The Independent-News, Volume 121, Number 17, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 7 September 1995 — Page 1

The Independent-News

VOLUME 121; NUMBER 17

1 Falcons Top j Redskins Friday Night 28-18 ’ The John Glenn Falcons hosted • the Knox Redskins, on Friday I night, in football with the mighty I Falcons coming out on top by a score of 28-18. This is the Falcons first victory of the young season. The Falcons were led by Nick (Medich, a senior, who had three long touchdown runs and a twopoint conversion to put the John . Glenn boys in the winning circle. Medich had 214 yards rushing. The first quarter the score was 6-0 in favor of the Falcons achieved by Medich’s 60-yard run. Then in the second quarter the Redskins tied the score at 6-6 with a 10-yard pass from Phil Combs to Tim Rose 1 (who for the night caught eight • passes for over 100 yards receivi in«)- | The 55 yard run by Medich in the | opening of the second half boosted the Falcons to the win. Medich also had a 28 yard run for another score. The Falcons will travel this Friday to LaVille with kick-off set for 7:30 p.m. SCORE BY QUARTERS Knox 0 6 6 6—lß : ( Glenn 6 0 22 o—2B G —Medich 60 run (kick failed) : K —Tim Rose 10 pass from Phil Combs (kick failed) ' G—Medich 55 run (Brett Humphrey kick) G —Rusty Young 25 pass from ; Brian Snow (Medich run) 1 K —Rose 14 pass from Combs (run : failed) ; G —Medich 28 run (Humphrey i kick) J K —Combs 10 run (pass failed)

SPORTS NEWS

4 The varsity and junior varsity t volleyball teams picked up their y first wins of the season by splitting : with South Bend Washington and ' South Bend Gay. The varsity ( defeated previously unbeaten j South Bend Washington by coming J' back to win a 3 game match. HighI lights for Glenn included 7 kills for Beth Honaker and 4 kills for Suzanne Drews. Lindsay O’Connor and Kristin Miller combined for 13 assists while Holly Legge cony tributed 6 digs. Junior Angel ) Dietrich contributed 10 digs and 5 aces in the exciting victory. I > F-yTOAFF- > i±q If M rn. a 2m MMur * si The varsity Falcons were defeated by South Bend Gay ( 8-15, 15-5, 15-8 ) in a match in which Gay’s passing and size eventually took over. Highlights for Glenn included 6 kills and 4 blocks for Beth Honaker. Lindsay O’Connor contributed 7 assists while Holly Legge added 4 aces. The junior varsity opened their

ERECTION OF WW II MESS HALL A Mess Hall under construction in the background; taken on Owi, in 1944, during World War 11. photo courtesy of 8.8. Williams

B.BURDELL WILLIAMS UNITED STATES ARMY 415th SIGNAL AVIATION CO. I was the first representative from Johnson Township, LaPorte, County, to volunteer for one year’s service in the new United States domestic defense army, in January of 1941. This was almost a year before the U.S. officially entered World War 11, on December 8, 1941. I left by bus for Fort Benjamin Harrison, in Indianapolis, on January 27,1941, at age 21. I boarded the bus at Union Mills with Bob Wakeman and met with George Topitges and a few other boys from LaPorte County who were also first volunteers. We were young and we wanted to see the country at the U.S. Army’s expense. After being inducted at Indianapolis, we headed for California and boot camp by train. Several train cars were filled with Army boys and there was lots of card playing and gambling going on, which was all new to me. Boot training at March Field, in Riverside, California, took place during the rainy season. This meant taking 21-mile hikes through the mud and carrying a full pack for four weeks. My LaPorte companions and I made up the 41st & 42nd platoons during boot camp. When we were finally given our permanent assignments, several of us were able to stay together for the rest of our tour of duty. One day at boot camp when I was a lowly private on K.P., kitchen patrol duty, the mess sergeant asked me what I did in civilian life. I told him 1 was a butcher. Hearing this, the sergeant asked me to bone out a quarter of beef. I had the quarter all boned out before some of his other assistants who were doing the same thing had barely gotten started. On December 7, 1941, when Pearl Harbor was bombed, my company was stationed on Angel Island, near San Francisco, ready to be shipped to the Philippine Islands the following day. Instead we returned to March Field until June 22, 1942. Then we boarded the Norwegian ship, Torrens, at 6 week with a loss to South Bend Washington but came back strong to defeat South Bend Gay (13-15, 15-10, 15-5). The young Falcons’ serving played a key role in the comeback victory. Jessica Traub contributed 4 aces while Lynna Potts added 15-18 setting. Other highlights included 3 kills each for Jennifer Traub and Melissa Craig.

