July 25, 2003

Looking Back on Oroville's Heroes                          

By Stu Shaner

These stories are about the men and women who went to war so that we might be free. Bill Connelly and I are Co-Chairmen of the Oroville Veterans Memorial Park Committee. For more information call 533-8147.

Fifty years ago, July 27, 1953 the Armistice was signed to stop the fighting in Korea at Midnight.

Over 36,000 American Soldiers were killed or missing almost 100,000 wounded. The war began by a cowardly sneak attack by the North Koreans, June 25, 1950, over the 38h parallel, which was the line set after VOAM by Russia and the United States. On both sides over 2 million soldiers died or were wounded and millions of civilians died, all in the name of Communism.

Oroville gave up at least 7 or 8 of its young men to this war. Possibly more and I suppose quite a number wounded. I don't know. What little we do know is this and some of this could be wrong.

Don Raymond Bradish, U. S. Army died, probably shot down, an Oroville resident? His mother is listed as a Gold Star Mother. Information from Cliff Sawyer and Wayne and Joanne Rodgers, S/Sgt Roy E. Steed Jr. This information is pretty good, from the Oroville Mercury Resister. We wrote about Roy in April 2003. He served in the Philippine Islands near the end of the war in 1945 and died in an automobile accident in June of 1951, while still in the Army. Joe David Dunham U.S.M.C.

Oroville Mercury Register, July 10, 1952

JOE D. DUNHAM KILLED IN KOREA

 Cpl. Joe David Dunham, 20, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd L. Dunham, Old Quincy Road, was killed in action in Korea Monday, according to Mrs. Dunham. Mrs. Dunham said she received a telegram from the War Department this morning in which it was disclosed that her son was killed while in line of duty. Cpl. Dunham joined the Marines in June of last year and received his basic training at Camp Pendleton prior to going overseas in December. He attended Oroville Union High School. Young Dunham's father is manager of the Diamond Match Co. here.

Stu’s Notes: Joe's friend Harold Hoover says that Joe wore thick glasses and wondered why the Marines let him join. I can relate to this as I tried to join the Marines in 1959. 1 went to San Francisco and passed every test but the eye test Oh, well I had a dam to build. James Lenoff also knew of this man. Jack Moseley, 12th Street, Thermalito, KIA, told by Wayne Rogers. Since then Jack's sister Blanch and brother Dick both have died. Uncle Robert Wixsom is still living in Oroville. I met Mr. Henric of Thermalito. He knew Jack Moseley. He said he was one of the first killed. Henric worked at the Olive Plant. Jack was from the Oroville High School Class of 1948. He was in the Army. I knew Dick in High School. He worked for the movie theaters in Oroville and Chico. Robert Harley Young, Medal of Honor recipient. Born in Oroville. Then a blank spot in his short life. I have traced him to Vallejo when he was about 12 years old. He died in Korea, honored as a hero in Vallejo, Forgotten in Oroville, until now. His story can be found in the O.M.R. Nov. 22, 2002. The first information on Robert was from Bob Hewitt who found the story on the Internet. What a story it was.

Above and Beyond the call of duty.

Richard Delbart Jensen ENS. Navy, from Oroville, California, K.I.A. February 1952. This is all we know. Glen Leroy Slavicek A/C Air Force of Oroville, CA. Missing, presumed dead, Sept. 2, 1952. This information was from James Lenhoff. Cotton Karr, born in Fort Smith ARK, lived in Oroville, KIA when his artillery piece blew up while firing on the enemy. I was told this story by his nephew Dick Belser. Dick also told me that Cotton survived a lightning strike while on his motorcycle on Devils Dip in Oroville. Cotton was a brother of Nancy Wilson. David Dunning, this name could be David Dunham. I might have heard wrong one day. I do that. But we will keep looking. There are probably more soldiers that died in Korea from Oroville. A member of the Oroville Veterans Memorial Park Committee, Ted Grainger served in the Army in three wars, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Serving in Korea, he was in the trenches the last day before the Armistice. Most Americans ceased fire by 6PM. What was the sense of killing people now. The Communists kept firing right up to the deadline. Then he said it was so quiet, it was unbelievable. As the sun rose the people starting moving back, coming out of their holes. We cannot do enough to honor these men.