Although unsuccessful in its bid to enter the state tournament, Coach H. A. Becker's Monticello high school basketball team climaxed the most successful season a local prep quintet has enjoyed in 19 years when it defeated Rex Foster's Cuba City cagers 28 to 15 for consolation honors at the Madison Regional tournament March 9th. Monticello was eliminated from championship consideration the night before when it lost to Lake Mills 40 to 32 in a game which found the locals considerably off form.
The Becker Basketeers had previously won the Brodhead district title by scoring a highly impressive 32 to 29 win over a crack Brooklyn five and then moved on to Monroe the next week to win another district championship by trouncing Spring Green, victors in its district, 36 to 29. By defeating Cuba City, the locals added a third district title to its string.
Lingering impressions of the past season: Monticello's smooth, professionalike
performance in defeating Brooklyn's State Line league champs in the final
game at the Brodhead tournament, a fine tribute to "Beck's" fine coaching.
. . Every player an important cog in a nicely synchronized machine, all
meshing together almost perfectly in a beautiful exhibition of team play.
. . Paul Schultz turning in the most amazing rebound game of any
high school guard I have ever seen while also swishing 11 points into the
Monticello scoring column. . Thumbnail description of Willie Elmer,
Monticello's versatile basketeer: 195 pounds of rippling rhythm on a cage
court. A fine team general, beautiful ball handler, and nifty shot, Willie
climaxed a brilliant high school athletic career with a glittering performance
against Lake Mills in the Madison Regional. . . John (Jackson) Richards
coming up with one of the most sensational performances of the season by
holding eagle-eyed Bob Ross to only one field goal, the first time
in three years that Brooklyn's spectacular scoring ace had been held to
a lone basket. . . Ross not only set new State Line league scoring records
this year-he tallied 37 points against Orfordville-but he also established
a new state prep record, averaging almost 19 points a game. . "Ike"
Schenk, Monticello's slippery little guard, winning the praise of Brodhead
tourney fans with his clever dribbling and the affections of a certain
little Brodhead miss with his shy, infectious manner. Oh! My kingdom to
be a clever dribbler! . . Elmer (Pickles) Duerst's expert faking
and plucky performances against far heavier, husky opponents. . . Receiving
much more than my money's worth watching the antics of "Beck" on the players'
bench, squirming, rubbing his hands, wiping his brow, shouting instructions
to his cagers, signaling them not always too secretly, and now and then
strutting out onto the floor, red-faced and banty-rooster-like, to protest
an official's decision. Shades of "Doc" Meanwell. . . Monticello's quintet
was an inspired team against Brooklyn, drawing much of its inspiration
from Lt. Whitey Hill, former local coach, who arrived here in the
afternoon from O'Reilly Gen. Hosp. at Springfield (Mo.) to witness the
championship battle, his first visit to Monticello since arriving back
in the states from the European battlefront. Whitey, of course, was brimming
with inspiration himself so he had plenty of it to spare. And why not?
Look who he escorted to the game. Howdy, Kay. . . Paul, Willie,
and Jackson making the all-tournament team at Brodhead; Willie chosen on
the Capital Times' all-tourney squad and Willie and Jackson picked
by the Wisconsin State Journal on its all-tourney second quintet
at the Madison Regional. . . The fine relief performances throughout the
season by such reserves as Buddy Achtemeier, Sunny Lynn,
Chuck Rolph, Rollie Zimmerman, and Zurbie Zurbuchen.
. . And now, just a peek into next season: Willie, Paul, and Buddie will
be gone, but with Jackson, Ike, and Elmer back along with numerous experienced
reserves and a few promising newcomers, Monticello should have an even
stronger team than this year.
Ah, now I know why I hadn't heard for so long from that gay philosopher and romeo of Mt. Pleasant township, Pfc. Emil Weigert, Hdq. Co., 1st Bn., 8th Inf., 4th Div., fighting along the western front with Gen. Patton's 3rd Army. Along about the latter part of December when Emil and his outfit were down in Luxemburg near the Moselle, they ran into a cellar full of wine and "schnaps." Yes, that's right! They "ran" right into it, but you're all wrong if you think they "ran" right out of it. Oh, no, I would say not. Emil just isn't built that way. Well, anyway, "Prof." Weigert and his buddies continued to maintain contact with this "gold mine o' wine" so they were able to celebrate Christmas and New Year's day in royal fashion. While I have no means of proving this statement, I venture the assertion that this was perhaps one of the longest and jolliest holiday celebrations ever recorded in the history books.
