POW MIA

KEITH C. CARTER

KEITH C. CARTER

Jul 1, 2017 | ,

Keith Carter was born in Cleveland, Liberty County Texas in 1925. He grew up there and graduated in 1943 as Valedictorian of Cleveland High School. He worked for six weeks with a geophysical crew exploring for possible petroleum prospects. As expected he soon received his draft notice, reported to Fort Sam Houston and was inducted there on September 9. After his processing he was sent to Fort Benning Georgia in the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP). After 13 weeks basic training he was enrolled at Purdue University as a mechanical engineering student. Six weeks into the program, the ASTP was abruptly cancelled in March 1944 for all the students at various universities....

GEORGE C. CARRUTHERS

GEORGE C. CARRUTHERS

Dec 1, 2012 | ,

George Carruthers was born in Dallas, Texas in 1923. His family moved to Tyler shortly after the Stock Market “Crash” in 1929, at the beginning of the Great Depression, and George attended Public Schools there. Before December 7, 1941, as a freshman at Tyler Junior College, he had joined the Civilian Pilot Training Program flying Piper Cub aircraft. When America entered WWII, he volunteered for the aviation cadet program and was called to active duty in June 1942. Expecting to enter pilot training, George was extremely disappointed when he was assigned to bombardier and aerial gunnery courses. After completing training, Second Lieutenant Carruthers was assigned to Colonel...

WILLIAM J. (Bill) DALLAS

Jul 1, 2012 | ,

William J. Dallas was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1922. He was called into active duty in 1940 and then transferred to the Army Air Corps in 1942. He went through flight training and after receiving his wings as an Army Aviator Bill was assigned to the 303rd Bomb Group (Heavy). The 303rd Group flew B-17 “flying fortress” bombers and it was one of the early arriving bombardment groups sent to England and assigned to the 8th Air Force. On March 26, 1944, the 303rd Bomb Group sent 20 aircraft on a bombing mission over occupied France. That was the 128th combat mission for the group; they were to attack an Operation “Crossbow” target, that being a special missile launching site...

ARNOLD E. (ANDY) KAUFFMAN

ARNOLD E. (ANDY) KAUFFMAN

Aug 1, 2011 | ,

Arnold E. Kauffman was born in New York City in 1922. He grew up in Yonkers and joined the New York National Guard in early 1941. After several months in the Guard, he volunteered for service in the Army Air Corps and on August 21, 1942, he entered active duty. He went through a succession of training courses including the Airplane Mechanics School at Amarillo Army Air Field in Texas, the B-17 Specialist School in Seattle, Washington and Aerial Gunnery School at Wendover, Utah. In 1943 he completed training on the Heavy Bomber, B-17, “Flying Fortress.” A new heavy bombardment group, the 457th, was activated in July 1943 and Andy was assigned to it. He joined a flight crew of...

PAUL C. ANDERSEN

PAUL C. ANDERSEN

Apr 1, 2010 | ,

Paul Andersen was born in Redfield, South Dakota in 1917; one of six children born to August and Hedvig (Kollewe) Andersen. Both parents had immigrated separately from Copenhagen, Denmark and married in America. His father was a dry cleaner and his mother worked as a seamstress in Redfield. The children were growing up at home during the worst years of the great depression and Paul and his brothers interrupted their public schooling to take whatever jobs could be had to augment the family income. Paul laid out of school for one year, working at Montgomery Ward for 25 cents per hour. He later graduated from Redfield High School with the Class of 1937. He was working for the...

MELFRED FORSMAN – NAVY – WWII

MELFRED FORSMAN – NAVY – WWII

Jul 1, 1998 | ,

Few veterans of any service in any war have endured the extreme cruelty and brutality of the Japanese POW camps and yet survived to share their story. This was Melfred’s experience. On April 18, 1939, Melfred Forsman left his home in Iowa Falls and enlisted in the Navy at Des Moines, Iowa. After training as a Seaman at Great Lakes, Illinois, he was assigned to duty aboard the Cruiser, USS Houston; which at that time was flagship of the "Asiatic Fleet" in Manila. At the outbreak of WWII, the Houston was one of the few warships deployed to confront the Japanese advance and it fought in the “Battle of the Java Sea” in February 1942. Soon afterward, Houston, in company with the...