He arrived home in Lake Zurich on Dec. 25, 1945 in a snowstorm. Mr. Blau said that he really enjoyed telling us about his memories of World War II.
We would like to thank Mr. Blau for visiting our class. He had a lot of things to tell us. He is a very caring person. He fought for America. We think that he is a good person. Mr. Blau is a very heroic person and we enjoyed having him visit our class.
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| Gerhardt Block
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An oral history of Mr. Gerhardt Block, a World War II veteran, was conducted by students in our l.m.c. class. Mr. Block served in World War II. He was stationed in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. He was in the Coast Guard. He began his military service in 1939. He was a Petty Officer 2nd Class. It was interesting learning about World War II from Mr. Block.
Mr. Block has many memories involving World War II. One of his memories was when he was on patrol and a German submarine surfaced. Those on his ship were asked to leave the ship. Everyone escaped on lifeboats, and what would have been their boat was blown up. The officer in charge of the submarine could have blown up Mr. Block's ship with the people on it but did not. Another memory was when he came home on leave for Christmas and he wasn't expected to be home. His mother was so surprised that she fell off a ladder putting up the Christmas tree and Mr. Block caught her. He liked the food that he ate when he was in the Coast Guard. Another memory is that he ran into a hurricane in 1944 off of Panama. Mr. Block kept in touch with his family by writing. He learned about hand signals and how to tie different kinds of knots during the war. He was at sea for three years. Mr. Block got to see Bing Crosby and other entertainers perform. He remembers sailing across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans along with all of the Great Lakes. He came home in 1945. He then became a special agent for the Office of Price Administration. His job was to watch for counterfeiters. The O.P.A. supplied people with gas and tire coupons and sugar. He was a firefighter for 40 years, and became Fire Chief at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. We think that Mr. Block is a very interesting and heroic man.
We would like to thank Mr. Block for visiting our class. We think that Mr. Block has a great personality. He also is very kind and talented. We think he is very young at heart. We are very glad that Mr. Gerhardt Block took the time to come and see us. We learned a lot about him and hope we see him again.
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| Brian Burch
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An oral history of Mr. Brian Burch was conducted by students in our l.m.c. class. Mr. Burch served in the the Vietnam War. He was in the 101st Airborne Division of the Army. He was in the field artillery. His military service began on Nov. 12, 1970. He was stationed in Vietnam, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Missouri.
Mr. Burch has many memories involving the Vietnam War. He remembers that he was the top graduate in his O.C.S. class. He remembers Bob Hope coming to visit the troops. Mr. Burch got to speak to him. Bob Hope rode in Mr. Burch's jeep. Mr. Burch got his picture taken with Miss World U.S.A. Mr. Burch remembers seeing the actor, Jim Nabors. Mr. Burch often corresponded with his family by using taped cassettes. He rode in a jeep most of the time. He remembers seeing combat. Mr. Burch says that the food was good. He remembers the many friends that he made during the war. Mr. Burch says that he will never forget the relationships that he had with friends in Vietnam. When Mr. Burch was on leave, he continued to educate himself as an architect. His unit was sent home after he had been in Vietnam 6-7 months because the war was over. He joined the American Legion in Lake Zurich. Mr. Burch did an excellent job of telling us about his memories of the war.
We would like to thank Mr. Burch for coming to our class. He gave us very detailed answers during the oral history. We appreciate his kindness. We can tell that he is an optimistic person because he says to enjoy life. We think that his advice to take advantage of each day is good. We are very glad that he was with us.
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| Spencer Loomis
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An oral history of Mr. Spencer Loomis, a World War II veteran, was conducted by students in our l.m.c. class. Mr. Loomis was stationed in England, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Mississippi, Michigan, and Texas during World War II. He was in the Army. He took part in the Battle of the Bulge. Mr. Loomis said that he felt very lucky to be able to be with us for the interview and we are glad that he was with us for the oral history.