"You can tell the gang," declares Emil, "That there was many a good yodel in that cellar." Then he continues: "After that, I was occupied drinking Luxemburger beer and entertaining Luxemburger girls. Not a bad pastime, eh" (Say, Emil, who is the bloomin' bloke who said life in the army is such a tough, grueling grind?)
I have always admired Emil's fine spirit in this terrible war, particularly against the Germans. Perhaps many of you have forgotten it, but Emil is a native of Germany, having been born at Hamburg, in and near which city-since bombed into ruins by Allied planes-his parents and three sisters still resided when he last heard from them shortly before the war broke out in Europe. And so it must be doubly hard for Emil to fight in this war, but he battles on with the fiery courage and determination of a native-born American.
This fine spirit is reflected in these closing lines of his letter:
"We had to chase the Ratzis out of the same pill boxes again, " says Emil,
relating to the sensational comeback the Yanks staged following the German
break-through on the western front in December, "But this time we didn't
stop in the Siegfried line and are going straight on through and making
'em dance in the village streets to the tune of mortar and rifle fire.
We've got the Ratzis right by the tail now and we're going to give it a
real good twist just as soon as the weather stabilizes and we don't have
to slosh through mud and ruts."
Sgt. "Boob" Kissling is slowly recovering from a siege of trench
foot in a hospital near Paris where he has been confined since around Feb.
9. Until then, the former favorite of Yale's sorority row had seen considerable
action with the 309th Infantry of the 78th (Lightning)
Division battling in the Aachen sector of Germany. . . Sgt. John Theiler,
M.H.S. '16, 35th Finance Disbursing Section, is believed to
be on his way back to the states from Italy. It will be three years in
August since he was inducted into the service. Most of John's time abroad
was spent in North Africa. He has been in Italy about four months. His
first destination after leaving home shores was England where he was stationed
for several weeks before moving on to North Africa . . Lt. Russ Howard,
with the 54th Ordnance Co. in France, has been promoted from
second to first lieutenant. Nice going, Russ! . . S/Sgt Karl Freitag,
Co. L, 137th Inf., 35th Div., who was wounded in
action on the western front during the final days of February, is in an
American hospital in Belgium where he may be obliged to remain for another
several weeks. He says the wound, which is in the shoulder, is not serious
and nothing to worry about. When Karl entered the hospital, it was the
first time in three months that he had slept in a bed, between sheets,
and it was really quite a treat. Incidentally, the staff sergeant recently
became the father of a husky baby boy, born to Mrs. Freitag in St.
Clare hospital, Monroe. . . Which reminds me to relate that Lt. Col.
and Mrs. "Les" Weissmiller are the parents of a sweet little baby girl,
Judith Anne, born Feb. 17, in a Pittsburgh hospital. "Proud Papa"
is executive officer of Deshon General hospital, Butler, Pa. Congratulations
to the Freitags and Weissmillers. And say, "Les", how have you been faring
with this "diaper business?" Isn't it just simply "ouchy!" the way a fellow
suddenly becomes all thumbs and keeps jabbing the safety pins into 'em
instead of into the corners of the diaper? Now don't try to tell this old
professional pin-pricker that you're an exception because I know you aren't.
When Lt. Howie Steinmann, Hq. Co., 1st Bn., 26th Marines, 5th Marine Div., last wrote the Drizzler, he was aboard a transport heading for his first taste of enemy fire. "I have a hunch this operation will be a big one," he said, "and that the Japs aren't going to enjoy it. Here's a point of interest: There will be another Monticello boy, Eddie Loeffel, in on "this one." I have tried to see Eddie several times while we were both stationed in the Hawaiian Islands, but I always missed him. I still have hopes of running into him, Who knows?-it may be on the 'beach' on 'D' day."