WALKERTON, INDIANA 46574

p.m., not knowing where we were headed. On July 13, we passed Wellington Island, near New Zealand, through Cook Strait into the Tasann Sea. We were in a convoy but had to leave it as our ship was too heavy on both ends. Two subs escorted us into the harbor at Brisbane, Australia. We arrived there about 9 p.m. on July 14,1942. Later, we were the first Signal Company to land at Fort Morshy, New Guinea, on August 20, 1942. We were called the 415th Signal Company and from that day till January 18, 1943, we were under constant attack. The mosquitoes were very bad and the food was lousy. I contracted a very bad case of malaria fever and was in the field hospital for five days with a temperature of 105 degrees. I served there for about 30 months, often in forward combat areas, as company baker and mess sergeant making sure the men had enough to eat. On July 4, 1943, we made camp at Nadzab, New Guinea. Later we landed on a small island called Owi, Netherlands, East Indies, which really was a small island. It was only three and a half miles long and a half mile wide. This was made into an air strip for new troops coming in for replacements. The incoming troops had much better ratings then the original men who had been over there for more than a year. This was pretty hard to accept. Two of the fellows were assigned under me, Staff Sgt. Newton and Sgt. Leo Dill, from Walkerton, who was the first cook. I was the mess sergeant with a T-4 Rating. On December 6, 1944, we landed at a village called Burouen, Leyte. I was assigned to the advanced landing at Leyte two days after Gen. MacArthur made his famous landing. As usual we lost some of our equipment in the move but this time it was the camp stove, a very necessary item. Through some finagling and scrounging around from another company, we acquired a stove. And I always have to laugh when I think about the captain from whom we stole it! Even though this was a Signal Company, we were all put to work making the air strip, while the Japs continued bombarding us. As we moved inland the Japs were landing paratroops at the other end of our air strip. They all were very clean cut and had new, clean uniforms. These paratroops were volunteers for a suicide mission. They had been in Formosa, flown to Manila the day before the attack. They had excellent equipment.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1995

Community Calendar

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 7:30 p.m.-John Glenn football team to travel to LaVille. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 8:30 a.m.-John Glenn volleyball team to play in the Triton tourney. 9:00 p.m.-John Glenn and Urey cross country teams to travel to the Tippecanoe Valley Invitational. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 3:30 p.m.-North Liberty Elementary School PT A Market Day. 4:30 p.m.-Urey volleyball teams to play Mishawaka Beiger. The Bth grade team will host Bieger here in Walkerton and the 7th grade team will travel to Mishawaka. 6:00 p.m.-John Glenn junior varsity football team to host LaVille. 7:00 p.m.-North Liberty Elementary PT A open house. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 4:00 p.m.-John Glenn tennis team to travel to LaVille. 4:30 p.m.-John Glenn cross country teams to host South Bend St. Joe, Marian, Bremen and Bethany. 6:00 p.m.-John Glenn volleyball teams to host New Prairie. 7:00 p.m.-Walkerton Elementary School PTA meeting. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 4:30 p.m.-John Glenn tennis team to host Rochester. 6:30 p.m.-John Glenn volleyball teams to host Argos. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 4:30 p.m.-Urey volleyball teams to play LaPorte Kesling. The Bth grade team will host LaPorte here and the 7th grade team will travel to LaPorte. 4:30 p.m.-Urey football team to host Bremen. 4:30 p.m.-Urey cross country team to host New Prairie. Seven of the dead Japs we found had American military garb under their uniforms. In December 1944 my name was drawn to return to the United States on a 30-day furlough with 142 points. Before leaving lam very proud of the letter I received for a job well done in the Philippines, from Conrad M. Newton, Ist Lt. Air Corps, mess officer, commending me for excellence in performance of my duties. ‘‘His cooking was superior, his expert planning of meals and administrative leadership over the mess personnel resulted in his being selected to serve as mess sergeant for advance echelons of this company. ” On our way back to Gark Field in the Philippines, we were hit by a suicide plane. On July of 1945, my name was drawn again for return to the States. It took 44-days by ship to return to New York. When we approached New York a lot of the boys took bed sheets and hung them over the edge of the ship imprinted with “44 Days From The Philippines — Noah’s Ark!!I” In January of 1941 I had volunteered for one year in the service thinking this would be good experience for me. Since the war intervened I ended up having been in the service over four years being discharged on September 9, 1945. After all the bombing scraping, crossing the pond (Pacific) twice, two round trips, I was glad to return to Walkerton, Indiana, and get back into the butchering business with my Dad.

35‘ PER COPY

Open House Set At Oregon-Davis The Oregon-Davis Schools will host a “Corporation-Wide’’ Open House, on Tuesday, September 12th, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. All community members are invited to tour the facilities and meet the staff. All three buildings, OregonDavis Elementary School, OregonDavis Junior-Senior High School and the Oregon-Davis Administration Building will be open and refreshments will be served during the open house. 4-H DAY AT PURDUE UNIVERSITY The Purdue University Boilermakers cordially invite 4-H’ers, their parents and friends to a fun filled day on the West Lafayette campus September 23. “A few years ago, the counties requested that we bring 4-H members and families to campus,’’ said Carl Broady, state 4-H program coordinator at Purdue. “To meet that need, we have created 4-H Day.’’ On September 23, 4-H families can attend the Purdue-Michigan State football game at a reduced price of $5.00 per person. That price also includes a tour of the Purdue athletic facilities. You must make arrangements for your own transportation. The program will begin at 10:00 a.m. and conclude at the final second of the game. During the program, 4-H’ers will hear from several notable speakers and will be saluted by the Purdue All-American Marching Band. Tickets must be reserved by September 11 from Purdue. For reservations or more information about 4-H Day, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service office at 235-9604. CELEBRATION AND PROGRAM PLANNED On Sunday, Sseptember 17, the Pine Creek Church will be presenting a fall celebration and special program at 10:00 a.m. It is an event you won’t want to miss. Rev. Shirley Garrett will be our featured speaker and guest soloist for the day. There will be a carry-in dinner and a time of inspiration and fun for all. The Pine Creek Church is located at the corner of Pine and Stanton Roads in North Liberty. Everyone is welcome to join in the celebration. TRI KAPPA TO MEET The first meeting of the 95-96 year for Epsilon Chi Tri Kappa will be held on Thursday, September 7, at 7:00 p.m. The plans for the upcoming Junior Miss Pageant, in October, will be finalized. NOTICE Trash within the Walkerton town limits will be picked-up one day late, September 8, due to the Labor Day holiday on Monday, Sept. 4.

USE THE CLASSIFIEDS. THEY REALLY WORK!