Mr. Loomis has many memories involving World War II. One of his experiences was being drafted. He got a Bronze Star for capturing two soldiers by himself. He got a Purple Heart for being injured in war. His most difficult experience was the Battle of the Bulge. He played cards for entertainment. A letter was the easiest way to communicate. Mr. Loomis remembers that some of the men played practical jokes on each other in World War II. He also kept a diary in World War II. These are some of the experiences that he remembers from World War II.
We would like to thank Mr. Loomis for coming to our class. It was especially nice to have him come since he was once a principal in the Lake Zurich school district and he also recently had a school named after him. He was very interesting. We are glad that we were able to talk to him. Mr. Loomis feels that it's very important for us all to learn to negotiate with each other. We all enjoyed having him visit Seth Paine. We will remember forever what he said to us.
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| John Richard
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An oral history of Mr. John Richard, a Korean War veteran, was conducted by students in our l.m.c. class. He was stationed in Korea, Maryland, Alabama, and New Jersey. He was in the Army. He began his military service on April 25, 1951. He was a sergeant. He was in Korea for l l/2 years. We enjoyed the zestful way that Mr. Richard told us about his military service.
Mr. Richard has many memories involving the Korean War. He remembers that he had not lived in the United States for very long when he began his military service. He was originally from Czechoslovakia. He didn't see immediate combat. Mr. Richard remembers that his job in the Army was to look at the skills and training of each military person to see if their job in the Army went along with what they were trained to do. Mr. Richard recalls that he was awarded several medals. Two of them were the Korean Service Medal with 3 bronze service stars and the United Nations Service Medal. Mr. Richard's most frequent entertainment was playing ball. Mr. Richard had never played until he got to Korea and the other soldiers taught him how to play. Mr. Richard remembers being served ice cream during his military service, which is a very pleasant memory. He remembers that he kept a diary during the war. Mr. Richard got 2 weeks leave every 6 months. Mr. Richard remembers going to Tokyo when he was on leave. He says that visiting Tokyo was an unforgettable experience. Mr. Richard told us about many interesting memories that he has of the Korean War.
We would like to thank Mr. Richard for visiting our class. We enjoyed learning from Mr. Richard about Veterans' Day and what it had to do with. We think that it's very nice that he went to many different places when he served in the Korean war. We were especially glad that he could be with us since his daughter went to Seth Paine thirty years ago. We enjoyed learning about Mr. Richard's experiences when came to visit our class.
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| Earl Curley Strack
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An oral history of Mr. Earl Curley Strack, a veteran who served in the military between the Korean and the Vietnam Wars, was conducted by students in our l.m.c. class. Mr. Strack was in the Army. He began his military service on Sept. 12, 1956. He was a Sgt. First Class. He was a food inspector for the Veterinary Corps. He was stationed in Fort Leonardwood, Fort Ord, Fort Riley, Fort McCoy, Fort Sheridan, and then went back to Fort Leonardwood. He has traveled all over the U.S.A. We are very fortunate to have him with us and it was very interesting to hear him tell us about his military experiences.
Mr. Strack has many memories involving his military service. He remembers seeing Elvis Presley perform. He enjoyed playing pranks on his friends. He won the Good Conduct Army Reserve Ribbon and is very proud of it. Mr. Strack remembers writing letters to his family. He also remembers the medallion his girl friend gave him before he left. He carried a rabbit's foot for luck and also carried a medallion with him. Mr. Strack was accidentally shot in the arm while in basic training. He was then taken to the hospital. There are still a few people that he met in the Army that write letters to him and he writes back to them. He remembers that they had plenty of supplies in the Army. These are some memories that he has now and will have for the rest of his life.
We would like to thank Mr. Strack for visiting our class. It was especially nice to have him talk to us since he is our school crossing guard. We appreciated all the effort and time he gave to us. We really enjoyed hearing all about the friends that he made in the Army and about the other things that he told us about his Army experiences. One thing that was very interesting was that he lived in Chicago before he was drafted. He was a very brave person and we are very happy that he came to talk to us. The students in our class and Mr. Strack really enjoyed working on this project together. We are grateful to Mr. Strack for talking to us.
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