When Howie declared "I have a hunch this operation will be a big one," he hit a homer because the movement of ships culminated in none other than the blazing, bloody battle for tiny Iwo Jima island with 800 naval vessels and hundreds of bomber and fighter planes participating in the giant attack. In the softening-up process preceding the actual invasion, this small Jap island fortress was bombarded from the sea and air with nearly 480 freight carloads-think of it!-of shells, bombs, rockets, and other explosives. American casualty figures announced soon after our capture of Iwo Jima total nearly 4,200 killed and over 15,000 wounded, the bloodiest and costliest in human life in Marine history.
It is definitely known through letters, written by Howie in fox holes
on Iwo Jima, that he escaped without a scratch in the first 11 days of
battle, but Eddie was wounded by shrapnel in the right hip and leg on "D"
day. More about Eddie later.
ALL ABOARD FOR A RAMBLE AT RANDOM-
Pfc. John Streiff, the former local grocery baron and bowling
sensation, leaves tomorrow on his return to Fort Knox after a furlough
at home. John, who is heaving hash, has gained back a lot of the weight
he lost shortly after his induction eighteen months ago. How come, John?
Don't try to tell me your cooking is that good. Olga is here,
too. She works in the Western Union office at the post. . . Lt. Dick
Schoonover, 3181 Sig. Service Bn., APO 957, who flew to the Hawaiian
islands in a B-24 bomber, enjoyed this nature's paradise to the utmost
while he was there, but now he has been sent on into the Far Pacific, possibly
to the Mariannas. Dick is in Forrest Smith's (Y 2/c) old outfit
which saw lots of action in the Saipan and Tinian campaigns. Forrest, formerly
of Cedar Rapids (Ia.), is the husband of Zona Marty Smith, now employed
at the Bank of Monticello. He is still in the Hawaiian islands awaiting
reassignment, but his closest buddy in past battle engagements, C. V.
Morris, is with Dick. Apparently men from the army signal corps and
the navy communications branch were pooled together and a new group formed
from them. . . Capt. "Doc" Youngreen, the mental marvel of the Far
Pacific, is in charge of a small hospital on the Philippines where one
of his chief problems is the old and travel-worn ambulances which he is
having a hard time keeping in operation. He is hopeful of receiving new
ones soon, however. "Doc" says the flies out there are absolutely terrific.
Even when he eats, he has to keep wiggling his arms to keep 'em away. You
must be developing your knife and fork technique into a real art, "Doc."
And, say, how about dropping one of your literary block-busters into The
Drizzle some of these days-soon! . . John Marty, S 2/c, who recently
completed his boot training at Great Lakes, has been transferred to Replacement
Group, NCTC, at Davisville, R.I. By the way, John, who is the husband of
the former Irma Baebler, became the father of a dandy baby girl
the other day, making the third member of the Drizzle family to join the
Daddy Division within recent weeks. Almost looks as though the stork hit
the jackpot. Here's congratulations to the Baeblers, too.
Lt. John Steinmann, stationed for more than three years at Fort
Belvoir (Va.) where he is a member of the staff and faculty of the Engineer
School, is acting temporarily as chief officer of the engineer board which
is in charge of a new branch recently started at the Fort. The branch,
known as the processing and packaging department, concerns the pre-fabrication
of homes and hospitals. Main office of the project is at Columbus, Ohio,
and John will be sent there in the near future and then on to Madison to
spend two or three weeks in special study at Forest Products laboratory.
After completing this course, he may be given a permanent assignment to
Columbus where the office personnel numbers sixteen officers and 104 civilians.
