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May 25, 2007

Oroville Mercury August 9, 1943

JOE CLINE STATIONED NOW AT HERINGTON, KANS.
AA dispatcher in the army air force, Pfc. Joseph F. Cline has been stationed at Herington Kans., with the 46th airdrome squadron. Cline was a truck driver for the Berkeley Olive when he entered the service Jan. 8. He attended Oroville grammar school and Oroville High School He is the son of Mrs. De Etta Cline, of Robinson Street, Oroville.

STRAWBERRY VALLEY BOY STUDIES WITH NAVY
Transferred from Fort Faragut, Ida., where he received his basic training George Crane of Strawberry Valley is now attending the U. S. Navy’s rangefinders school at San Diego. Seaman Crane enlisted in March, 1943. He previously had graduated from Strawberry Valley grammar school and Oroville high school. He is the foster son of Mr. and Mrs. V. J. Bean of Napa.

Stu’s Notes: The rest of the story has always intrigued me. I want it. Well two weeks ago you read here Seaman Richard LaRose was lost at Sea. Well we have found his brother Lester living here in Oroville and this is what he remembered. Most of the Crew abandened ship as it was burned up and helpless their life raft’s (I’m thinking those big floating rings they had that looked like our “O”, I saw one at Boy Scout Camp on the lake at Butte Meadows), anyway their feet were in the water and the jelly fish stung them quite a bit. Sharks swam close by but did not bite; I’m sure they prayed a lot. They were rescued over a week later, 300 miles from their ship. All survived. Robert came home to Oroville and worked here as a mechanic for Oroville Truck Parts, then moved to Hawaii and worked as a mechanic on a dredge in Pearl Harbor. He died of a heart attack there in 1977, 46 years old and is buried in the Punch Bowl Cemetery. He left his mother Veva Sine, brothers Robert and Lester , sister Karen and a son Brian Richard who is a jet mechanic in Wisconsin.

At our meeting May 21, 2007, the Oroville Veterans Memorial Park Committee voted to make our Memorial County wide. As we are the county seat it should be. This was done in Yuba and Sutter Counties. We can do it, it just will require a little more research. I have been saving stories of Butte County’s Soldiers for some time now and Daryl is doing the same. Hopefully the other town’s will help add to this list. This doe not preclude that the Men and Women who gave their lives wouldn’t be Honored in the other towns they lived . In my way of thinking you cannot honor our heroes in too many places. Some on our list already have ties to other towns in our County. Our guide lines are simple, our main Memorial will Honor any American Service man or woman who lost their lives while in the service of our country, having lived at some point in Oroville area, now Butte County. We also will honor those who died in our county by accident etc. One example of this is Captain Randy Roby the U-2 pilot who gave his life trying to get his plane away from Oroville. Also, Pvt. Morris Tims, a young Tennessee Soldier from Camp Beale who died on the streets of Oroville (Montgomery and Myers) when the Union Hotel was burned down in 1944. He died far from home ready to go to war for us and was forgotten here. We have just found that Medal of Honor recipient Robert Harley Young, born in Oroville in 1929, killed in Korea, went to school in Chico.

This memorial will be a shinning star in Oroville and Butte County, a true lasting Memorial to those who gave so much. Now I beg, pray, and ask everyone involved in this project to just all get together and do it.

Let’s have a big turnout at the Memorial Day Ceremony at the Memorial Park Cemetery on Lincoln, Monday morning at 11:00AM, May 28th. After the Ceremony please come to the First United Methodist church at 45 Acacia Ave and enjoy a fund raising barbecued rib barbeque from 12;15 until 1;15pm. Cost is $7 adults and $3.50 for children. A percentage of the profit is to be donated to the Oroville Veteran’s Memorial Park. Call Randy 533-5921 or Cynthia 589-1638.

There are plans to throw a Wreath off our Upper Bridge on Monday. This is an Old Oroville Tradition. You can call me for the time or watch the paper for details. 533-8147.