December 2, 2011
Looking Back On Oroville and Butte County Heroes
By Stu Shaner (533-8147)
Bill Connelly and I are Co-Chair of the Oroville Veterans Memorial Park Honoring All Of Butte County. Please check out our web site, by webmaster Daryl Autrey, at www.orovilleveteransmemorialpark.org, If you have anything you would like to share with me please call my number is 533-8147.
Oroville Mercury Register
February 8, 1946
Paper Tells Of Army’s Plan To Return War Dead
San Francisco-U.P.) – The San Francisco Chronicle said today that the army has completed plans for returning American’s war dead to the United States and that ships loaded with caskets would leave for European and Pacific ports this spring if congressional authorization is granted. The project is expected to take 18 months and cost the government an estimated $500,000,000, the Chronicle said. The army will bring home as many of the nation’s 250,000 war dead as desired by the next-of-kin. The House has already passed a bill, introduced by Rep. Robert Sikes, (D., Fla.), authorizing the project. The bill is now before the Senate military affairs committee. :The army is prepared to dispatch the first burial ship, her holds filled with thousands of empty caskets and disinterment supplies, from San Francisco on about April 1,” the newspaper s a id. Thereafter, if continued, one ship a month will leave both San Francisco and New York to return the dead “from 454 sites in 86 countries and islands throughout the world.” The Chronicle said its information “is based on official but unrestricted plans,” adding that “although the navy plans are not known it is believed they correspond closely to the army’s.”
From Looking Back on Oroville Heroes May 13, 2011 “Some Gave All”
Oroville Mercury Register September 28, 1948
Gridley Soldier’s Rites Are Slated Killed in the Battle of the Bulge
January 15, 1945
Pfc. Everett Lee Pike, who was 19 years of age, will be buried with military honors in the Gridley-Biggs cemetery Saturday, Oct. 2, at 10 a. m., it was announced today by the Block Funeral Home of Gridley. North Butte Post No. 210, American Legion, will conduct graveside rites and Rev. Ben Wofford, pastor of the Gridley Baptist church, will be in charge of funeral services.
Oroville Mercury Register
November 10, 1941
Editorial chosen by Dan Beebe
Avoid Pacific Trap
It is obvious that Hitler is setting a trap for the United Sates in the Pacific- a distraction trap. Japan is being pressured from Berlin to stir up some sort –any sort-of war calculated to draw the attention of this country from the main theatre of the world conflict, which just now is the Russian front. It requires no profound reasoning to know that the trap is nicely set and baited. Washington will be playing the greenhorn if it blunders into it. –Grass Valley Union.
Oroville Mercury Register
November 10, 1941
Helen-Joe Fife Will Wed Army Lieutenant Gridley
Betrothal of Miss Helen-Joe Fife, Chico State College student, to Lt. Loren A. Stoddard of the United States army air corps has been announced by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. R. W. Fife of Gridley. Lt. Stoddard, son of Mrs. Margaret Hay of Vallejo, is a graduate of Gridley high school. He left last week for the Hawaiian Islands, where he expects to be stationed for some time.
Oroville Mercury Register November 10, 1941 Training Ships Over Oroville Army planes streaked across the sky high over Oroville about 1 p. m. yesterday, their pilots apparently on a training flight. The silvery ships whined northward at short intervals. It was estimated that nine planes’ participated. The pilots made no effort to land here. Presumably they were from Stockton or Sacramento.
Stu’s Notes: As I’ve learned, from many different sources, soldiers bodies were returned years after the end of the war. They died all over the World, it was truly a world war, bigger than the war to end all wars, of 1914-1918 which was called the World War up until World War II. So The World War became WWI. As we know neither WWI or WWII ended all wars. Lets hope and pray we never have a World War III. I ran the story of Pfc. Everett Lee Pike t o show how long it took to bring him home. After 10 years of searching we still find men who died from Butte County like him. Six months ago I never heard of Young Pfc. Everett Lee Pike. Perhaps someone will know of his family and let them know he is not Forgotten in Butte County and the World. Oroville’s, Dan Beebe, The Grass Valley Union paper knew war was coming with Japan. Sadly the powers to be did not listen. Lt. Loren A. Stoddard off to Hawaii, Nov. 3, 1941, my guess is he became a Pearl Harbor Survivor and came home safely. Unlike young S2c Warren McCutchen, also from Gridley, who was designated as the first to die at Pearl Harbor, and is buried in Gridley. You can see a memorial to him and others who died in our wars. They also have a brick honoring wall there for all Service men and Women. Drive way to the back of the Cemetery. Training ships over Oroville, Nov. 1941 hundreds more if not thousands were soon to come. The public is invited to come to Gridley Fair Grounds, the South Gate will be open. You can drive right in and you will see a small crowd. Hopefully will be bigger this year. Art Wells one of 4 or 5 men left in the Butte County Chapter 25 of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association will be there. Art says this will be their last year as they are down to about 3 active members here in Butte County. He feels that the National Pearl Harbor Survivors will probably disband. Although Art says some Chapters may carry on with the Sons and Daughters. Anyway we will be there, God willing, at the Flag Pole at 9:55am as the attack came at 7:55am Pearl Harbor time, 70 years ago this coming December 7th.