The Mail-Journal, Volume 21, Number 19, Milford, Kosciusko County, 23 May 1984 — Page 52

THE MAIL-JOURNAL - Wed., May 23,1984

8

County's oldest W.W. II veteran looks back

ByDEEJAYNES Staff Writer

At an age when most men feel their military service days are safely behind them, Walter Eugene Groninger was beginning his tour of duty with the U.S. Coast Guard during World War 11. Walt is unable to explain why, at the age of 45 with a wife and draft-age son, he was drafted into military service in May, 1942, and why even after the age ceiling was lowered while he was in basic training in Texas, he was not sent home. “Several other guys from the county went home when the age was changed,’’ Walt remembered, ‘‘but I didn’t. I got’ put on a boat headed for Africa.” Walt’s son, Walter (“Gene”) Eugene Groninger, Jr., was stationed briefly at Fort Sills, Okla., before being sent to France as an Army medic, and Walt remembers pulling a lot of strings to get a three-day pass to travel to Oklahoma, just to spend an evening with him. That evening was the last the two would spend together until the end of the war. Walt and his outfit traveled across Africa, with temporary stops in Tunis and' Algiers, on

I “ ■ Sunday Brunch fl Serving: / B 10 A.M.-2 P.M. Roast Pork • Eggs B & Dressing • Sausage Gravy & ■ Chicken Biscuits B« Mashed Potatoes • Ham B ■ •Vegetable • Hash Browns B ■ • Soup & Salad Bar • Juices, Milk, Coffeeß B* Pastry Bar B B e Fruit Bar fl Adults Senior Children fl Citizens (12 & Under) ■ B 60 &Over B I *sso ISW 1325 [ ‘ FREE 3 Years Old & Younger * B I "TREAT YOURSELF AFTER CHURCH" fl •Only 15 B Phone •—» Min. ■ B I 834-4111 | XTo. fl A S«l3 . ■£S , ’° 1 NORTH WEBSTER J

The Reasons I Need Money Checklist: r-MOTORCYCLE MOTORHOME NEW CAR ° o r—l HOME EDUCATION i fl | COMPUTER O | __ BOAT FURNITURE V ACATION z Q _ W HOME nii , ' ' IMPROVEMENTS * B,LL I n - CONSOLIDATION J I jjl STB APPLIANCES STEREO Q ° farm IMPLEMENT ROOM O REMODELING TV .. o II It O We Make Loans for Any Good Reason There are probably several reasons you need money Reasons where a loan would really help. „ At Lake City, Bank, we make loans for any good reasons. Stop At Any Os Our Convenient Locations I And Ask For One Os Our Professional Loan Officers l oakeCityßank MILFORD 658-9471 • NORTH WEBSTER 834-2868 • SYRACUSE 457-5791 An Ech><>l I lousing Lender

their way to take part in the invasion of Sicily. Other stops in that area included Palermo and the Island of Corsica. Walt recalled that for a brief time his unit traveled with General George Patton, "going pretty much wherever we were needed.” Walt’s wife of 66 years, Minnie, added that during the time her husband was in the service, he never had a furlough home and the mail she received was so heavily censored that she had trouble understanding what he was trying to say. "I would compare my letters with the ones my people got in South Bend,” she said, “and between us we figured out most of it.” One incident that required the piecing together of letters involved a mobile power plant accident in Sicily. Walt was carrying the unit, responsible for the power used for communications and armory, when an enemy shell blew the plant out from under him. Luckily'he was not seriously injured, but did receive some shrapnel wounds and when he picked himself up he noticed that he had hit the ground so hard “my pockets were filled with stones.”

When asked what he remembers most about his tour of duty, Walt had no difficulty answering quickly. Although his outfit had a very low casualty rate, Walt sayshepenjembers being scared — alithetiihe. “There wasn’t any way not tg be scared all the time,” he said. “There weren’t any foxholes to get into, like in the movies, and there’s no place to run.” “Mostly I have tried to forget the whole thing,” he said quietly. “There was one guy I went over on the boat with, I forget his name now but I remember him, who kept telling me that we would go home together. I never saw him during combat. On the boat coming home I heard a voice call, ‘Hey, Pop!’ and it was him. Only he wasn’t as lucky as I was — he lost his leg. When I was in New York after the war, I was walking down Fifth Avenue at Broadway and there he was, walking up the street toward me. We had coffee that day, but I never did see him again. That’s too bad.” The nickname “Pop” was one Walt acquired during his boot camp days in Texas, due to the fact that he was at least 10-15 years older than most of the other soldiers. The name became so natural to Walt that he once signed his payroll slip that way and couldn’t collect his pay. Walt also laughs that he almost missed the boat home from Sicily because when they called his actual name — he didn’t recognize it!