It is also possible that once pending developments crystallize he may be
reassigned to Fort Belvoir. The field of pre-fabricated construction is
one of vast promise because advance indications point to a tremendous demand
for structures of this type in the post-war period, particularly in the
battle-torn countries of the world. All kinds of luck, John! . . Frederick
Voegeli, HA 1/c, is believed to be headed for some destination in the
Far Pacific. In a letter dated March 10, he declared his outfit was all
packed up and ready to go. . . Four other local boys are either on their
way across the Atlantic or will soon leave for service in the European
theatre of operations. They are Sgt. Erv Spring, whom Capt. Hoppe
Babler aptly calls the "Camp Callan Casanova," Corp. Olie Mitmoen,
"Hal" Schultz, and Johnny Frehner. . . Recent promotions:
Cpl. "Jim" Knoblauch, the Camp Shelby Sheik, to sergeant. (Forgive
me, Jim. The alliteration got the best of me and that "sheik business"
just simply popped out before I realized it. Of course, I could change
it, but seeing there's practically a thousand miles between us, I'll take
the chance.) . . Pfc. "Al" Deppeler, Co. L, 263rd Inf.,
to sergeant. "Al" has been stationed in England for some weeks, but it
may be that he's across the English Channel now and might even be right
in the thick of it by this time. "Al's" brother, Lloyd, as many
of you may recall, is a staff sergeant serving with the 11th
Infantry of the 5th Division which is also "Bob" Blumer's
outfit. He and the Sage of the Siegfried Line see each other quite often.
Congratulations to "Jim" 'n' "Al." . . Calling Lt. "Happy Harvey" Trumpy
at Las Vegas, Nev. Say, Harv, I haven't received that letter yet relating
the most thrilling experiences of your 35 missions as a Flying Fortress
pilot over the European continent. Come now, Harv, don't tell me you're
at a loss for words-you, a distinguished graduate of the Monticello Cold
Storage Hot Air "Snort" Course. Or is it true, as "Hoppe" Babler,
the celebrated whale hunter, declared in the February Drizzle, that you're
spending most of your time in Las Vegas practicing winning grips on slot
machine handles." Well, Harv, if that's so and if your writing hand is
too sore to do justice to your literary obligations, why don't you dictate
a letter to Dorothy? What's that? Oh, I see. So Dorothy does all
the dictating in your family. Well, put 'er there, brother, we're both
in the same boat. But I'm still lookin' for that letter. . . Incidentally,
Hoppe is temporarily holding forth at Newcastle Army Air Base near Wilmington,
Dela. He isn't too keen about the set-up and expects to be transferred
to a base in either New York state, Pennsylvania, or Virginia. . . Miss
Norma Freitag, M.H.S. '38, and Wisconsin '42, who spent the past ten
months as medical technologist on the vast DuPont project near Hanford,
Wash., has been transferred to St. Paul where she is serving in the same
capacity for the same concern. Before becoming affiliated with DuPont,
Norma held a position as medical technologist at Wisconsin General Hospital,
Madison, for approximately 18 months. . . By the way, Norma, I suppose
you know that Frances Schilling Berling is with her husband, Lt.
(jg) Arthur Berling at the Norfolk (Va.) naval base. Hi there, Fran!.
. . When Lt. Dorothy Butler wrote The Drizzler, she was spending
a 5-day leave in London and "was having a grand time." It is only within
the last couple of months that Dorothy has been receiving The Drizzle because
I didn't receive her address before. She tells how delighted she is to
receive it because it gives her all of the news and whereabouts of her
old high school classmates. Dorothy has been in England since June and
enjoys both the country and her duties as an army nurse very much. Dorothy
has relatives in England whom she had never seen before and you can imagine
the great thrill she must have experienced when she first visited them.
She sends greeting to her many friends. . . Speaking of army experiences,
Pvt. Gertrude Hoesly, with the WACs at Fort Des Moines, says: "There
is one thing sure. If we don't qualify for any other job after the war,
we'll be good scrub women. We "G.I." until we really appreciate the meaning
of the term. At the end of our training, Col. McKoskire gives us
the famous "white gloves inspection." He touches every bit of our barracks
with white gloves. If they are not immaculate when he leaves, our company
has the disgrace of washing them." Gertrude thinks The Drizzle is "swell"
and "very clever." . . Pvt. Don Knobel, a recent inductee, has arrived
at Camp Wheeler, Ga., assigned to Company A of the 2nd Battalion.
