By Stu Shaner

These stories are about the men and women who went to war so that we might be free. This column is dedicated to all our Veterans. It will use articles taken from past Oroville Mercury Registers. Many of those mentioned in these stories came home. But as you will learn, many young Oroville men did not. They gave the ultimate sacrifice. Bill Connelly and I are co-chairmen of the Oroville Veterans Memorial Committee. Our plans are to build a fitting memorial in Oroville to honor all of our veterans past, present and future. If you would like a speaker at a club meeting, Ted Grainger and I would be glad to speak, please contact me at 533- 8147.

Oroville Mercury Register December 4^th, 39^th, 1950, November 15, 1950, March 24, 1950

REPORT CHICO SOLDIER MISSING IN ACTION

The Department of Defense announce in Washington today that Johnnie L. Lewis, son of Mrs. Marie Van Sant of West E Street, Chico, was missing in action in the Korea War.

AIR CORPS STUDENT RETURNS TO DUTY

James Erway, 18, son of Mr. and Mrs. James S. Erway of Thermalito, is on his way back to Tulsa, Okla., today following a 14 day furlough from his aeronautical school. Erway is an Air Corps student at the Spartan school of Aeronautics where he is studying aircraft mechanics eight hours a day, five days a week. He has been there three months of a nine-month course. After he is graduated he said he hopes to enter the Air Corps cadets so he can try for a pilot's wings. The Erway Family have been residents of Thermalito, where they operate a service station for the past three years. Young Erway entered the Air Corps last July and said he plans to work evenings so he can win his high school diploma while he is in the Air Corps. Erway's half brother, Walter Anderson, is a Navy recruiting officer in Eureka and veteran of 14 years in that service. He said aeronautical school was "tough." Each day there is a quiz on the previous day's work and if a grade of 80 is not obtained the trainee is assigned to two hours overtime study.

NORTH KOREANS STILL SNIPE AT GIs IN SEOUL

Soldier's letter Says Seoul, Korea, is a mass of rubble, according to Richard S. Gilpin, 22, grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel P. Chase of Miner's Ranch Road, who wrote recently of his experiences there. Gilpin, who enlisted in the Air Corps in 1946 following his graduation from Oroville Union High School, said he and 40 others were living in a schoolhouse "that had not quite been blown apart." He described Seoul as "a wreck" and wrote "They really blew hell out of Seoul." He added that United Nations forces had passed through Seoul so rapidly in their advance toward the 38^th Parallel they left a large number of North Koreans behind. "The North Koreans shoot at us from surrounding hills all day and then sneak into town to steal food at night," he wrote. Gilpin trained for Air Corps work in Texas and several other fields in the United States and then was sent to Japan nine months ago with the army of occupation. He is a sergeant. In Seoul, he was assigned to work in the Air Corps message center, work he said he would rather have avoided. "As soon as we get Seoul cleaned up," he wrote, "I will move up north, I want to see all I can of this country while I am here. I'm stuck in a message center now."

OROVILLE GI RATED TOP PISTOL SHOT

Pvt. Raymond N. Howell, brother of Miss Shirley Howell of Woodleaf Star Route, Oroville, is rated one of the best pistol shots in the first cavalry division, stationed in Tokyo, according to an army press release. Howell, assigned to headquarters company, 7th cavalry regiment, won a place on the regimental pistol team finished in fourth place in the 1950 First Cavalry division rifle and pistol tournament in competition against teams from other regiments and battalions in the division. Pvt. Howell was in third place in his team's scores.

Stu's notes: This is all we know about this young Chico Boy. Was he found; did he return home safely? Or is he one of the more than 8,000 Young Men MIA in Korea? We will honor these men and POWs and MIAs from all of our wars September 19th at 7PM on the steps of the Veterans Memorial Hall on Montgomery Street. More on this later. Nothing has changed with North Korea except that the son is now running the Country and they cannot be trusted. Notice in the first story the Mercury calls, Korea a War, which it truly was. Even if the government called it a Police Action.