MT 1 K - IL /•jq'

WALT GRONINGER

An intestinal rupture problem that had plagued him before entering the service was responsible for time spent in Veteran’s Administration hospitals in Washington, D.C. and New York city. Despite the illness and subsequent treatment, Walt’s military days weren’t over yet. After his release from the hospital, he was transferred to a military police unit in Indianapolis to finish out his tour of duty. Discharged in Walt returned to Kosciusko County and worked at a number of things until beginning work at the new American Legion Home in 1952, a position he held until 1966. In 1969 he began working at Sarber’s Supermarket and worked there for 13 years until his retirement. The active 86-year-old says he is officially retired now and “won’t be looking for a job any more.” Walt says he keeps busy these days tending his garden and keeping up with the work on his two and a third acre yard. His other activities include membership since 1945 in the American Legion, the Legion’s Forty et Eight club, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Disabled American Veterans. Despite membership in the latter organization, Walt has never received a Purple Heart, but doesn’t seem bitter about the situation. “I think the best way to remember the war,” he added, “is to not remember it.”

i

NEW EMPLOYEE — George Hinsdale, a South Whitley native, is the new art director for the Image Group, Inc., formerly Ganshorn-Plummer, Inc., Syracuse. Hinsdale, 53, is a graduate of the Fort Wayne Art Institute with his degree in commercial art and design. Prior to this position, he worked as a designer for a sign company and as art director and assistant manager to the owner of a printing company. In addition, his varied background also includes his own business, an interior design and custom building company that he owi\ed and managed for three years. Hinsdale, and his wife, Donna, recently moved to Warsaw. Mrs. Hinsdale works in telepone sales at L.M. Berry, Warsaw.

IJ €1 Miiiw | YOU’LL LOVE... i I DARRELL - Iff ra ELSIE’S S I HOMEMADE I I UIM 1 "f I Kjb ! SALADS I I ★★★mu I rowT# 7Oc| |... A HOLIDAY TRADITlON * * | THAT DESERVES THE ! KID. SIO9E I BEST, FROM BALES’! [• BEAN *1 .1 i ca Aai ; cole nQcg I \ *l—J L I I B $179 I*l „ I J GROUNDROUND 1 . H NIUVCOOUD , I • BOLOGNA K I HAMS $ 1 49 ! ’I” I ||Hftlvlo DUTCH LOAF I I SIRLOIN TIP $029 minced ham g I .RyMpkoAsi.^i.-— ■. .J-..?".. I i SPECIAL VALBES GREAT | q I*** rAn fl VERY BEST AIEAT _Xf Fl WK g I 4V4,U “ H M,LLING! I I H STBA* s porter HOUSE ° Bl s t°aKS I I ,»•»« „ I | ROTISSERIE FRYERS | | ROASH PAitTS I

Pamphlet answers questions

Many older adults in Indiana have problems and questions concerning landlord/tenant law. The most recent pamphlet prepared by the Older Adult Impact Project of the Legal Services Program of Northern Indiana, South Bend, is, “You and Landlord/Tenant Law.” The pamphlet discusses the rights of the landlord and the tenant, what a lease should cover, the problems that arise with late Threatened species The kangaroo will remain on the U.S. Threatened Species List, according to a decision by the Interior Department’s Fish and Wildlife Services.

rent payments, and evictions. Property repairs and the procedures that a tenant should follow to get repairs made are also explained. The pamphlet also covers what a tenant should do before moving and what to do if the landlord keeps or takes the tenant’s personal belongings. This pamphlet is one of a series of monthly pamphlets that are prepared by the Older Adult Impact Project. The pamphlets are prepared to assist older adults in understanding their legal rights along with legal issues affecting them. The Older Adult Impact Project will give educational presentations about this pamphlet to social agencies and older adult

organizations. Anyone wishing to arrange a presentation or to obtain free copies of “You and Landlord/Tenant Law,” should contact the project at 115 N. William Street, South Bend, Ind., 46601. This pamphlet was produced in part with the assistance of the City of South Bend Community Development Program through funds made available for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, under Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1977, and funds provided in part through Area 11, IV and V Agencies on Aging and the United Way of St. Joseph County.