Let's have a letter from you soon, "Dunk." . . Hard luck continues to shadow
T/5 Harry Schuerch, at McClosky Gen. Hosp., Temple, Tex., who lost
his right leg below the knee in action in France July 26 when a Ratzi mine
blew up under him. Harry has already submitted to several operations and
over a score of blood transfusions. An operation performed March 2nd
was to have been the final surgery, in which the leg bone was shaped for
an artificial limb. Unfortunately, however, infection has set in again
and another operation will be necessary. Greetings, Harry and Margaret!
. . I had a swell surprise the other day when Leo Felts, PhM 2/c,
USN, dropped in on me. Leo's looking right "in the pink," says he had a
dandy deal down at the Marine Base in Cuba where he was stationed for many
months. He's 22 years old now and has been in the navy nearly three years.
He has gone to Chicago for reassignment which he expects shortly. Lennie-Leo's
brother-is still in France with a military band, playing concerts and
also broadcasting over the radio.
It just occurred to me that surely no one better symbolizes this "heading"
than Lt. (jg) Wallie Barlow, USNAC, recently assigned as co-pilot
to Secretary of the Navy Forrestal's personal plane because official
press releases suggest that the big Douglas C-54 Skymaster visited practically
every island naval base in the Pacific battle area during the long flight
which started only a few days after the local young man reported for duty.
Wallie's folks learned of his whereabouts through a news release and radio
broadcast by Secretary Forrestal from Iwo Jima and Guam. Wallie, of course,
is not permitted to divulge much information regarding the flight, but
he has disclosed that one of the personal high-lights of the trip came
when he had a visit with Ernie Pyle, the famous war correspondent,
who obligingly signed his "short-snorter" bill. . . What's this I hear
about "Slim" Freitag, the Chicago aviation authority, who has chummed
around with such nationally known celebrities as Wayne King, Amos 'n' Andy,
Harold Lloyd, Wallace Berry, and -well, you count 'em. I give up!-starting
in on a new position the 26th. Is it the "dandy" you were "shaping
up" a few months ago, "Slim?" Okay, kid, I'm listenin'. . . Lt. Ray
(Burn-'Em-Up) Burns, a lead bombardier with the Twelfth Air Force Marauders
in France, is not far from his 60th successful air raid over
Ratziland. Burnsy is still studying French-which further convinces me "she"
must be a very dazzling dame. . . Sgt. Carl Jacob Dick has moved
with the 348th Station Hospital from near Cardiff, Wales, to
"a prettier and more desirable location" near a fair-sized resort city
in England. The set-up is larger, which, of course, means more work. C.
J. has now been overseas 16 mos. Gosh, Jake, why'd you ever leave Cardiff?
Now I'll have to call you the former Prince of Wales. . . Cpl.
P. F. Blumer is still quartermastering at Bangalore which he thinks
is just about the best spot in all of India. P. F. speaks of the natives
as a little on the "dark side" with a comparatively few of them fairly
light colored, but "even they look plenty dark to me." . . Extra! Extra!
Sgt. W. James Murphy, the Baron of Barkeley, has left Texas after
all these many, many months. No foolin'. His new address: Co. A, 60th
Bn., U.S. Army Gen. Hosp., Camp Pickett, Va. The hospital is for convalescent
overseas men. "You have been asking for souvenirs from foreign countries,"
says W. James. "I have wanted to send you something from Texas, which you
probably know is a foreign country, but I haven't found anything yet."
Here's wishing you success, W. J., but you'd better start streaking for
the tall timber if some of those Texas toughies ever read that. . . Lt.
Wilce Milbrandt is still enjoying the beautiful scenery and weather
of the Hawaiian Islands, keeps well occupied supervising maintenance and
construction projects. Maintenance includes carpenter and machine shops,
railroads, docks, refrigeration, painting, plumbing, and the like. Construction
embraces highways. buildings, and sewers. . . "I've got a pretty good set-up
out here at Rapid City Air Base, probably better than I really appreciate,"
writes S/Sgt. Wilbert Marty, the ol' tail gunner. "Not too far from
home, drawing flying pay, a swell bunch of instructors to work with in
the 'lab," and a job that keeps me quite busy sometimes, but it certainly
isn't hard." . . "Art" Babler pens these interesting lines from
the Hawaiian Islands: "An old Drizzle has just caught up with me. It's
the one in which you give me a swell chance to collect 64 bucks from Whitey
Hill (sure thing!) providing I give the right answer to your question.
This was your question, Roz: "If C. J. Dick, Monticello's Prince
of Wales, should ever ascend the royal throne, do you think that he, too-like
former King Eddie-would renounce it for his lady love? After great thought
and careful consideration, I shall stick my neck out with this answer:
No, I doubt whether "Jumping Jake" would relinquish the throne unless,
of course, his lady fair could offer him something better, such as another
Haddinger-Dick trucking enterprise. Then, too, I might suggest that a blond,
brunette, or redhead would not qualify. I'm counting on you, Roz, to see
that I get fair play on the $64 question. (You win, all right, Art, and
hands down, too. Whitey's been here off and on during his leave, looking
like a million dollars and feeling like two million, but honestly, I doubt
like the dickens if I can jar him loose for even such a paltry sum as $64
out of that three million. You see, Art, the lad's in love-badly, sadly,
and madly. And I have more than a mild hunch that Whitey will get very,
very technical about the matter now that Jake has moved from Wales in to
England. You don't suppose Jake would fork over the 64, do you? Well, Art,
you ask him while I duck for cover. . . Tommy Brusveen, now in Germany,
tells of passing through once beautiful villages and cities now reduced
to ruins by Allied air and artillery bombardment all because the Germans
stubbornly refuse to surrender when they should know they are hopelessly
beaten. Only mere skeletons now remain of attractive buildings and homes.
"We were treated wonderfully by the Belgians. They hated to see the Americans
leave and gave us eggs and other things to take along with us. Here in
Germany we are not allowed to fraternize in any way with the people. Do
our own washing. Candle for light. Hard to get water. Staying in the best
building here, but its roof and walls are filled with shell holes. Seven
in our room. Very crowded. Sleep on floor.
QUIET, PLEASE, WHILE THE SIEGFRIED SAGE SPEAKS-
S/Sgt. "Bob" Blumer, the "Sage of the Siegfried Line," is back
in action again with the 11th Inf., 5th Div., 3rd
Army, after a month's hospitalization due to leg wounds. He had previously
been wounded in the shoulder Sept. 8. "Bob" sent along these pithy remarks
on his way to the front: "If I should get wounded again, I'll be so full
of holes, I ought to make a good flour sifter in some bakery." . "This
last time, I was hit twice in the left leg. Had to crawl back 600 yards
along a road which was under German artillery fire. It was plenty cold,
too, but believe me, I sure sweat plenty." . "I've been in city fighting,
street-by-street, house-to-house, have blown in every wall in houses, and
tossed grenades into cellars. And it's sure hell, too!"
EDDIE LOEFFEL WOUNDED A SECOND TIME-
Wounded in the Battle of Saipan some months ago, Pfc. Eddie Loeffel, former outstanding local athlete and now with Co. I, 3rd Bn., 4th Marine Div., was struck by shrapnel in the right hip and leg on "D" day at Iwo Jima. He is now recovering in an army hospital in the Mariannas where he has submitted to an operation for removal of the shrapnel fragments. Surgeons were unsuccessful in removing all of the pieces, however.
Eddie has two favorite Marine buddies-Wallace Utzinger, a lad from Minnesota, and Rueben DeShong, who hails from Florida. Wallace was shot in the right foot on "D" day and is in the same Mariannas' hospital. As the Yanks charged the enemy and Eddie fell, struck down by flying shrapnel, Rueben, who was nearby, rushed to his aid, quickly bandaged up his leg which had commenced to bleed profusely. With a "See-you-later" goodbye to Eddie, Rueben plunged on into battle.
The Monticello athlete's platoon leader, Lt. Eddie Johnson, was killed in action on "D" day and all of the latter's many buddies have taken his death heavily to heart because he was such a wonderful fellow, a regular prince among men-always "just one of the boys." Lt. Johnson was an outstanding football player and once played with the Green Bay packers. Because Eddie and Rueben DeShong were such rabid football fans, Lt. Johnson had offered to pay their way through the University of Georgia for one year after the war. He must have been a grand fellow, indeed.
Lt. Johnson was married and was the father of a little baby girl whom he had never seen. Such are the multiple tragedies of war.
If any of the Drizzle's readers wish to write to the big, likeable Marine
from Monticello, here's Eddie's new address: Pfc. Eddie Loeffel,
880727, 374th Station Hospital, W. D. B-4, APO, 247, %PM, San
Francisco.
HE GAVE "HIS ALL" ON IWO JIMA-
My sympathy goes out to the Ewald Muehlmeiers of Wauwatosa, who were notified Thursday by the war department that their oldest son, Pfc. Courtney Muehlmeier, a machine gunner with the 3rd Marine Division, had been killed in action on Iwo Jima.
First reporting that the youth was missing, the war department followed up this message to the parents with another some hours later conveying the tragic news. The young man, who was only 19 years old, was a grandson of Mrs. Lena and the late Rev. A. Muehlmeier.
A fine, strapping youth standing six feet, three inches tall, Courtney enlisted in the Marines shortly after his graduation from St. Johns Military Academy in the summer of 1943. After he was sent overseas, he was stationed on the island of Guam for some time.
Courtney had the flaming spirit of young, adventurous America in his blood and he became restless for action, anxious to get into the thick of battle. So he volunteered for front line duty and therein lies the beginning of the end of a story of unusual bravery and devotion to country.
Courtney is survived by his parents and one brother, Peyton, a student at St. John's Military Academy.
I bow my head in reverence to the memory of a youth of great courage
and exemplary character-to the memory of a gallant American.
To these Drizzle donators: Mrs. C. A. Eckburg, Plymouth; Blumer
Brewing Co., Monroe; Charles Hefty, Dick Zentner, E. A. Bontly,
Mr.Mrs. Ivan Wichser; Norma Freitag, St. Paul; Mrs. Lester Witt,
Monroe; Rev.Mrs. A. R. Felts, Freeport; H. C. Elmer, Anonymous,
L. R. Pease, A. Kistler, Art Escher, F. H. Steinmann, E. G. Voegeli, John
Dahnke, Wm. Benkert, Mrs. Fran Kubly; Patsy Flannery, Argyle; Mrs. Gordon
Hunter, Monroe; Jake Burgy, Bertha Keller, David Brink, H. O. Elmer,
Fred Deppeler, Fred Karlen, Jr., Elizabeth Voegeli, Karl Wirth, Amelia
Blum, Dr. Baebler, Albert Gempeler, H. C. Loveland, Mrs. Jack Elmer, Mrs.
F. Studer, Ernie Robert. H. Feenje, Matt Bissig, Marv Freitag, F. C. Karlen,
Emil Blum, John Minnig, F. A. Karlen, W. E. Klassy, J. H. Marty, Dr. Horne,
A. M. Hefty, Clarence Itten, Rudy Speich, Dorothy Altman, Jake Kubly, Mrs.
Regula Hoesly, Melvin Voegeli, Sam Duerst, Walter Hauri, Ray Talmage, H.
D. Freitag, Mrs. Albert Moritz, Merlin Schmidt, Mrs. H. M. Marty, Werner
Blumer, Fred Zweifel; Mrs. Euphemia Urben, Mrs. Isaac Schultz, Madison;
Karl Siegenthaler, Otto Theiler, Henry R. Marty, Ivan Marty, Eddie Kropf,
Edna Haldiman
Sgt. Fritz Haldiman, veteran of 25 months' Aleutian Islands'
service, has received an honorable discharge, arriving home Saturday nite
from Camp Swift, Texas, to help his father on the farm. March 6th
marked 3 years of army service for Fritz. . . Whitey Hill returns
to O'Reilly Gen. Hosp., Springfield, Mo., the 24th, altho he
may get an extension. . "LATE FLASH SQUEEZE-INS"-T/Sgt. Kenny Holcomb's
home on furlough from Romulus (Mich.) Air Base. . "Boob" Kissling's
in an English hospital now, may be sent home. March 9th letter
from Howie on Iwo Jima says he's fine, hasn't changed clothes since
Feb. 18th